Witherspoon, Mary Lou

Fractions: In Search of Meaning
Arithmetic Teacher

v40 n8 p482-85 Apr 1993

Reports results of interviews in which students were asked to illustrate three interpretations of fractions: a unit subdivided into equal-sized parts; a set subdivided into equal-sized parts; and a ratio. Two areas of difficulty in giving reasonable representations are discussed. Proposes teaching suggestions to overcome these difficulties.

UMI