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CHILDREN’S SOLUTIONS TO PARTITION PROBLEMS

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CHILDREN’S SOLUTIONS TO PARTITION PROBLEMS

Author: Joanne Mulligan

Publication Year: 1992

Abstract

Children's solutions to ten different multiplication and division word problem structures were analysed at four interview stages in a 2-year longitudinal study (Mulligan, 1992). The study followed 70 children from Year 2 into Year 3, from the time they had received no formal instruction in multiplication or division to the stage where they were being taught basic multiplication facts. A Teaching Experiment that encouraged children to represent a range of multiplication and division situations through language, modelling, drawing, symbolising and reflective writing, was conducted with 10 children in the later part of the Longitudinal study. This paper reports the findings for the division Partition problems revealing that children very rarely used a sharing one-by-one (dealing) strategy at any . stage in the Longitudinal Study or Teaching Experiment. Instead, a variety of counting and grouping strategies such as estimation and grouping, one-tomany correspondence and trial-and error' grouping procedures was used. Knowledge of addition facts and skip (multiple) counting assisted children in forming equivalent groups.

Type: Research Paper

JOANNE MULLIGAN
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