A Wrinkle in Time: A Second Grader's Shifting Treatment of the Analog Clock

• In Event: 16.062 - Poster Session 2
  In Poster Session: 16.062-3 - Research in Mathematics Education

Abstract

This paper reports a case study of a second grade student solving an elapsed time problem on an analog clock. Time is a documented challenge among elementary children (Author, in press; Kamii & Russell, 2012; Williams, 2012), yet there is little systematic research that reveals how children draw upon tools for time as they solve problems. The present study illuminates how one child interpreted clock features as she problem solved, thereby reflecting the varied ideas—both accurate and inaccurate—she applied to time. This case provides a glimpse of how one student came to resolve conflicting ideas, thereby leading to productive shifts in her description of time.

Authors

• Darrell Earnest, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

• Alicia C. Gonzales, University of Massachusetts - Amherst