Fractions are core content of elementary school mathematics, and conceptual knowledge of fractions is essential when developing a comprehensive understanding of fractions. Previous research, however, has indicated limitations in student teachers' fraction knowledge. This study investigated 57 Swedish elementary school student teachers' conceptions…

This study investigates the pedagogical content knowledge identified in six prospective elementary teachers' written teacher practicum reports. Focusing on the three categories of pedagogical content knowledge included in the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching framework, the study analyzes the prospective teachers' descriptions and combines their…

Fractions are challenging for both typically achieving children and adults. Although some prior research has focused on fraction difficulties of children with mathematics difficulties (MD), persistent difficulties encountered by adults with MD remain unknown. It is possible that these adults may be able to compensate for some deficits. In this…

The purpose of this article is to validate the relevance of a concept inventory on fractions by measuring the presence and evolution of misconceptions among prospective primary and pre-school teachers, including the overcoming of their misconceptions during and at the end of the instructional intervention. Seven text statements were defined and…

This study delves into the intricate relationship between pre-service teachers' (PSTs') Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Fractions (MKTF) and its influence on their teaching practices. Grounded in the premise that MKTF domains exhibit interconnectivity, shaping the constructs of teaching practices, the study employed the mathematical task…

This study focuses on the knowledge base that Swedish elementary student teachers demonstrate in their solutions for six routine fraction tasks. The paper investigates the student teachers' common content knowledge of fractions and discusses the implications of the findings. Fraction knowledge that student teachers bring to teacher education has…

Given that both children and adults struggle with fractions in mathematics education, we investigated the processing of nonsymbolic fractions in a continuous form of part-of-the-whole. Continuous features of nonsymbolic numbers (e.g., the size of dots in an array) were found to influence numerosity judgment, but it should be noted that the…

The power and value of mathematics cannot be underestimated. Mathematics is essential in the workplace, for economic growth, for technological advancements and as part of our cultural heritage. Despite this, research reports that second-level students do not appreciate the value of mathematics and fail to see its relevance. One potential reason…

A growing emphasis on computational thinking worldwide necessitates student proficiency in creating algorithms. Focusing on the use of counterexamples for developing student-invented algorithms, I reanalyze two pieces of data from previously published research, pertaining to two different cases of students' algorithmatizing activity. In both…

Fractions remains a difficult topic for primary preservice teachers (PST). This paper analyses a PST teaching episode using the "Refined Consensus Model" (RCM) of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) to explore challenges faced by PST in acquiring specialised knowledge for effective fractions teaching. Data include semi-structured…

This research aims to determine second-year university students' understanding in interpreting and representing fractions. A set of fraction tests was given to students through two direct learning interventions. An unstructured interview was used as an instrument to obtain explanations and confirmations from the purposive participants. A total of…

Three rational number notations--fractions, decimals, and percentages--have existed in their modern forms for over 300 years, suggesting that each notation serves a distinct function. However, it is unclear what these functions are and how people choose which notation to use in a given situation. In the present article, we propose quantification…

The main purpose of this study is to assess pre-service and public elementary mathematics school teachers' conceptual understanding and computational abilities of fractions. 20 pre-service mathematics teachers and 24 in-service mathematics teachers participated in this study. In-service teachers were divided into two categories; one for teachers…

We explore prospective elementary-school teachers' attempts to provide signs and symbols with mathematical meaning in a case involving non-integers as numerator or denominator. The data comprises 33 responses to a task inquiring about the existence of numbers between 1/6 and 1/7, in which the participants were asked to compose a hypothetical…

Research on cognitive obstacles related to fraction sense in preservice mathematics teachers is significant, because their success depends on their skills. The acquisition of fraction sense is a complicated problem requiring a strategy to solve it. This study presents cognitive obstacles with fraction sense tests in preservice who will teach in…