HBMT3103_V2

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND LANGUAGES

SEMESTER MEI 2022

HBMT3103 V2

TEACHING OF ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICS PART III

MATRICULATION NO. : 980306385094001

IDENTITY CARD NO. : 980306-38-5094

TELEPHONE NO. : 016-7935176

E-MAIL : [email protected]

LEARNING CENTRE : Johor

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No Contents Pages

Part I

1 Introduction 3-4

2 Summary of Major Mathematical Concept, Skills and 4-6

Relationships Pertaining to the learning of Fractions and
Decimals Identified

3 Elaboration of Two Common Difficulties Stated Pertaining to 6-8

the Learning of Fractions and Decimals

Clarification of Two Possible Misconceptions Arising from the 8-11

Learning Activities and Resources Selected

4 How to Overcome Difficulties and Misconceptions Pertaining to 11-13

Fractions and Decimals Highlighted; Suitability of Teaching-
learning Activities and Resources Selected

5. Conclusion 13

Part II

1 Online Participation 14-15

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Introduction
Rational number is a basic subject in mathematics curriculum. Teaching presents a
strong challenge to teachers' knowledge and practice, and they must use different
representations and meanings to promote students' understanding of the concept.
However, we know little about how teachers use different representations and
meanings, for what purposes, and what difficulties they face (Mitchell, Charalambous
& Hill, 2013). I especially want to know about the knowledge and practice of 4th
grade prospective teachers in supervising teaching practice, because it can get a close
look at the nature of their knowledge. In the process of analyzing teaching practice,
the author tries to understand the essence of teaching knowledge from three aspects:
task, classroom communication and future teachers' behavior. The aim of this paper is
to analyse how a prospective teacher prepares, develops and reflects on
communication, paying particular attention to instructional explanations and
mathematical ideas about fractional multiplication units.

In Mathematics, fractions are represented as a numerical value, which defines a part

of a whole. A fraction can be a portion or section of any quantity out of a whole,
where the whole can be any number, a specific value, or a thing. A fraction shows
part of a whole. This whole can be a region or a collection. The word fraction is
derived from the Latin word "fractio" which means 'to break'. The Egyptians, being
the earliest civilization to study fractions, used fractions to resolve their mathematical
problems, which included the division of food, supplies, and the absence of a bullion
currency. In ancient Rome, fractions were just words to describe part of a whole. In
India, fractions were originally made by placing one number on top of another
(numerator and denominator), but without straight lines. Only the Arabs added up the
lines separating the numerator and denominator.

In algebra, a decimal number can be defined as a number whose integer and

decimal parts are separated by decimal points. The point in a decimal is called a
decimal point. The number after the decimal point indicates a value less than 1.
Moreover, a decimal is a group of numbers between integers on a number line.
They're just another way to represent fractions in math. With the help of decimals, we
can write down more precise values for measurable quantities such as length, weight,
distance, currency, etc. The numbers to the left of the decimal point are integers or
integers, and the numbers to the right of the decimal point are decimals. In decimals,

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for integer parts, the bit-value system is the same as integer. But after the decimal
point, we have a different world of numbers where we represent values as decimals.
As we move to the left, each digit is ten times the value of the preceding digit.

Summary of Major Mathematical Concept, Skills and Relationships Pertaining

to the learning of Fractions and Decimals Identified

Fractions are related to most decimals. Year Four pupils will learn about this
relationship and how to use it to help them solve problems. They will learn how to
choose between the two, thus making their problem-solving lives easier. Grades are
part of the whole. There's a number written on top, numerator, a number written on
the bottom, and a slash or a horizontal slash between the two numbers. Use pies to
represent points. For example, a score of 3/4 means that if you cut a pie into four
pieces, three of them belong to someone.

A decimal point is a number with a decimal point. If someone goes shopping, he or

she will see decimal numbers everywhere. How much is the lipstick? 27.99 ringgit.
This is a decimal. How much does someone's favorite running shoes cost? RM89.99.
This is a decimal. In fact, decimals have something to do with fractions. The only
decimals that have nothing to do with fractions are those that are infinite -- decimals
that never end. For example, the number π(not a pie to eat, but a mathematical
constant) has nothing to do with fractions, because it changes all the time and never
ends. Decimals and fractions are related because they can be easily converted to each
other.

The partial-whole structure of a fraction is defined as a situation in which a

continuous quantity or set of discrete objects is divided into equal parts. This notation
is widely used in teaching fraction concepts because it assumes that students' first
intuitive experience of fractions comes from fair sharing. The partial-whole concept
of fractions helps to answer the question "How much of an object or set is represented
by a fraction symbol?" Although the concept of partial-whole fraction is considered
the basis for developing an understanding of the concept of fraction, it has limitations.
For example, the "disengagement" relationship between whole and part can only be
applied to appropriate scores (4 out of 28 is reasonable, but 44 out of 28 is not).

