LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.
Department of Neurology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
PLoS One. 2023 Jan 31;18(1):e0281241. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281241. eCollection 2023.
Recent research indicated that fraction understanding is an important predictor of later mathematical achievement. In the current study we investigated associations between basic numerical skills and students' fraction processing. We analyzed data of 939 German secondary school students (age range = 11.92 to 18.00 years) and evaluated the determinants of fraction processing considering basic numerical skills as predictors (i.e., number line estimation, basic arithmetic operations, non-symbolic magnitude comparison, etc.). Additionally, we controlled for general cognitive ability, grade level, and sex. We found that multiplication, subtraction, conceptual knowledge, number line estimation, and basic geometry were significantly associated with fraction processing beyond significant associations of general cognitive ability and sex. Moreover, relative weight analysis revealed that addition and approximate arithmetic should also be considered as relevant predictors for fraction processing. The current results provide food for thought that further research should focus on investigating whether recapitulating basic numerical content in secondary school mathematics education can be beneficial for acquiring more complex mathematical concepts such as fractions.
最近的研究表明，分数理解是后期数学成就的一个重要预测指标。在目前的研究中，我们调查了基本数学技能与学生分数处理之间的关联。我们分析了 939 名德国中学生的数据（年龄范围为 11.92 至 18.00 岁），并考虑了基本数学技能作为预测指标（即数字线估计、基本算术运算、非符号大小比较等）来评估分数处理的决定因素。此外，我们还控制了一般认知能力、年级和性别。我们发现，乘法、减法、概念知识、数字线估计和基本几何与分数处理显著相关，超过了一般认知能力和性别的显著关联。此外，相对权重分析表明，加法和近似算术也应被视为分数处理的相关预测指标。目前的结果表明，进一步的研究应该关注调查在中学数学教育中重新教授基本数学内容是否有助于获得更复杂的数学概念，如分数。
