ERIC Number: EJ1196534
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Nov
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
EISSN: N/A
Children Learn Spurious Associations in Their Math Textbooks: Examples from Fraction Arithmetic
Braithwaite, David W.; Siegler, Robert S.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v44 n11 p1765-1777 Nov 2018
Fraction arithmetic is among the most important and difficult topics children encounter in elementary and middle school mathematics. Braithwaite, Pyke, and Siegler (2017) hypothesized that difficulties learning fraction arithmetic often reflect reliance on associative knowledge--rather than understanding of mathematical concepts and procedures--to guide choices of solution strategies. They further proposed that this associative knowledge reflects distributional characteristics of the fraction arithmetic problems children encounter. To test these hypotheses, we examined textbooks and middle school children in the United States (Experiments 1 and 2) and China (Experiment 3). We asked the children to predict which arithmetic operation would accompany a specified pair of operands, to generate operands to accompany a specified arithmetic operation, and to match operands and operations. In both countries, children's responses indicated that they associated operand pairs having equal denominators with addition and subtraction, and operand pairs having a whole number and a fraction with multiplication and division. The children's associations paralleled the textbook input in both countries, which was consistent with the hypothesis that children learned the associations from the practice problems. Differences in the effects of such associative knowledge on U.S. and Chinese children's fraction arithmetic performance are discussed, as are implications of these differences for educational practice. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED580430.]
Descriptors: Addition, Arithmetic, Correlation, Foreign Countries, Fractions, Grade 6, Grade 8, Hypothesis Testing, Mathematical Concepts, Mathematics Instruction, Middle School Students, Multiplication, Prediction, Subtraction, Textbooks
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 6; Intermediate Grades; Middle Schools; Elementary Education; Grade 8; Junior High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China (Beijing); Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh)
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305A150262