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Therefore, it is important to address the concepts of other fractions in order to develop

a deep understanding of fractions.

In the 21st century, students today have to learn how to convert fractions to
decimals in math classes.

a) Convert fractions into decimals.

Convert true and false fractions to decimals. Convert ratios to decimals. This
calculator shows the steps and work of converting fractions to decimals.

In fractions, a fraction bar means divided by. So, to find the equivalent of a decimal,
like 1/4, you need to solve this math problem :1 divided by 4.

1 ÷ 4 = 0.25

Dividing numbers is easy with a calculator. If you need to do long division by hand
put the top number of the fraction (numerator) inside the division bracket and the
bottom number (denominator)
outside, to the left of the division
bracket.

The fraction 1/4 becomes 1 ÷ 4.

Complete the division to convert
the fraction to a decimal.

It makes long division easier by first reducing fractions to the lowest terms. For
example, 9/12 = 9 ÷ 12 = 0.75. Using long division or mental arithmetic to solve
this problem, which is 9/12 = 3/4, might make it easier. It even recognizes that 3/4 =
0.75 because 3/4 = 75 cents.

b) Convert decimals into fractions

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Example: To convert 0.75 to a fraction

Steps Example
First, write down the decimal "over" the number 1: 0.75
1
Multiply top and bottom by 10 for every number after 100
0.75 × × 100
the decimal point (10 for 1 number,100 for 2 numbers, 1
etc):
This makes a correctly formed fraction: 75
100
Then Simplify the fraction: 3
4

Example Values:

Percent Decimal Fraction

1% 0.01 1
/100
5% 0.05 1
/20
10% 0.1 1
/10
12½% 0.125 1
/8
20% 0.2 1
/5
25% 0.25 1
/4
331/3% 0.333... 1
/3
50% 0.5 1
/2
75% 0.75 3
/4
80% 0.8 4
/5
90% 0.9 9
/10
99% 0.99 99
/100
100% 1  
125% 1.25 5
/4
150% 1.5 3
/2
200% 2  

Elaboration of Two Common Difficulties Stated Pertaining to the Learning of

Fractions and Decimals

To summarize what is known about fractions and decimals, and to inspire more
research in the field, we set out to analyze why learning fractions and decimals is so
difficult. There is identify and discuss two types of difficulties.

a) Inherent difficulty in fractions and decimals

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The previous section documented the poor performance of Malaysian children in

fractions and decimals. In this section, we identify and discuss seven sources of this
weak performance inherent in fractions and decimal arithmetic, with the inherent
meaning that they will exist regardless of the details of the learner's educational
system and culture. The difficulties involve:

i) fraction and decimal notation

ii) accessibility of fraction and decimal magnitudes

iii) opaqueness of standard fraction and decimal arithmetic procedures

iv) complex relations between rational and whole number arithmetic procedures

v) complex relations of rational number arithmetic procedures to each other

vi) opposite direction of effects of multiplying and dividing positive fractions and
decimals below and above one

vii) sheer number of distinct components if fraction and decimal arithmetic

procedures

This set of inherent difficulties should not be interpreted as all-encompassing. Instead,

it identifies some of the factors that cause children to often have trouble learning
fractions and decimals. Moreover, in the long run, these intrinsic factors may be
culturally contingent, as people design symbols and procedures and can imagine
different symbols and procedures without causing these difficulties. Finally, internal
does not mean insurmountable; In countries with educational systems and cultures
that place a high value on math, most students overcome difficulties. With these
caveats in mind, let's look at seven internal sources of difficulty.

b) Culturally contingent difficulties that could be reduced by improved instruction and

prior knowledge of learners

Factors that are not inherent in fractions and decimals, but are determined by
cultural values and educational system characteristics, also make it difficult to learn
fractions and decimals. Cultural contingency factors determine the underlying causes
of difficulties. For example, confusability between fractional and integer arithmetic
programs is an inherent source of difficulty, but high-quality teaching and high
motivation to learn mathematics lead to this and other sources of difficulty having less

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detrimental effect on fractional arithmetic learning in East Asia than in the United
States.

We divide cultural contingencies into two categories :

(i) factors related to teaching and

(ii) factors related to learners' prior knowledge.

In some cases, the only relevant research we can find involves fractions, but the
same factors may hinder the learning of decimals.

