ERIC Number: EJ1396207
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-8251
EISSN: EISSN-1945-2306
Unit Transformation Graphs: Modeling Students' Mathematics in Meeting the Cognitive Demands of Fractions Multiplication Tasks
Norton, Anderson; Ulrich, Catherine; Kerrigan, Sarah
Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, v54 n4 p240-259 2023
This article introduces unit transformation graphs (UTGs) as a tool for diagramming the ways students use sequences of mental actions to solve mathematical tasks. We report findings from a study in which we identified patterns in the ways preservice elementary school teachers relied on working memory to coordinate mental actions when operating in fraction multiplication settings. UTGs account for the constraint of working memory in sequencing mental actions to solve mathematical tasks. They also explain the power of units coordinating structures in offloading demands on working memory. At the end of the article, we consider some of the research implications for these findings--specifically, ways that UTGs can lend explanatory and illustrative power to analyses of students' mathematics.
Descriptors: Graphs, Fractions, Short Term Memory, Preservice Teachers, Teacher Education Programs, Elementary School Teachers, Multiplication, Mathematics Instruction, Problem Solving, Cognitive Processes, Task Analysis
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. 1906 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191. Tel: 800-235-7566; Tel: 703-620-9840; Fax: 703-476-2570; e-mail: publicationsdept@nctm.org; Web site: https://pubs.nctm.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A