Research in Mathematical Education (한국수학교육학회지시리즈D:수학교육연구)

Korean Society of Mathematical Education (한국수학교육학회)
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The Development of the Components of the Length Measurement Concept in the Procedure of Measurement Using a Ruler

  • Antic, Milica D. (Primary School Branko Copic) ;
  • Dokic, Olivera J. (University of Belgrade)
  • Received : 2019.11.19
  • Accepted : 2019.12.21
  • Published : 2019.12.31
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Abstract

The research related to testing pupils' achievement in the field of Measurement and Measure in initial teaching of geometry points to an insufficient adoption of the basic components of the length measurement concept among pupils. In order to discover the cause, we looked at the basic components on which the procedure of measuring length using a ruler is based, highlighted the possibilities of introducing the procedure in measuring length, and determined pupils' achievement during the procedure of measuring length using a ruler. The research sample consisted of 145 pupils, out of which 72 were the 2nd grade pupils and 73 were the 4th grade pupils. A descriptive method was applied in the research. The technique we used was testing, and for the statistical data processing we used a χ2 test. The results of the research show that, when drawing a straight line of a given length using a ruler, there is no statistical difference in achievement between the 2nd and 4th grade pupils, nor in the pupils' knowledge regarding drawing a ruler independently, while drawing a straight line of a given length using a "broken" ruler 4th grade pupils are statistically better. The results of the research indicate that pupils' achievement is better in doing standard tasks than in non-standard ones, given that the latter require conceptual knowledge. The components of the concept of length measurement using ruler have not been sufficiently developed yet, and these include: zero-point, partitioning a measured object in a series of consecutive measurement units and their iteration. We shed more light on the critical stage in the procedure of length measurement - the transition from non-standard to standard units and the formation of the length measurement scale. For further research, we propose to look at the formation of the concept of length measurement using the ruler through all its components and their inclusion in the mathematics curriculum, as well as examining the correlation of pupils' achievement in the procedure of measuring length with their achievement in measuring area (and volume).

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References

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