Delaware Longitudinal Study of Fraction Learning: Implications for Helping Children With Mathematics Difficulties.

Delaware Longitudinal Study of Fraction Learning: Implications for Helping Children With Mathematics Difficulties. J Learn Disabil. 2016 Aug 9; Authors: Jordan NC, Resnick I, Rodrigues J, Hansen N, Dyson N Abstract The goal of the present article is to synthesize findings to date from the Delaware Longitudinal Study of Fraction Learning. The study followed a large cohort of children (N = 536) between Grades 3 and 6. The findings showed that many students, especially those with diagnosed learning disabilities, made minimal growth in fraction knowledge and that some showed only a basic grasp of the meaning of a fraction even after several years of instruction. Children with low growth in fraction knowledge during the intermediate grades were much more likely to fail to meet state standards on a broad mathematics measure at the end of Grade 6. Although a range of general and mathematics-specific competencies predicted fraction outcomes, the ability to estimate numerical magnitudes on a number line was a uniquely important marker of fraction success. Many children with mathematics difficulties have deep-seated problems related to whole number magnitude representations that are complicated by the introduction of fractions into the curriculum. Implications for helping students with mathematics difficulties are discussed. PMID: 27506551 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Journal of Learning Disabilities - Category: Disability Authors: Tags: J Learn Disabil Source Type: research