Splitting operation for composite units and construction of fractions as multipliers

Jin Young Yoo1   Jaehong Shin2,*   

1와부중학교 교사
2한국교원대학교 교수

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore how the student, who interiorized three levels of units, constructed fractions as multipliers by analyzing her ways of conceiving improper fractions with three levels of units and coordinating two three-levels-of-units structures. Among the data collected from our teaching experiment with two 4th grade students meeting 13 times for three months, we focus on how Seyeon, one of the participating students, wrote numerical expressions in the form of “× fraction” for the given situations using her splitting operation for composite units. Given the importance of splitting operation for composite units for the construction of fractions as multipliers, implications for further research are discussed.

Figures & Tables

Figure 1. Coordination of ‘1 of 4’ and ‘ 1/3 of 4’