부산대학교 도서관

Research shows that some teachers overgeneralize the whole number rule of “multiplication always makes bigger” to multiplication with fractions. The present study explores this misconception not only with fractions with unfamiliar denominators (e.g., thirty-fifths) but also fractions with familiar denominators (e.g., halves) and evaluates an intervention for remediating the misconception. In- and pre-service teachers (N = 100) completed a direction of effects task prior to and after random assignment to either read a control text or a refutation text that directly refuted the misconception. The misunderstanding was present among items with unfamiliar and familiar denominators, demonstrating the pervasiveness of the misconception. Overall, the intervention was found to be effective, showing promise of refutation texts for promoting teachers’ mathematics conceptual change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]