Error and Misconceptions in Basic Mathematical Operations : Third and Fourth Graders in Vanuatu

The Vanuatu National Curriculum is currently enduring its reformation from an Objective base curriculum to the Outcome base approach. The previous curriculum is being substituted with the concept of the “Twin Brothers representing Vanuatu\u27s dual system of Francophone and Anglophone. This dual system had been harmonized to enhance pupil\u27s knowledge to create thinkers and problem solvers. In 2015, the new curriculum was introduced into the Education system beginning from the Grade 1 to Grade 4 levels. The other grades will progress along as the curriculum developers continued to work on them. The unique feature of this curriculum is the transition periods where pupils learned the National language (Bislama) or mother tongue at Grade 1 to Grade 3 and acquire the second language (English/French) later in Grade 4. This transition captured the interest to look into how students learning of mathematics will progress when they are transited from third to fourth grade. Thus, the purpose of this study was to discover students\u27 errors and misconceptions specifi cally in four basic mathematical operations within the transition grades. The study was conducted in three Primary schools in Port Vila. The data were collected via diagnostic test from 204 students who were in third and fourth Grade attending these schools. The test comprised of 30 questions and 40 questions sequentially, covering the four basic operations. The fi ndings revealed a wide range of frequent misconceptions students encountered when performing the four operations. Some of these misconceptions were, wrong place values in addition and subtraction, erroneous regrouping or no regrouping in addition and subtraction, addition error in multiplication, wrong multiplication and division expression and so forth. The study visualized these misconceptions as the evidence indicating the lack of comprehending fundamental concepts of basic operations, as well as the techniques in calculation of operations and their relationships and procedures among the transition graders