Abstract

IVARS, Pere  and  FERNANDEZ, Ceneida. Multiplicative structure problems: Evolution of students' levels of success and strategies from 6 to 12 years. Educ. mat. [online]. 2016, vol.28, n.1, pp.9-38.  Epub Apr 08, 2022. ISSN 2448-8089.  https://doi.org/10.24844/em2801.01.

The aim of this study is to characterize the evolution of the levels of success and strategies used by primary school students (6-12 years old) when solving multiplicative structure problems. Results show that students between 6-8 years old used mostly modelling and counting strategies, but after the third course, the majority of students used the algorithm. However, the use of the algorithm did not imply a decrease of the use of incorrect strategies and encouraged the appearance of a new incorrect strategy, the use of the inverse algorithm. These data suggest that the introduction of the algorithm to solve multiplicative structure problems is linked to a decrease in the use of other correct strategies that involved a proper understanding of the situation, but it does not entail an improvement in students' understanding of these situations.

Keywords : Multiplicative structure problems; strategies; Primary Education; evolution; algorithm.