Decimals and the related areas of ratio and proportion are recognised as one of the most challenging and complex areas of mathematics for young children to learn. In this study, four dynamic digital representations were used by Year 4 (9-10 years old) students in a set of video-recorded, individual task-based interviews to explore key concepts of…

Studies two children working in the context of specially developed computer microworlds with a teacher/researcher for approximately 45 minutes a week for 50 weeks over a two-year period. Indicates that the operations and unit types associated with the children's whole-number sequences did not interfere with the reorganization of their fractional…

Explores ways to help children make connections between whole-number multiplication and their notion of a fraction. Illustrates an approach to constructing fraction concepts that builds on children's whole-number knowledge using specially designed computer tools. (KHR)

Studies the co-emergence of teaching and children's construction of specific conceptions that support the generation of improper fractions in a constructivist teaching experiment with two fourth-grade students posing and solving tasks in a computer microworld. Reports that examination of the teacher's adaptation of learning situations (tasks) and…

Describes computer software called Shemesh designed for learning equivalence-classes of fractions. Describes interviews with fifth-grade students who used the software in their learning activities. Evidence indicates initial actual development of desired mathematical concepts. (Author/MM)

Describes software tools designed to help students investigate relationships among representations of rational numbers that emphasize the part-whole model of a rational number. (KHR)