PMENA-39 2017

09, REVISITING AREA MODELS FOR FRACTION MULTIPLICATION

• In Event: POSTER SESSION 2 & HAPPY HOUR
  In Poster Session: EARLY ALGEBRA, ALGEBRA & NUMBER CONCEPTS: POSTER SESSION 2

Description

The purpose of this study is to consider how area models in curricula support student understanding of fraction multiplication. Three U.S. textbooks and one Korean textbook are examined for how they offer opportunities with fraction representations, corresponding area models, and related word problems to foster understanding of fraction multiplication. The results indicate that two different area models are used in various contexts: the area-to-area model and the lengths-to-area model. Each model reflects different aspects of a fraction and different thinking processes. Korean textbook uses both two models, whereas U.S. curricula rarely introduce the lengths-to-area model for fraction multiplication.

Authors

• Oh Hoon Kwon, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Ji-Won Son, University at Buffalo-The State University of New York

• Ji-Yeong I, Iowa State University