Middle-School Students' Understanding of the Equal Sign: The Books They Read Can't Help

Autor/inn/en	McNeil, Nicole M.; Grandau, Laura; Knuth, Eric J.; Alibali, Martha W.; Stephens, Ana C.; Hattikudur, Shanta; Krill, Daniel E.
Titel	Middle-School Students' Understanding of the Equal Sign: The Books They Read Can't Help
Quelle	In: Cognition and Instruction, 24 (2006) 3, S.367-385 (19 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0737-0008
DOI	10.1207/s1532690xci2403_3
Schlagwörter	Middle School Students; Mathematical Concepts; Symbols (Mathematics); Context Effect; Textbooks; Algebra + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Middle school; Middle schools; Student; Students; Mittelschule; Mittelstufenschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Textbook; Text book; Schulbuch; Lehrbuch
Abstract	This study examined how 4 middle school textbook series (2 skills-based, 2 Standards-based) present equal signs. Equal signs were often presented in standard operations equals answer contexts (e.g., 3 + 4 = 7) and were rarely presented in nonstandard operations on both sides contexts (e.g., 3 + 4 = 5 + 2). They were, however, presented in other nonstandard contexts (e.g., 7 = 7). Two follow-up experiments showed that students' interpretations of the equal sign depend on the context. The other nonstandard contexts were better than the operations equals answer context at eliciting a relational understanding of the equal sign, but the operations on both sides context was best. Results suggest that textbooks rarely present equal signs in contexts most likely to elicit a relational interpretation--an interpretation critical to success in algebra. (Author).
Anmerkungen	Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. 10 Industrial Avenue, Mahwah, NJ 07430. Tel: 800-926-6579; Tel: 201-258-2200; Fax: 201-236-0072; e-mail: journals@erlbaum.com; Web site: https://www.erlbaum.com.
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10