Children's Mental Representation When Comparing Fractions with Common Numerators
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| Title: | Children's Mental Representation When Comparing Fractions with Common Numerators |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Liu, Chunhui, Xin, Ziqiang, Lin, Chongde, Thompson, Clarissa A. |
| Source: | Educational Psychology. 2013 33(2):175-191. |
| Availability: | Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 17 |
| Publication Date: | 2013 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Grade 6 |
| Descriptors: | Cognitive Processes, Comparative Analysis, Arithmetic, Grade 6, Task Analysis, Foreign Countries, Elementary School Students, Questionnaires, Statistical Analysis, Mathematics Skills, Accuracy, Reaction Time, Reference Groups, Regression (Statistics), Predictor Variables |
| Geographic Terms: | China |
| DOI: | 10.1080/01443410.2012.730324 |
| ISSN: | 0144-3410 |
| Abstract: | Researchers debate whether one represents the magnitude of a fraction according to its real numerical value or just the discrete numerosity of its numerator or denominator. The present study examined three effects based on the notion that people possess a mental number line to explore how children represent fractions when they compare fractions with common numerators. Specifically, the effect of the spatial numerical association of response codes (SNARC), the distance effect and the size effect in representing fractions were examined in a sample of 72 sixth graders, who successfully solved the fraction comparison task with a real number (0.2) or a fraction (1/5) as the reference. Results showed that in the fraction-reference group (1/5 as the reference), there was a significant reverse SNARC effect and a distance effect between the denominators of the target fractions and the reference fraction; in the real number-reference group, the three effects were also observed. These results revealed that both groups used the mental number line to represent fractions and did not represent their real numerical values but rather the discrete numerosities of denominators when comparing fractions with common numerators. It seems that the way people represent fractions may depend on their strategy choices. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.) |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Number of References: | 45 |
| Entry Date: | 2014 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1010511 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Researchers debate whether one represents the magnitude of a fraction according to its real numerical value or just the discrete numerosity of its numerator or denominator. The present study examined three effects based on the notion that people possess a mental number line to explore how children represent fractions when they compare fractions with common numerators. Specifically, the effect of the spatial numerical association of response codes (SNARC), the distance effect and the size effect in representing fractions were examined in a sample of 72 sixth graders, who successfully solved the fraction comparison task with a real number (0.2) or a fraction (1/5) as the reference. Results showed that in the fraction-reference group (1/5 as the reference), there was a significant reverse SNARC effect and a distance effect between the denominators of the target fractions and the reference fraction; in the real number-reference group, the three effects were also observed. These results revealed that both groups used the mental number line to represent fractions and did not represent their real numerical values but rather the discrete numerosities of denominators when comparing fractions with common numerators. It seems that the way people represent fractions may depend on their strategy choices. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.) |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0144-3410 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/01443410.2012.730324 |
