EDMA360 Mathematics: Learning and Teaching Mathematics 2, 2016 Assignment 1

Report

After the completion of the rational number interview it can be noted that Rachel is

capable of turning words into a decimal. She successfully represented two tenths by

using the cards 0.2 and was also able to do so for 27 thousandths, ten tenths and 27

tenths. Rachel also demonstrated that she was able to give a correct equivalent

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fraction of by stating . From this she was then able to connect
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to a fraction and percentage representing it as 0.06 and 6% respectively.

Furthermore on Rachels decimal knowledge she was able to correctly identify the

larger decimal of 10 pairs of numbers. For example she knew that 0.3 is bigger than

0.217 and that 0.123 is larger than 0.09. From her answers you can see that she isnt

court up in the misconception that longer is larger. Rachel was also able recognise

that 80.1 would produce a larger answer than 80.1. Not only this but she was able

to solve both equations with a satisfactory explanation. She use multiplicative

thinking to find out how many times 0.1 goes into 1and then multiplied it by 8 to get

the answer of 80 (division equation) which she new was more than 0 .8, the answer

for the multiplication equation.

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Rachel demonstrated the concept of residual thinking when comparing and
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to find which was largest. She knew that only needed one eighth to make
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1, whereas needed five eights to make a whole. She was looking at how much
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more each fraction needed to make a whole (residual thinking) and then compared
EDMA360 Mathematics: Learning and Teaching Mathematics 2, 2016 Assignment 1

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those values to conclude that is in fact bigger. Rachel used this concept as she
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said they both have the same denominator so it was easy to compare and find their

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residuals.
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Rachel named 0.9 as decimal between 0.1 and 0.11, which is not correct. Rachel

needed to have stated any number beginning with 0.10She incorrectly said that

there is only 9 decimal numbers between the two, but the correct answers is that there

are heaps of possible numbers. She treated the decimal numbers as if they were whole

numbers 1 and 9. She may need to further develop her value of decimals knowledge

to understand that when numbers are in the decimal places the values arent the same

as if they were whole numbers or in the ones and tens place.