Session Information
Other (please specify below)
Abstract of proposed session
The objective of this session is to engage mathematics teacher educators in a discussion of how to assess an understanding of the concept of multiplication as an operation and its relationships to other operations. The session will begin with a presentation of a previously published study assessing children’s understanding of multiplication as grouping and the relationship between multiplication and addition. The assessment asked a series of problems involving words, pictures, and numbers. The results of the study indicate that the types of problems asked were successful in providing evidence of children’s understanding of multiplication. The study also found that a group of third grade children had developed a better understanding of multiplication after just one multiplication unit from Investigations in Number, Data, and Space than a comparable group of fourth grade children had developed from an entire year of a traditional emphasis on memorizing multiplication facts. An interactive discussion of potential uses of this study and its assessment format in teacher education will follow the presentation.
Keywords
Mathematics teacher educators, Multiplication, Words, Pictures, Numbers
Recommended Citation
Smith, Marvin E. and Smith, Stephanie Z., "Paper 4: Assessing Understanding of Multiplication through Words, Pictures, and Numbers" (2007). Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (GAMTE) Annual Conference. 5.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gamte/2007/proceedings/5
Included in
Science and Mathematics Education Commons, Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons
Paper 4: Assessing Understanding of Multiplication through Words, Pictures, and Numbers
The objective of this session is to engage mathematics teacher educators in a discussion of how to assess an understanding of the concept of multiplication as an operation and its relationships to other operations. The session will begin with a presentation of a previously published study assessing children’s understanding of multiplication as grouping and the relationship between multiplication and addition. The assessment asked a series of problems involving words, pictures, and numbers. The results of the study indicate that the types of problems asked were successful in providing evidence of children’s understanding of multiplication. The study also found that a group of third grade children had developed a better understanding of multiplication after just one multiplication unit from Investigations in Number, Data, and Space than a comparable group of fourth grade children had developed from an entire year of a traditional emphasis on memorizing multiplication facts. An interactive discussion of potential uses of this study and its assessment format in teacher education will follow the presentation.
