Wanbegrippe ten opsigte van bewerkings met desimale breuke

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Research shows that misconceptions about calculations develop in many classrooms withoutbeing noticed and these are not corrected by repeated routine exercises. The misconceptionsformed are at times the result of inappropriate models used to solve problems. An evenbigger concern is that these particular models sometimes provide the correct answers byaccident. This may result in the learner's belief in the models being reinforced, as describedby Swan (n.d.).The aim of this study is to identify the misconceptions related to the use of decimal fractionsby Grade 8 and 9 learners and then, through the use of an intervention program, to addressthe learners' misconceptions and attempt to correct them.Two schools were involved in this study. The group of learners from school A served as acontrol group to determine the success of the intervention in learners from school B. Theresults of school A, the frequency and nature of errors were compared with the test results ofschool B as well as described by interviews with learners from school B. After the diagnostictests and interview, the learners' answers were compared with those already described inliterature.The learners from school B participated voluntarily in the intervention program. Learners fromboth schools wrote a post-test and the results were compared with those of a pre-test.The conclusion of this study is that there are misconceptions concerning calculations withdecimal fractions at Grade 8 and 9 level. These misconceptions are formed during theintermediate phase and are not suitably corrected. The intervention program, for variousreasons, had limited success. These reasons are discussed and recommendations are madefor future intervention programs.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University