ERIC Number: EJ683055
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Jan-1
Pages: 14
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1098-6065
EISSN: N/A
Young Children's Judgments About the Relative Size of Shared Portions: The Role of Material Type
Wing, Rachel E.; Beal, Carole R.
Mathematical Thinking and Learning: An International Journal, v6 n1 p1-14 Jan 2004
3 experiments were conducted to assess young (5-7 years) children's ability to judge the relative amount that a character would receive if sharing a material with 1 friend (halves) or 2 friends (thirds). Materials included items that appeared in 3 forms: continuous, discrete, and composite. In the first 2 experiments, performance was best with materials in composite form and worst with materials in continuous form. In a third experiment, children performed as well with large unorganized sets as with small organized sets, suggesting that they were not using a counting strategy. The results support suggestions that children enter school with informal knowledge about partitioning that may serve as a foundation for instruction in fractions concepts.
Descriptors: Young Children, Computation, Mathematics, Mathematical Applications, Mathematics Skills
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Journal Subscription Department, 10 Industrial Avenue, Mahwah, NJ 07430-2262. Tel: 800-926-6579 (Toll Free); e-mail: journals@erlbaum.com.
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Journal Articles
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A