INVESTIGATING PRESERVICE TEACHERS' SOLUTION STRATEGIES OF EQUIVALENCE
ITEMS
Jeffrey Shih
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Much of the research in rational number has centered around the idea of the fundamental subconstructs that underlie rational number. Equivalence has been proposed as a concept that unifies these subconstructs. Research has shown that preservice teachers lack fractions content knowledge. However, it has been shown that it is productive to build upon what they do know- teachers have similar intuitive knowledge of fractions concepts and operations as do children. In an effort to develop preservice teachers' knowledge of equivalence, it is productive to assess their current understanding.
This study examines the solution strategies of 270 preservice teachers for solving three equivalence problems. These three problems are variants of Kieren's Fraction Kit items. Not surprisingly, the majority of the solution strategies were procedural. The poster session will share these procedural solutions as well as preservice teachers' solutions that demonstrate conceptual understanding.