Räkna med bråk i skolan -- En litteraturstudie om elevers inlärning av bråkräkning i skolan

Abstract

Fractions and fraction calculation, is something that students seem to have problems with, even though it is a subject that is following them from the early ages of preschool, all the way up to the upper secondary school, which is something that both PISA and TIMSS studies can agree on. This literature study has its focus in the mathematics of upper secondary school, where problems and misconceptions regarding fractions become apparent, compared with the elementary school. The Swedish curriculum LGY11 does not even mention the word fraction once, even though it is a huge part of the mathematics of the upper secondary school. Almost all series of literature have chapters specifically involving fractions, even though it is not required form the curriculum. Studies made by didactics have proven that calculation with fractions is much more complicated than it seems at first glance and that it requires a solid foundation of mathematical understanding, which is something that not all students or teachers possess. This thesis also includes a fundamental mathematical construction of fractions to prove the concepts of mathematical rules that can be applied in fraction calculations. Our conclusion, is that the problems regarding fraction calculation, has its roots during the elementary school, where the foundation of mathematical understanding is created. We highlight some of the aspects regarding the understanding of the mathematics of fractions, and compare them with teaching materials of the upper secondary school.