Search

Background:It has been shown that mathematical representations can aid children’s understanding of mathematical concepts but that children can sometimes have difficulty in interpreting them correctly. New advances in eye-tracking technology can help in this respect because it allows data to be gathered concerning children’s focus of attention and so indicate on what aspects of the representations they are focussing. However, recent eye-tracking technology has not been used to any great degree in investigating the way children view and interpret mathematical representations. Purpose: This research explored the use of new advances in eye-tracking technology in investigating how young children view and interpret mathematical representations of multiplication. Sample: Nine Year 5 children (four boys, five girls, aged 9–10 years of age) from a local primary (elementary) school in the North-East of England were asked to complete the test during school time. The children represented a range of attainment levels across the mathematical domain (three higher-, three middle- and three lower-attaining children) and were selected accordingly by their class teacher. We recognise that this study was only based on a small sample of children, however, this number still allowed us to make meaningful comparisons in particular between the different types of representations presented. Design and methods: The study consisted of each child looking at 18 static slides, one after the other, with each slide presenting a symbolic and a picture representation of multiplication problems. The data that was captured by the eye tracker and recorded was then analysed quantitatively (e.g. time on each slide, time on each area of interest specified within the software) and qualitatively (video recordings of each child’s gaze trajectory during each representation was carried out, thereby allowing a categorisation of the different approaches adopted). Results: The study showed that (a) the particular form of the number line representation used in this study was less successful than the other picture representations used (equal groups, array) in promoting multiplicative thinking in children, and (b) the success of children to think multiplicatively with the ‘groups’ and the array representation was related to their general mathematics attainment levels. Conclusion: These findings have implications for teacher practice in that teachers need to be clear about the possible drawbacks of particular representations. Even in using more successful representations, for lower-attaining children, the progression in their understanding of the representation needs to be taken into account by the teacher. The study also highlighted that the eye-tracking technology does have some limitations but is useful in investigating young children’s focus of attention whilst undertaking a mathematics assessment task. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: The research on diagrammatic representations highlights their importance for the teaching and learning of mathematics. However, the empirical evidence to support their use in the classroom is mixed and somewhat lacking. Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop the use of diagrammatic representations of mathematical concepts in primary classrooms, through introducing primary teachers to the research literature in this area, and researching the subsequent impact on children and teachers. A professional development programme was designed, involving three one-day training sessions for mathematics co-ordinators. They were asked to implement the ideas from the training back in their schools. Sample: Mathematics co-ordinators from eight primary schools attended the professional development programme. The study focussed on Year 3 pupils (aged seven–eight) and Year 5 pupils (aged nine–10). Design and methods: In this paper, we report the qualitative findings from the larger project looking at the overall impact of the professional development programme. The paper focuses on semi-structured interviews carried out with the mathematics co-ordinators attending the professional development sessions, and the Year 3 and Year 5 class teachers who subsequently worked with the co-ordinators on their use of diagrammatic representations in their teaching of mathematics. Lesson observations involving the class teachers were also carried out in order to explore further the possible impact of the project on classroom practice. Results: The qualitative results identified the impact of the project on mathematics co-ordinators and class teachers’ knowledge and practice. However, the nature of this impact was complex, with a variety of facilitating and hindering factors identified for the transfer of the professional development ideas on the use of diagrammatic representations. In addition, different levels of sophistication of class teachers’ use of diagrammatic representations were identified. Conclusions: Implications for the development of professional development programmes to facilitate the transfer of research into practice were identified. Recommendations for the use of diagrammatic representations are also put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]