Middle grade students' abilities in translating among representations of fractions

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Eğitim Fakültesi, Matematik ve Fen Bilimleri Eğitimi Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2006

Öğrenci: GÖNÜL KURT

Danışman: ERDİNÇ ÇAKIROĞLU

Özet:

The aim of the study is two fold: (1) to determine middle grade students̕ abilities in translating among representations of fractions concept and (2) to investigate the effect of grade level and gender on students̕ abilities in translating among representations. In this study the أTranslations among Representations Abilities Test (TRAT)ؤ was developed and used as a measuring instrument. The study was conducted in 19 randomly selected public elementary schools throughout Yenimahalle and Çankaya districts of Ankara with a total of 1456 sixth, seventh, and eight grade students in 2005-2006 fall semester. Each student̕s responses which were considered as incorrect were examined according to their grade levels. Based on the findings, the most frequent incorrect response types, the easiest, and the most difficult items were identified. In addition to these findings, two-way analysis of variance model (ANOVA) was used in order to investigate the effects of grade level and gender on students̕ total scores on the TRAT. To the results of the examinations of students̕ responses, it was seen that students̕ abilities in translating among representations of fractions were low. The most frequent incorrect responses were seen in translations which include number line models and region models representing improper fractions. The lowest mean score was belonged to the sixth graders; while the highest mean score was belong to the eighth graders. Results of the statistical analyses revealed that grade level had a statistically significant main effect on students̕ abilities in translating among representations. Additionally, it was seen that, female students had higher mean scores on the TRAT than males.