Mental computation with rational numbers and number sense development
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48489/quadrante.23017Keywords:
mental computation, number sense, rational numbers, students’ strategiesAbstract
The development of students’ mental computation is closely related to the development of number sense. In this article, we aim to understand which number sense components are reflected in grade 6 students’ mental computation strategies with rational numbers. The analysis stands on the knowledge and skills that students show about numbers and their operations, and on its use in computational situations. The methodology is qualitative with a design-based research approach. The participants are 39 grade 6 students, two teachers and a researcher. The data were collected through audio and video recordings of mental computation lessons that were later transcribed for analysis. The results show that students’ mental computation strategies with rational numbers reflect number sense. These strategies focus on the use of a diversity of numerical relationships, among them the relation between different rational numbers representations and operations, which allows students to compare numbers and understand their magnitude. Changing representations has an important role in the construction of mental computation strategies with rational numbers showing students’ number sense.
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