Hi I need help for my thesis.
My thesis is about teaching fraction concepts for primary pupils and I struggling to identify the appropriate constructivism learning approach.
I am not sure why you are focusing on a "constructivism learning approach", but, as your project is on teaching fraction concepts for primary pupils, you might be interested in this recent PhD thesis that I co-supervised:
George, L. G. (2017). Children's learning of the partitive quotient fraction sub-construct and the elaboration of the don't need boundary feature of the Pirie-Kieren theory. PhD Thesis. Southampton: University of Southampton.
You can download the thesis from my university's eprints server at:
Thesis Children's learning of the partitive quotient fraction sub-c...
Dear Nanteni,
As I see it, Piaget's constructivist theory might be a conceptual framework to give theoretical focus to your to your thesis.
Best regards,
Orlando
Hi Nanteni,
There may be many different approaches to bring-out with the students' existing concepts on fractions. For example, the teacher may ask about students' experience of having pizza at home. It is usually delivered into pieces. Teachers may ask the students about how many pieces were there when they ate some. Other relevant questions may be about how many pieces one student had, how many other persons were there and so on. The teacher then may summarize with the concept of fraction and, finally, introduce the fraction characteristics and operational laws to the students and something new to learn.
All the best to your thesis.
Hi Keith Jones,
My supervisor asked me to find a suitable approach to teach concept of fraction. For instance, for problem solving there's Polya approach hence I need to identify one approach too.
I appreciate that you might need to find a suitable approach to teaching fractions. Perhaps you could share the different approaches you have considered and your reasons for choosing one particualr approach.
Dear Nanteni,
Your question is absolutely interesting and it is always a pleasure to see people worried about best teaching outcomes in early schooling stages.
I believe that when working new concepts that have a strong grasp in everyday life competencies, specially with younger kids, a down-to-earth, hands-on approach is always preferable. If you think of Vygotsky's socio-constructivist theory, in a hands-on activity such as the pizza sharing, suggested above by Mr. Rajib Das, you are the most experienced peer who will lead the activities toward the comprehension of what a fraction is.
The kids, when they come to our classrooms, are not totally ignorant of fraction concepts though they may not know them by the name. They have experimented with division, they have shared pizzas, sandwiches, they have separated their toys according to criteria they chose... What the most experienced peer does, then, is to help them systematize these previous experiences into new categories of knowledge, expanding their zones of potential learning by the acquisition of new vocabulary and practical knowledge.
Moreover, I would like to suggest the reading of "Effect of Teaching of Fractions through Constructivist Approach on Learning Outcomes of Public Sector Primary Schools Teacher", which you can find here: http://www.pu.edu.pk/images/journal/ier/PDF-FILES/2_Ilyas,%20Wasim%20&%20Khalid_V36-no1-2014.pdf.
Hope to have helped you. Best regards, from Brazil!
Hi Mr. Marcus Vinícius Santos Kucharski,
Thank you for sharing the journal and answer.
Have a good day ahead.
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