Graduation Year
2016
Graduation Month
May
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts – Education
School or Department
Curriculum and Instruction
Major
Education – Elementary Education
Faculty Mentor Department
Mathematical Sciences
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Matt Roscoe
Keywords
elementary education, mathematics, prime numbers, Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic, factors, prime factorization
Subject Categories
Curriculum and Instruction | Educational Methods | Science and Mathematics Education
Abstract
Research on pre-service elementary school teachers’ understanding of the multiplicative structure of the natural numbers demonstrates an under-utilization of unique prime factorization in the identification of a number’s factors. For example, Zazkis and Campbell (1996b) found that a majority of teacher candidates employed trial division to analyze factor-candidates of a number, even when both were presented in prime-factored-form. Recent studies (i.e. Roscoe & Feldman, 2015) have shown that teachers’ understanding of factor can be strengthened by engaging in a sequence of instructional tasks that explore the relationship between a number’s prime factorization and its factors. This study seeks to extend the scope of investigation in this area to the population of elementary school students. The research questions addressed by the study are:
1. To what extent do elementary school students under-utilize unique prime factorization in the identification of a number’s factors?
2. How is elementary students’ usage of unique prime factorization in the identification of a number’s factors similar to, or different from, that of pre-service elementary school teachers as identified in the research literature?
3. Which instructional tasks strengthen elementary school students’ understanding of the use of prime factorization in the identification of a number’s factors?
Researchers conducted teaching experiments in two elementary school mathematics classrooms. A mix-methods analysis of quantitative pre- and post-test data and qualitative student work was employed.
Honors College Research Project
Yes
Recommended Citation
Frotz, Jordan R., "Strengthening Elementary Students' Understanding of Factors" (2016). Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts. 25.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/utpp/25
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Science and Mathematics Education Commons
© Copyright 2016 Jordan R. Frotz
Comments
This thesis was submitted in May 2015.