This paper combines data from two different international research studies that used problem posing in analyzing elementary teacher candidates’ understanding of rational numbers. In 2007, a mathematics educator from the United States and a mathematician from Northern Ireland collaborated to investigate their respective elementary teacher candidates’ understanding of addition and division of fractions. A year later, the same US mathematics educator collaborated with a mathematics educator from South Africa on a similar research project that focused solely on the addition of fractions. The results of both studies show that elementary teacher candidates from the three different continents share similar misconceptions regarding the addition of fractions. The misconceptions that emerged were analyzed and used in designing teaching strategies intended to improve elementary teacher candidates’ understanding of rational numbers. The research also suggests that problem posing may improve their understanding of addition of fractions.

This paper combines data from two different international research studies that used problem posing in analyzing elementary teacher candidates’ understanding of rational numbers. In 2007, a mathematics educator from the United States and a mathematician from Northern Ireland collaborated to investigate their respective elementary teacher candidates’ understanding of addition and division of fractions. A year later, the same US mathematics educator collaborated with a mathematics educator from South Africa on a similar research project that focused solely on the addition of fractions. The results of both studies show that elementary teacher candidates from the three different continents share similar misconceptions regarding the addition of fractions. The misconceptions that emerged were analyzed and used in designing teaching strategies intended to improve elementary teacher candidates’ understanding of rational numbers. The research also suggests that problem posing may improve their understanding of addition of fractions.