ERIC Number: EJ1445689
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Nov
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1863-9690
EISSN: EISSN-1863-9704
First Encounter with Constructing Graphs in the Functional Thinking Approach to School Algebra in 3rd and 4th Grades
ZDM: Mathematics Education, v56 n6 p1059-1078 2024
Given the relevance of graphs of functions, we consider their inclusion in primary education from the functional approach to early algebra. The purpose of this article is to shed some light on the students' production and reading of graphs when they solved generalization problems from a functional thinking approach. We aim to explore how 3rd and 4th graders construct graphs associated to functions and what elements they use; and how they read function associated graphs and whether they connect pairs of values to see beyond the data. After four working sessions about functions, we designed and implemented individual interviews to 12 students. Through a qualitative analysis, we highlight that the students can read data in a graph on two different cognitive levels and also construct it from different elements of the graph initially provided. Regarding data reading, we evidence two levels: (a) literal reading of a given element in the graph, and (b) reading beyond the data. The construction of the graph is described with base on the axes, values and labels on the axes, scale of the axes, and construction techniques. We present examples of students' work that evidence that graph construction varied depending on whether it was created from a blank sheet or it was necessary to provide help regarding the axes or the scale of the graph. We describe several techniques used by the students in the representation of data that yield non-canonical representations of a graph and that help glimpse how students are interpreting this representation.
Descriptors: Elementary School Mathematics, Elementary School Students, Grade 3, Grade 4, Graphs, Algebra, Problem Solving, Thinking Skills, Inferences, Mathematics Skills, Generalization, Associative Learning
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Information Analyses; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Early Childhood Education; Grade 3; Primary Education; Grade 4; Intermediate Grades
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A