Factors and Multiples: Important and Misunderstood
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| Title: | Factors and Multiples: Important and Misunderstood |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Hurst, Chris (ORCID |
| Source: | International Online Journal of Primary Education. 2021 10(2):273-286. |
| Availability: | International Online Journal of Primary Education. e-mail: editor.online.iojpe@gmail.com; Web site: http://www.iojpe.org/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 14 |
| Publication Date: | 2021 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Elementary Education |
| Descriptors: | Mathematical Concepts, Elementary School Mathematics, Concept Formation, Arithmetic, Foreign Countries, Elementary School Science |
| Geographic Terms: | Australia, United Kingdom |
| ISSN: | 1300-915X |
| Abstract: | Factors and multiples are important aspects of mathematical structure that support the understanding of a range of other ideas including multiplication and division, and later on, factorization. At primary school level, it is important that factors and multiples are taught as a connected enterprise and as vital parts of the multiplicative situation; that is multiplication and division. The primary objective of the study on which this paper is based was to determine the extent of children's understanding of factors and multiples. A written quiz containing questions about factors and multiples and asking for children to explain their responses, was administered. Results suggest that the language involved with factors and multiples may play a role in the extent to which children develop a conceptual understanding of them. Also, most children know some things about factors and multiples but struggled to connect and articulate ideas when factors and multiples were presented in a different context. In conclusion, the inconsistency of participant responses suggests that teaching about factors and multiples needs to emanate from a more conceptual and connected standpoint. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2022 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1334962 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Factors and multiples are important aspects of mathematical structure that support the understanding of a range of other ideas including multiplication and division, and later on, factorization. At primary school level, it is important that factors and multiples are taught as a connected enterprise and as vital parts of the multiplicative situation; that is multiplication and division. The primary objective of the study on which this paper is based was to determine the extent of children's understanding of factors and multiples. A written quiz containing questions about factors and multiples and asking for children to explain their responses, was administered. Results suggest that the language involved with factors and multiples may play a role in the extent to which children develop a conceptual understanding of them. Also, most children know some things about factors and multiples but struggled to connect and articulate ideas when factors and multiples were presented in a different context. In conclusion, the inconsistency of participant responses suggests that teaching about factors and multiples needs to emanate from a more conceptual and connected standpoint. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1300-915X |
