PME-NA

Unpacking Profiles of Elementary Preservice Teachers' Conceptualizations: Insights from Fraction Multiplication Think-Alouds

• In Event: Fractions and Teacher Education

Description

This study investigates elementary preservice teachers' (PSTs’) conceptualizations of fraction multiplication through think-aloud tasks. We identified four distinct profiles that reveal concepts and processes 29 PSTs used when constructing fraction multiplication area models, focusing on referent units, subdivision, shading, and determining the product. Findings underscore the importance of assessing PSTs' reasoning as they construct visual models rather than solely evaluating final representations. This approach urges a nuanced view of PSTs' understanding that accounts for the complexity of their reasoning at each stage of the problem-solving process, offering insights into how mathematics teacher educators can better support PSTs in developing a deeper conceptual understanding of fraction multiplication.

Authors

• Bona Kang, Ohio Wesleyan University

• Bima Kumari Sapkota, University of Kentucky

• Brooke Krejci, University of Wisconsin - River Falls

• Tegan Nusser, Bradley University