How Student Teachers Use Proportional Number Line to Teach Multiplication and Division of Fraction: Professional Learning in Context of Lesson Study and Open Approach
- 1 Centre of Excellence in Mathematics, CHE, Bangkok, Thailand
- 2 Programme in Mathematics Education, Faculty of Education, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thai-land
Abstract
The objective of this study is to examine how student teachers use proportional number line in teaching multiplication and division of fractions in context of lesson study and open approach. Teaching experiment was employed to conduct this case study qualitative research with two mathematics student teachers who participated in the study as case studies. This research was carried out in two sixth grade mathematics classrooms from two schools project innovated by lesson study and open approach in the second semester of 2012 academic year. Research data included lesson plans on multiplication and division of fractions, classroom observation with video tape recordings, students’ written works and interviewing with the student teachers. The results showed that the student teachers use proportional number line in three ways. Firstly, they use it for asking students to interpret the problems using proportional table aiming at writing equation of the problem correctly in the step of posing open-ended problem situation. Secondly, they use it as a tool for giving student think about how to calculate the answer by themselves. Thirdly, they use it for connecting and checking the various way of thinking about calculation of fractions. The student teachers conceived that learning to teach calculation of fraction with proportional number line is beneficial to their own professional learning in teaching through open approach and student learning and thinking proportionally thought to be the most complex of the elementary mathematics curriculum.
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