Discusses the two overgeneralizations "multiplications makes bigger" and "division makes smaller" in the context of solving word problems involving rational numbers less than one. Presents activities to help students make sense of multiplication and division in these situations. (MDH)

This paper provides some guidance as to what to listen for to help students make sense of expressions in ways that connect to their ideas and honestly address the mathematics of rational numbers. It offers a reasonable initial answer to the question, "Where do students' ideas about fractions and ratios come from, and how can we work productively…

Describes the constructs of referents, relationships, and modes and illustrates how these constructs may be reflected in students' written responses to a decimal task that requests an explanation. Examines sets of responses from two classrooms using the proposed framework to illustrate the type of information that teachers may acquire through the…

This chapter presents a yearlong teaching experiment involving a 4th grade class in a New Jersey school that focused on fractions. The 25 children worked in pairs or in small groups, then came together as a whole class for sharing in larger discussions. The development of children's thinking is explored through analyzing videotapes of class…

This paper describes the Rational Number Project (RNP), teaching experiments concerned with the teaching and learning of fractions among 4th and 5th grade students. Interviews with 4th grade students who used the RNP curriculum and with students who used a traditional curriculum were conducted by RNP staff as well as classroom teachers. This paper…

The development of proportional reasoning is a major focus of the middle grades curriculum. The challenge for educators is to find contexts that engage students and that facilitate the study of proportional reasoning. This chapter explores proportional thinking with students in grades 3-8 by using a number of books in which the underlying stories…

This yearbook contains articles that give insight into students' thinking about factions, ratios, and proportions. Suggestions are offered on how to develop the concepts and skills associated with these topics. The book is divided into elementary, middle school, and professional development sections. Chapters include: (1) "The Development of…

Analyzes three textbook series to find what meaningful learning experiences with fractions the books offer relative to modes of representation, pictorial models, qualitative reasoning, and students' informal knowledge of partitioning. Discusses implications for teacher use, including supplementation, teacher-support materials, alternative…

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

This study investigates the development of 5th grade children's understanding of quotient and the classroom norms and practices that constrain or enable that understanding. It reports not only how the children's understandings develop, but also why and under what conditions they develop. The results of this study indicate that children progressed…

Contrasts student achievement using commercial curricula (CC) for initial fraction learning with that of using the Rational Number Project (RNP) fraction curriculum. Indicates that students using RNP materials had statistically higher mean scores on concepts, order, transfer, and estimation. Interview data showed differences in the quality of…

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)

Children and adolescents tested to determine the development of the operator construct of rational numbers employed different problem-solving strategies depending on test presentation. Three major phases in the rational number construct appear to be a primitive fractional construct, a unit operator phase, and a general operator phase. (SB)

Presents the computer microworlds developed by the Children's Construction of Rational Numbers of Arithmetic (Fractions) Project. Provides an overview of three microworlds: Toys; Sticks; and Candybars. Discusses how children are expected to use the microworlds to construct an understanding of rational numbers. (MDH)

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)