37 92 19 40 19
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21 1 7
22 1/5 6/30 5/3030
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26 1 2
27 1 2
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30 5 8 8 3
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39 A Study Investigating Elementary School Students Concept of the Unit in Fraction in Northern Taiwan Cheng-shung Yu Ta Yeh Elementary School, Taoyuan City, Teacher Yuh-Chyn Leu National Taipei Teachers College, Department of Mathematics Education, Professor Hong-Yih Wu Ta Kan Elementary School, Pa-Li Hsiang, Taipei, Teacher Shih-Neng Liu Abstract This study is to investigate elementary school students understanding of the unit in fraction in northern Taiwan. The research methods are paper-and-pencil tests and one-by-one semi-structural interviews. The research object included students in first grade to sixth grade. The numbers of students in each grade respectively from first to sixth grade were 192,193,176,199,199,195 and the total number of students was 1154. The research result revealed if the unit amount first and second graders dealt with was an even number, the difficulties for them to mark half of the unit amount were the same among first and second graders. If the unit amount the lower graders asked to mark half of was an odd number, the difficulty was much higher than the case in which the unit amount was even. It was easier for middle-graders to solve a problem described literally to get one half of the unit than to solve a problem described with the symbol 1/2. The learning of fraction would cause students misunderstanding of unit. It was more difficult for students to solve problems demostrated by symbol than problems illustrated by figures. About 10.6% of the fifth graders couldn t connect fractions with the result of a division operation. Students who had learned reference amount and compared amount could solve more easily problems about unit in fraction. About 19.5~58.5of the students inclined to suppose by themselves that every fraction in the same context had the same unit. About 36.2~40.5of the higher graders couldn t exclude extra information when dealing with a problem in which amount was larger than unit.
40 According to the research results, this research will bring up some suggestions for the material, teaching, and assessment of unit in fraction and future researches. Key words : the concept of fraction, unit, elementary school students