Progressions in Fraction Partitioning and Quantification Evidenced by Children Who Experience Low Achievement in Mathematics

• In Event: 56.077 - Special Education Research SIG Paper Session 4: STEM Instructions for Students With Disabilities

Abstract

We identify trends in development of fractional knowledge evident in equal sharing activity (i.e., partitioning operations and language) of children who experience low achievement in fractions. Forty-three fifth grade children solved equal sharing situations once a week for ten weeks without participating in instruction that directly addressed the concept. Constant comparison analysis revealed four levels of partitioning and five levels of language children used to quantify the equal share. Results suggest a progression of conceptions that advanced over time and resembled existing frameworks found among children who did not show low achievement. Results are discussed in terms of the conceptualization of low achieving students as “different” and their need for specific kinds of teaching and detached instructional experiences in school.

Authors

• Jessica Heather Barr-Hunt, North Carolina State University

• Arla Westenskow, Utah State University

• Patricia S. Moyer-Packenham, Utah State University