Abstract
This study used fraction number line estimation tasks to evaluate students’ developmental patterns, and the relationship of such tasks with whole number bias was explored. In total, 189 fourth-grade students in a northern Taiwan elementary school were followed over 2 years. The results demonstrated that the students’ fraction learning development pattern progressed from being nonlinear to linear, and none of the students’ estimations exhibited a logarithmic pattern, as was the case in positive-integer number line estimation tasks. Many of the fourth-grade students (41.3%) did not exhibit a linear pattern of estimation and had clear whole number bias. By the fifth grade, half of these students still had a nonlinear pattern and could not treat fractions as integrated numbers. Instead, they were affected by whole number bias and mistakenly used the denominator to judge the actual fraction value.
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This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology [grant numbers 108–2511-H-142–015-MY2]. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSC.
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The participants were the entire body of fourth-grade students in a medium-sized elementary school in Zhongli, Taiwan. This study performed data collection of these participants for 2 years. The research obtained the consent of the principals and teachers of the elementary school in the 108th school year (September, 2019), as well as the consent of the parents. For those who choose not to participate in the study, the researcher arranged learning activities at the same test time so that students who have not participated in the research can still participate in learning. In the beginning, an explanation handout was given to the students’ parents by each class’s homeroom teacher on behalf of the research team, and the study commenced only after obtaining the parents’ letters of informed consent. The researcher discussed the test time with the school teacher, and on the principle of not affecting the student's course progress, the test was conducted with the assistance of the school instructor.
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Yuan, Y., Chen, K. Whole Number Bias of Students in Fraction Number Line Tasks. Int J of Sci and Math Educ 21, 1433–1449 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-022-10315-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-022-10315-0