In this thesis I examine the correlation between the frequency of errors that seventh grade pupils make in their calculations with fractions and their level of understanding of fractions.
Fractions are a relevant and demanding theme in the mathematics curriculum. Although we use fractions on a daily basis, pupils find learning fractions to be very difficult. They generally do not struggle with the concept of fractions itself, but they frequently have problems with mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, comparing and cancelling. The empirical part of the thesis is based on two tests: the first focused on pupils' errors in dealing with fractions and the second focused on the level of understanding fractions. These tests are abridged and adapted versions of the tests from articles Levels of students’ “conception” of fractions (Pantziara, Philippou, 2012) and Algebra students' difficulty with fractions: an error analysis (Brown, Quinn, 2006). The correlation between the number of errors in dealing with fractions and the level of understanding fractions was determined with the Pearson correlation coefficient.
|
