Teaching fractions - visiting the primary school classroom

Abstract

The most recent guidelines for mathematics in basic education (6-10-years-old) in Portugal preconize an in-depth contact with fractions. These guidelines suggest the approach to quotient, part-whole, measure and operator interpretations of fractions. Thus, it seems pertinent to investigate whether the current teaching practices reflect those guidelines. The research presented here sought to answer the following questions: 1) What role do teachers give to the interpretations of fractions to introduce the concept of fraction to children? 2) How do teachers approach and articulate the different interpretations of fractions? 3) What difficulties do teachers reveal about these issues? A collaborative working program with four teachers was conducted comprising the observation of lessons. The present paper presents the results concerning one of the cases — teacher Inês (fictitious name). A qualitative analysis of the collected data suggests difficulties in selecting examples and introducing the meaning of the fraction when quotient interpretation is involved; difficulties in approaching the ordering and equivalence of fractions; no exploration of the reference unit; unsuitable emphasis on algebraic procedures when operator interpretation is involved. In-service teacher training should be regularly promoted in order to ensure greater convergence between curriculum and teaching practices and improve the quality of the latter.