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Teachers have a limited understanding of rational number operations. At the very

least, a man who knows arithmetic operations should know the direction of the effects
of the operations. One cannot judge the reasonableness of an answer, nor of the
procedure that produces it, without understanding the direction of the effects of
arithmetic operations. In fact, those who erroneously believe that multiplication
always produces a product equal to or greater than any multiplication may infer that
the correct process is unreliable and the wrong process is. For example, a person who
thinks multiplication must yield an answer greater than any multiplier might consider
3 4 12 12
the correct equation " × = " to be unreliable because is less than any
5 5 5 25
3 4 12
multiplier; The same person might consider the incorrect equation " × = " to be
5 5 5
credible because the answer is larger than both multipliers.

The main prediction is that the accuracy of this judgment will reflect the
mapping between the magnitudes produced by the integer algorithm and the fractional
algorithm. No matter what the score is, accuracy in determining the direction of the
effect is expected to be much higher than the probability of addition and subtraction,
and for multiplication and division with a score greater than 1, accuracy is expected to
be much higher than probability. This assumption is based on the assumption that the
six combinations of arithmetic operations and fraction sizes act in the same direction
as the corresponding integer operations. However, for multiplication and division of
fractions less than 1, the probability judgment accuracy of the prediction is less than
1, since these cases produce the opposite effect of multiplication and division of
integers. So, although thousands of fractions from 0 to 1 have been multiplied, and
there are therefore thousands of opportunities to observe the result of multiplying
those fractions, when we ask adults these questions, they are expected to perform
below probability in predicting the effect of multiplying fractions below 1. The same
goes for division.

Clarification of Two Possible Misconceptions Arising from the Learning

Activities and Resources Selected

1) Longer - is - Larger misunderstandings

These students often choose longer decimals to represent larger numbers. They do
so for a number of reasons. Some children do not connect decimal fractions well, and

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some children have difficulty with values. The most common reasons for "long is big"
behavior are as follows. The myth that growth-is-bigger is most common in
elementary school.

a) Thinking about integers

Learners in this way of thinking assume that the number after the decimal point
is another whole number. They don't establish fractional connections effectively. At
one extreme, some children think that the decimal point separates two completely
different integers. For example, instead of seeing decimal numbers like 4.8 or 4.63 as
numbers between 4 and 5, they saw them as two separate integers 4 and 8 or 4 and 63.
If children were asked to circle the larger of two numbers, they might circle 63 instead
of 4.8 or 4.63. These children are rare and require individual remedial help.

Integer thinkers might think that 4.9(4 whole and 9 parts) is followed by 4.10(4
whole and 10 parts). Look at how such children count. They may also have trouble
reconciling the number of parts in a fraction with the size of the parts because they do
not understand the relationship between decimals. If isometric decimals are primarily
discussed in class, this misconception goes unchallenged and may continue into
middle school.

There are some variations in the way integer thinkers arrange decimals.
Sometimes these students choose length only, for example, they will choose 0.021 to
be larger than 0.21 simply because it is longer. Other students looked more closely at
the fractional part as an integer, so that they would think 0.21 and 0.0021 were equal
because the two integers 21 and 0021 were equal.

b) Column overflow thinking

Some students will usually choose longer decimals for larger ones, but will do the
right thing when the decimal starts at 0. For example, these children would say that
0.43 is greater than 0.5, but would know that 0.043 is less than 0.5. One group of
these students, called column overflow thinkers, made decimal-fraction links but
struggled with the basics of bit values. The column overflow thinker has mastered the
correct column names for decimal numbers, but tries to write too many numbers into
the column. So 0.12 is 12/10 (because there is no zero after zero) and 0.012 is 12/100

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(because there is a zero after zero). In effect, they squeezed the number 12 into a
column. That's why we call it column overflow.

Column overflow thinkers interpret 0.35 as 1/35, 0.149 as 1/149, 0.678912 as

1/678912, 0.035 as 1/35, 0.0149 as 1/149, and 0.0043 as 3/43. This thinking usually
leads to choosing a longer decimal point for a larger number, unless the first place of
the decimal point has a zero.

These difficulties are like children's difficulties in learning to count. They often
say, "... sixty-six, sixty-seven, sixty-eight, sixty-nine, sixty, sixty-one, sixty-two..."

