Studien fokuserar på multiplikativt tänkande hos elever i årskurs 3. Multiplikativt tänkande är abstrakt (Clark & Kamii, 1996) och innebär användning av strategier för lösningar av multiplikations- och divisionsuppgifter. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur elever använder sig av olika strategier inom multiplikativt tänkande vid multiplikation och division. Studien har inspirerats av Grounded Theory. Utifrån teorierna gjordes en semistrukturerad intervju, observationer samt en analys av data. I studien deltog åtta elever i intervjuerna och en pilotstudie inledde undersökningen. Materialet som samlades in bestod av elevernas lösningar av multiplikations- och divisionsuppgifter, anteckningar från observationer av elevernas lösningar samt ljudinspelade intervjuer. Resultatet visar att nästan alla elever använde sig av en additiv strategi i lösningar av multiplikations- och divisionsuppgifter. Det visade även att det endast var fyra av åtta elever som kunde uppvisa förståelse av ett samband mellan de två räknesätten. Resultatet visar att eleverna har olika strategier och lösningar inom multiplikativt tänkande även om de har haft samma matematikundervisning. / This study focuses on multiplicative thinking among pupils in grade 3. Multiplicative thinking is abstract (Clark & Kamii, 1996), involving applying strategies to solve multiplication and division tasks. The purpose of this study is to examine how pupils use different strategies within multiplicative thinking for multiplication and division. This study was inspired by Grounded Theory. From this theory, a number of semi-structured interviews, observations and analysis of data were made. Eight pupils participated in the interviews, after an initial pilot study. The collected material was based on the pupils' solutions of tasks in multiplication and division, notes from observations of the pupils' solutions and audiotaped interviews. The results show that almost every pupil uses an additive strategy in their solutions of multiplication and division tasks. It also show that only four out of eight pupils could show understanding 0f the connection between the two basic arithmetic operations. From the results, the pupils showed different strategies and solutions within multiplicative thinking, even though they have had the same mathematic education.

Ratio is one of the key mathematics concepts included in the South African Mathematics curriculum. It is applied in other topics of the Grade 7 curriculum, including geometry, functions and relationships, algebra, similarity and congruency. The aim of this qualitative research study was to explore the difficulties that learners experience in learning ratio. The primary research question for the study was: What is Grade 7 learners’ knowledge of ratio? This research question was answered through the following secondary research questions: How do learners solve problems involving ratio? What is learners’ conceptual knowledge of ratio? And what learning difficulties do learners experience when learning about ratio? The study was informed by Kilpatrick, Swafford and Findell’s (2001) five strands of mathematical proficiency; however, the focus was on conceptual and procedural knowledge of ratio. The interpretivist paradigm and the single exploratory case study design were used to gain insight into the learning of ratio. Data was collected from Grade 7 learners (23 of the 35 learners originally sampled) through a self-developed test that followed the prescripts of the Grade 7 Mathematics curriculum in South Africa and through semi-structured interviews. The test scripts were analysed using the Atlas.tiTM windows coding system and the results were used to construct questions for the semi-structured interviews. The interviews were used to corroborate data emerging from the test. The results of the study indicated that Grade 7 learners can do simple and routine manipulations of ratio as well as non-proportional ratio problems but struggle to solve problems that require multiplicative thinking and proportional reasoning skills. Although there could be other factors contributing to learners’ struggle to tackle proportional ratio problems requiring multiplication and proportional reasoning, a lack of conceptual knowledge seemed to contribute significantly. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd / Unrestricted

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While there has been research on development of multiplicative reasoning, and how to teach multiplication facts, there is little research on how children consider they learn these. This study explores the children's learning as they consider how they commit their multiplication facts to memory, discover calculation strategies and develop multiplicative thinking. A group of eleven Year 4 children (8 years old) participated in a series of 13 lessons where they became coresearchers in the exploration of their learning. A contextually based thematic approach was provided through 'Crocodilian Studies'. The mixed-method approach to this study included formal assessment, participant observation, individual interviews, the children's written ideas, and individual case studies. The most significant finding of this study was the powerful influence of peer learning. The children enriched and directed each other's learning as they shared ideas and reflected on their own mathematical learning as they observed and critiqued the thinking of peers. As the children were involved in thinking about how they learn they were able to identify gaps and construct their own learning pathways. A significant finding was that children can develop their multiplicative strategies while they commit their multiplication facts to memory, in a relatively short time provided that the learning process facilitates strategy development and understanding. By exposing the children to multiplication facts in sequenced clusters provided them with a manageable number of facts to be learnt at one time. Another finding related to how children develop calculation strategies through lesson activities rather than being explicitly taught them. The children considered practice important for memorisation. Parental support was significant in enriching the children's learning.

Conceptions of area and volume of pupils at the elementary school Veronika Tůmová ABSTRACT: The aim of my thesis is to investigate how the conceptions of area and volume are built, what the major pitfalls and problems are, what skills and strategies are helpful for solving problems and what are the frequent unsuccessful strategies and pupils' misconceptions. I used the concept of the hypothetical learning trajectory as a tool to describe this process. Based on existing research review, I compiled two hypothetical learning trajectories - one for area and one for volume. The crucial building blocks that were identified based on these trajectories are: space abilities, structuration of space into arrays of units and multiplicative thinking. A test was designed to measure these factors and the correlation of these factors with success in volume and area problems ranged from week (multiplicative thinking) to very strong (spatial abilities). These findings confirm that these factors constitute an important part of the hypothetical learning trajectory for both concepts. Several structuration tasks were selected to investigate pupils' structuration skills and mistakes in more detail. Three main categories of problems were identified in the pupils' solutions: incorrect space structuration, disconnection between...