Children's unit concepts in measurement: A teaching experiment spanning grades 2 through 5

Jeffrey E. Barrett; Craig Cullen; Julie Sarama; Douglas H. Clements; David Klanderman; Amanda L. Miller; Chepina Rumsey

doi:10.1007/s11858-011-0368-8

Children's unit concepts in measurement: A teaching experiment spanning grades 2 through 5

Jeffrey E. Barrett
, Craig Cullen
, Julie Sarama
, Douglas H. Clements
, David Klanderman
, Amanda L. Miller
, Chepina Rumsey

Learning and Instruction

Illinois State University
SUNY Buffalo
Trinity Christian College

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

27 Scopus citations

Abstract

We examined ways of improving students' unit concepts across spatial measurement situations. We report data from our teaching experiment during a six-semester longitudinal study from grade 2 through grade 5. Data include instructional task sequences designed to help children (a) integrate multiple representations of unit, (b) coordinate and group units into higher-order units, and (c) recognize the arbitrary nature of unit in comparison contexts and student's responses to tasks. Our results suggest reflection on multiplicative relations among quantities prompted a more fully-developed unit concept. This research extends prior work addressing the growth of unit concepts in the contexts of length, area, and volume by demonstrating the viability of level-specific instructional actions as a means for promoting an informal theory of measurement.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	637-650
Number of pages	14
Journal	ZDM - International Journal on Mathematics Education
Volume	43
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-011-0368-8
State	Published - Oct 2011

Keywords

Area
Formative assessment
Learning trajectory
Length
Measurement
Units
Volume

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10.1007/s11858-011-0368-8

Cite this

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abstract = "We examined ways of improving students' unit concepts across spatial measurement situations. We report data from our teaching experiment during a six-semester longitudinal study from grade 2 through grade 5. Data include instructional task sequences designed to help children (a) integrate multiple representations of unit, (b) coordinate and group units into higher-order units, and (c) recognize the arbitrary nature of unit in comparison contexts and student's responses to tasks. Our results suggest reflection on multiplicative relations among quantities prompted a more fully-developed unit concept. This research extends prior work addressing the growth of unit concepts in the contexts of length, area, and volume by demonstrating the viability of level-specific instructional actions as a means for promoting an informal theory of measurement.",

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AU - Miller, Amanda L.

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KW - Measurement

KW - Units

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Children's unit concepts in measurement: A teaching experiment spanning grades 2 through 5

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Keywords

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