2) Shorter - is - Larger misunderstandings

These students often choose shorter decimals to represent larger numbers. They do
so for a number of reasons. The first is the inability to reconcile the numerator and
denominator of fractions; others were related to students using false analogies
between fractions and negative numbers.

a) Denominator focus thinking

These students usually have a good knowledge of the names of positional values,
but they have difficulty reconciling the size of the numerator and denominator of a
fraction. For example, they know that 0.4 =4 tenths and 0.83= 83 hundredths. They
also know that one in ten is greater than one in a hundred. They mistakenly conclude
that 0.4 is greater than 0.83 because they only consider the size of the component (one
tenth or one hundredth), not how many components there are at the same time. That's
why we call them "denominator - centered" thinkers. These children need more help
reconciling the effects of numerator and denominator fractions (see fractional
fractions link). See the case study of "Ricardo," a denominator focused thinker. Let's
see how he counts with decimals.

b) Negative Thoughts

When a fourth-grade student was asked to say how long 0.9 meter was, she paused
for a long time, then held out her arm and pointed to her left. It's a long way, but in
another direction. He confused the length of 0.9 meters with the length of 9 meters.
For instance, some students put all decimals below zero like: 1.43, 1.5, 1.4, 0.01, 0.1,
0.9, 0.5, 0, 1, 2; and some people just put the zero point below zero such as 0.10, 0.01,

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0.9, 0.5, 0,1,2,1.4, 1.5, 1.43. This confusion is apparently more likely to occur after
students learn about negative numbers in school, but it can also happen to younger
children.

Negative thinkers may have forgotten the decimal connection; This has been
replaced by the distraction of new knowledge rather than never having heard of it.
Why do students confuse decimals and negative numbers? As mentioned elsewhere,
positional value names are somewhat symmetric around the ONES column. This
seems to remind some older students that the positive and negative parts of the
number line are symmetric about zero. This may predispose some of them to interpret
decimals as negative numbers. (More info). Another way to reduce this confusion is
to use horizontal and vertical number lines.

How to Overcome Difficulties and Misconceptions Pertaining to Fractions and

Decimals Highlighted; Suitability of Teaching-learning Activities and Resources
Selected

1) Fractions

The purpose of this study is to understand the misunderstandings of grade 4 students

about fractions. In addition, the effectiveness of cooperative learning in correcting
students' misconceptions about fractions is also discussed. Education will not be
ignored in the development of science and technology. In order not to misunderstand
the basic concepts in grades, teachers can use technology such as computers, cell
phones, tablets, etc. In order not to misunderstand the basic concepts in grades,
teachers can use technology such as computers, cell phones, tablets, etc. Why do I say
that? Since the global impact of the coronavirus, most schools have chosen to suspend
physical classes and start online classes. The execution of online courses requires
several applications such as computers and mobile phones. However, the
disadvantage of online classes is that teachers cannot take care of all the students,
because it is difficult to control the class with 30-40 students in a class of Chinese
Primary School. However, there is still a solution. There is about teachers should
learn how to use apps to create lessons that grab students' attention. Bright colors,
some cute cartoons and simple notes can help students learn fractions and decimals in
a short time. Bright colors, some cute cartoons and simple notes allow students to

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learn fractions and decimals in a short time. This also makes it easier for teachers to
assign homework to students. In addition, teachers can use the app to create games for
students. Therefore, students can also increase their impressions while playing. For
example:

2) Decimals

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It is important to consolidate students' understanding of decimal numbers in specific

activities. Without clear links linking concrete and familiar conceptual bases, students
often perceive the decimal system as a new symbol system representing new
concepts, rather than an extension of an already partially mastered numbering system.
Decimal numbers are scales in increments of ten. Certain operators, such as the
Deines block or the base ten block, are easily used to represent decimal numbers. The
blocks are similar to the more familiar Cuisenaire sticks, but are segmented to display
individual cells, in multiples of 10 increments. So ten singles in a row, ten in a flat,
ten flats in a cube.

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Using ten blocks, teachers can create activities similar to those described by the score
bars and cooking sticks. Practicing with concrete materials (e.g. ten blocks) should
begin before the introduction of symbolic symbols to determine the correct meaning
of the symbols used to represent decimal numbers.

Conclusion

Conceptually, fractions and decimals should be grounded in the "big idea" of division,
which will enable students to understand the interconnectedness of ideas across
problems, learning activities, and teachers. After a brief overview of recent research,
we propose general and specific strategies aimed at improving student performance in
fractions, decimals, and percentages. Fractions and decimals are important elements
of mathematics education, representing both the pinnacle of elementary mathematics
and the gateway to advanced mathematics. However, in addition to the teacher's
efforts, the students themselves have to practice to become familiar with the concepts
of fractions and decimals. Practice is important for developing math skills. When
students have multiple opportunities to use the computational procedures, reasoning
processes, and problem-solving strategies they are learning, the methods they use
become smoother, more reliable, and easier to understand. Practice alone is not
enough; it needs to be built on understanding and feedback.

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Part 11
Online participation

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