Introduction
“In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.” - Baba Dioum, a Senegalese forestry engineer. This quote was shared during one of the lectures this summer. The quote spoke to me regarding teaching math because I hated mathematics, and I did not conserve all that I learned. However, as time went on, I was able to get extra help and it helped me understand some basic math skills because of what was taught to me once I had a teacher who took the time to work with me. How many times has a child thought that 1\4 was bigger than ½? I am sure most students who have not had any explicit teaching on fractions thought so. I was one of those students who thought that ¼ was larger than ½ because 4 is bigger than 2. I did not fully understand until someone broke it down to me about sharing objects.
Fractions can be a huge challenge, maybe even a painful experience for students, especially struggling learners. I know from experience that students do not learn what they do not understand. I believe that fractions do not make sense to students because they lack basic math skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Students struggled with skip counting and using mental math. I remember hating fractions as well. Fractions were introduced in the third grade when I was a kid. For most of that year, I did not have a teacher. My introduction to fractions was not a good start. I only had a teacher for half the year in fourth grade and an uncertified teacher in fifth grade. I remember finally learning about fractions in summer school during the fifth-grade year. I struggled with math throughout my school years. I learned through procedural methods, so it did not stick. How can I make fractions understandable and maybe even painless for students?
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