Fun with Fractions!

5.5-7.5 year-old children

In this study, your child will play a game with a character who needs help matching fraction numbers to pictures that appear onscreen. We will also ask you to have a brief conversation about objects that do or do not display fractions with your child as part of the study. At the end of the experiment, you will be asked to share your thoughts about math and math activities in a short survey.

This study investigates how children interact with fractions in different visual formats. Fractions take a variety of forms in our everyday world, and previous research suggests that children start learning about fractions in their daily environments even before the concept is formally taught in school. Less is known about how this informal learning about fractions occurs. In this study, we will ask your child to match fractions with pictures of those fractions in different formats. We will also ask you and your child to discuss questions about real-world objects that do or do not display fractions. We want to better understand the possible interplay between learning real-world examples and different formats that fractions can be presented in. Discovering which formats and types of examples are most beneficial to building children’s fraction knowledge will help inform practical efforts to teach fractions effectively and add to a theoretical understanding of how children think about new concepts that involve numbers.

20 minutes

Families will be compensated with a $5 Amazon gift card via email within two weeks following your participation in the study. Compensation will be provided only if (1) a valid parental/guardian consent recording is submitted and (2) a child whose age falls within the listed age range is visible during the study. Compensation can only be received once per child. Please note that these gift cards are often only redeemable at the US version of this online retailer and if you live outside of the United States, you may not be able to redeem them. You are also welcome to participate without compensation if desired.