The comprehension of numerical relationships in the learning of fractions: a comparative study with Brazilian and Portuguese children

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24109/2176-6681.rbep.98i249.3043
Keywords: rational numbers, fractions, inverse relation.

Abstract

The understanding of rational numbers is one of the major conceptual challenges faced by students in mathematics learning in basic education. Regarding fractions, to establish the inverse relationship between the numerator and the denominator becomes a key issue in concept formation. The main goals of this study were: to understand if the inverse relationship between smaller quantities than the unit in quotient and part-whole situations influences the learning of fractions; and to compare Brazilian and Portuguese students’ comprehension of the inverse relationship between quantities in fraction problems, using quotient and part-whole situations. The results indicate that students have a better grasp of the inverse relationship between the quantities in the quotient situation and also showed that Portuguese students performed significantly better than Brazilian students in the both types of situations. The discrepancy in student performance can be explained by differences in the curricula of mathematics in grade four in these countries. Implications for the teaching of mathematics in these two countries were also discussed.     

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Author Biographies

Isabel Cristina Peregrina Vasconcelos, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS).Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.

Doutora em Educação pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.

Ema Paula Botelho da Costa Mamede, Universidade do Minho. Braga, Portugal.

Doutora em Psicologia pela Oxford Brookes University. Oxford, Reino Unido.

Beatriz Vargas Dorneles, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.

Doutora em Psicologia pela Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil.

Published
21-08-2017
How to Cite
PEREGRINA VASCONCELOS, I. C.; BOTELHO DA COSTA MAMEDE, E. P.; VARGAS DORNELES, B. The comprehension of numerical relationships in the learning of fractions: a comparative study with Brazilian and Portuguese children. Brazilian Journal of Pedagogical Studies , v. 98, n. 249, 21 Aug. 2017.
Issue
Vol 98 No 249 (2017)
Section
Estudos

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