Described are children's strategies in thinking about fraction order and equivalence. The data are based on two teaching experiments with fourth and fifth-grade children. Some sample activities for teaching order and equivalence are included. (RH)

The development of a quantitative concept of rational numbers was explored in interviews with 16 fourth and fifth graders in two cities. High performers used a flexible and spontaneous application of concepts of rational number order and fraction equivalence, and a reference point, while low achievers tended not to. (MNS)

By varying task conditions and constraints on subjects, this study attempted to extend and refine a developmental theory of partitioning as a foundational process undergirding children's construction of a rational number. Subjects were 31 preponderantly higher-grade pupils enrolled at an elementary school in Nova Scotia, Canada. Two tasks were…

A two-year study was conducted with fourth-grade children in the context of extensive teaching experiments concerned with the learning of rational number concepts. Representational difficulties in using the number line model were investigated. While instruction in the second year attempted to resolve observed learning difficulties, the results of…

This report describes an investigation in England of some of the problems children experience with fractions. In particular, the restricted view that some children have of fractions is investigated. The methodology involved a large number of interviews with secondary school children (aged 12-14). The results of these interviews led to the design…

Children in grades four and five had instruction on fractions with a continuous manipulative aid to help transfer their knowledge to tasks with a discrete manipulative aid. Results suggest that discrete-embodiment tasks are more difficult than continuous-embodiment tasks. (MNS)

The processes and strategies used by Finnish second graders in solving verbal multiplication and division tasks were investigated, and the relationship of these processes and strategies to Piagetian abilities, memory capacity skills, and rational number concepts was charted. Three categories of strategies were classified: operations based on…

This PME-NA proceedings volume contains the full text of 41 research papers. In addition, brief usually one-page reports, are provided for 11 oral presentations and 13 poster sessions. The full research reports are as follows: "Cognitive Analysis of Chinese Students' Mathematical Problem Solving" (J. Cai and E. A. Silver); (2)…

The principles of cognitive psychology as they relate to rational number learning and instruction are discussed. Issues of knowledge acquisition, organization, retrieval and transfer are reviewed as they affect this area of the elementary school curriculum. Specific problems in learning about rational numbers and systematic student errors are…

What makes a fraction meaningful and a definition of the quantitative notion of fractions are discussed. Then observations from teaching experiments are presented. (MNS)

Describes a study to determine middle school children's representational strategies to form part-whole or part-part relationships for relational numbers such as proportions, ratios, or fractions. Quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed that children prefer a part-part representation to solve relational quantity problems. (15 references)…

Fourth-grade students' understanding of the order and equivalence of fractions was investigated in an 18-week teaching experiment. Three related characteristics of thinking are hypothesized to be related to success of such tasks, involving flexibility and reasoning that becomes increasingly independent of specific concrete embodiments. (MNS)

Fourth-grade students' understanding of the order and equivalence of rational numbers was investigated in 132 interviews during an 18-week teaching experiment. Six children were instructed individually and as a group at two sites, with instruction relying heavily on manipulative aids. Strategies used to compare fractions were identified. (MNS)

Some diverse fields in which the effects of mental representations have been noticed are first discussed, largely through illustrations of differing problem-solving experiences. Then the LAKOS Project (Logical Analysis of Cognitive Organizational Structures) at the University of Osnabruck is described. A central concern is the specification of a…

This aptitude-treatment interaction study explored the relationship between cognitive restructuring ability and treatments varying in the amounts of teacher guidance on tasks with fractions. An interaction was found between cognitive restructuring ability and levels of teacher guidance for items having continuous perceptual distracters. (MNS)