Learning fractions with understanding

This paper focuses on children’s understanding of fractions when quotient and part-whole interpretations were used. A teaching program was conducted with a 7-years-old class, from a public primary school, in Fafe, Portugal. This intervention program comprised seven sessions in which children learned fraction representation and compared fractions presented in quotient interpretation, followed by tasks of representation of fractions presented in part-whole interpretation. Results suggest that children can learn fractions with understanding when quotient interpretation is used, mastering the inverse relation between the divisor and the quotient when the dividend is constant, allowing them to compare fractions successfully.CIEC - unidade de investigação 317 da FC