ERIC Number: EJ1162726
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-5984
EISSN: N/A
Error Patterns with Fraction Calculations at Fourth Grade as a Function of Students' Mathematics Achievement Status
Schumacher, Robin F.; Malone, Amelia S.
Elementary School Journal, v118 n1 p105-127 Sep 2017
The goal of this study was to describe fraction-calculation errors among fourth-grade students and to determine whether error patterns differed as a function of problem type (addition vs. subtraction; like vs. unlike denominators), orientation (horizontal vs. vertical), or mathematics-achievement status (low-, average-, or high-achieving). We specifically addressed whether mathematics-achievement status was related to students' tendency to operate with whole-number bias. We extended this focus by comparing low-performing students' errors in 2 instructional settings that focused on 2 different types of fraction understandings: core instruction that focused on partwhole understanding versus small-group tutoring that focused on magnitude understanding. Results showed students across the sample were more likely to operate with whole-number bias on problems with unlike denominators. Students with low or average achievement (who participated only in core instruction) were more likely to operate with whole-number bias than students with low achievement who participated in small-group tutoring. We suggest instruction should emphasize magnitude understanding to sufficiently increase fraction understanding for all students in the upper elementary grades. [For the full text grantee submission, see ED576191.]
Descriptors: Error Patterns, Mathematics Instruction, Computation, Mathematics Achievement, Grade 4, Elementary School Students, Elementary School Mathematics, Fractions, Addition, Subtraction, Numbers, Achievement Tests, Bias, Low Achievement, High Achievement, Intervention
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 4
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Wide Range Achievement Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A