ERIC Number: EJ1157690
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1927-2677
EISSN: N/A
Children's Conceptions of Area Measurement and Their Strategies for Solving Area Measurement Problems
Huang, Hsin-Mei E.; Witz, Klaus G.
Journal of Curriculum and Teaching, v2 n1 p10-26 2013
This study investigated children's understanding of area measurement, including the concept of area and the area formula of a rectangle, as well as their strategic knowledge for solving area measurement problems. Twenty-two fourth-graders from three classes of a public elementary school in Taipei, Taiwan, participated in a one-on-one interview. Results show that the children who had a good understanding of the concept of area and the area formula (by using the property of multiplication) exhibited competency in identifying geometric shapes, using formulas for determining areas, and self-correcting mistakes. The children who had a good understanding of multiplication underlying the area formula, but misunderstood the concept of area, showed some ability to use area formulas. Conversely, the children who were unable to interpret the property of multiplication underlying the area formula irrespective of their conceptions of area exhibited the common weaknesses in identifying geometric shapes and differentiating between area and perimeter.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Elementary School Students, Grade 4, Measurement, Mathematics Instruction, Elementary School Mathematics, Student Attitudes, Concept Formation, Teaching Methods, Problem Solving, Mathematical Formulas, Geometric Concepts, Experimental Groups, Interviews, Multiplication
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Taiwan (Taipei)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A