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ERIC Number: EJ748165
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Jul
Pages: 25
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1954
EISSN: N/A
Young Children's Notations for Fractions
Brizuela, Barbara M.
Educational Studies in Mathematics, v62 n3 p281-305 Jul 2006
This paper focuses on the kinds of notations young children make for fractional numbers. The extant literature in the area of fractional numbers acknowledges children's difficulties in conceptualizing fractional numbers. Some of the research suggests possibly delaying an introduction to conventional notations for algorithms and fractions until children have developed a better understanding of fractional numbers (e.g., Hunting, 1987; Saenz-Ludlow, 1994, 1995). Other research (e.g., Empson, 1999), however, acknowledges the interaction between conceptual understandings and the representations for those understandings. Following the latter line of thinking, this paper argues that children's notational competencies and conceptual understandings are intertwined, addressing the following research questions: (a) What kinds of notations do five and six-year-old children make for fractional numbers?; and (b) What can be learned about young children's learning of fractional numbers by analyzing the notations they make? This paper presents data from interviews carried out with twenty-four children in Kindergarten and first grade (five and six-year-old children), exploring the nuances of their notations and the meanings that they attach to fractions.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 1; Kindergarten
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A