ERIC Number: EJ1183156
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Jul
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1467-7687
EISSN: N/A
Do Children Understand Fraction Addition?
Braithwaite, David W.; Tian, Jing; Siegler, Robert S.
Developmental Science, v21 n4 Jul 2018
Many children fail to master fraction arithmetic even after years of instruction. A recent theory of fraction arithmetic (Braithwaite, Pyke, & Siegler, 2017) hypothesized that this poor learning of fraction arithmetic procedures reflects poor conceptual understanding of them. To test this hypothesis, we performed three experiments examining fourth to eighth graders' estimates of fraction sums. We found that roughly half of estimates of sums were smaller than the same child's estimate of one of the two addends in the problem. Moreover, children's estimates of fraction sums were no more accurate than if they had estimated each sum as the average of the smallest and largest possible response. This weak performance could not be attributed to poor mastery of arithmetic procedures, poor knowledge of individual fraction magnitudes, or general inability to estimate sums. These results suggest that a major source of difficulty in this domain is that many children's learning of fraction arithmetic procedures develops unconstrained by conceptual understanding of the procedures. Implications for education are discussed. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED574835.]
Descriptors: Fractions, Addition, Arithmetic, Hypothesis Testing, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8, Computation, Mathematical Concepts, Cognitive Development, Concept Formation, Elementary School Students, Middle School Students, Individual Differences, Mathematics, Skills
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 4
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh)
IES Funded: Yes