Abstract:

Fractions are one of the most problematic area in teaching and learning mathematics. The reason why is still the question in a lot of studies (e.g. Behr et al, 1984; Wearne and Hiebert, 1988; Ni, 2001; Lamon, 2012; Pantziara and Philippou, 2011). In our article we focused on the investigation of pupils' strategies when solving one fraction task. The task was focused on finding a fraction between two fractions with consecutive denominators. The necessary knowledge which pupil have to master are order, equivalence and density of fractions. This task had the least successful in pupils´ solutions of output fraction test. The correct and incorrect solutions and answers were analyzed and quantitative evaluated. In the case of qualitative analysis we have focused on the reasons of misunderstanding and errors in pupils' solutions. They were connected with various interpretation and relation with fractions and decimal numbers. The research sample consisted of 930 fifteen years old pupil who were graduated at the elementary school. Data were collected in May and June 2017 at the 35 elementary schools in Slovakia.

Keywords:

Fractions, solution, strategies, equivalent fractions.