EDMA310: Learning and Teaching Mathematics 2

Jessica McQueen
S00144107

Gaining insights from research for classroom

planning
[Jessica McQueen]
Introduction:
Decimal fractions are a key area in the Australian Curriculum from
Year 4 and above. They are vital in other mathematic areas, other
curriculum areas and in everyday situations. However, research
shows that decimal fractions are a difficult concept for students and
even adults to completely understand. This literature review will
explore the key understandings, challenges associated with
decimals, misconceptions and the ways in which teachers can
support students in learning decimals.
Word Count: 72 words
Literature review:
Difficulty with decimal numeration is a long-standing and
international problem and requires the combination of whole
number place value and fractional understanding (Helme & Stacey,
2000, p.106).
Key Understandings/Concepts
Some key decimal understandings/concepts include understanding
place value beyond units. Students need to represent, compare and
order decimals using different models and connect fractions,
decimals and percentages (Victoria Curriculum and Assessment
Authority (VCAA), 2015). They need to recognise that numbers can
be divided and that decimals represent part of a whole (Irwin, 2000).
Students need to understand the numbers multiplicative nature but
cannot overgeneralise whole number understanding, like having an
overflow system for decimals (Irwin, 2000). Students need to apply
the operations, understand the meaning of the decimal point and
decimal density (Reys et al., 2012).

EDMA310: Learning and Teaching Mathematics 2

Jessica McQueen
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General misconceptions
Students have difficulty with decimals because they treat them like
whole numbers and rely on procedures to the detriment of number
sense(Roche & Clarke, 2004, p.486). Some students see decimals
as a discrete system because of using money as a context and focus
on rounding (Steinle & Stacey, 2001). Lack of decimal place value
understanding causes problems applying relational knowledge to
decimals, difficulties with benchmarking fraction equivalents, and a
lack of number sense when using decimal numbers in operations
(Hunter & Anthony, 2003, p.1). Possible misconceptions include:

Longer-is-larger

Shorter-is-larger

Adding a zero at the end makes it 10 times larger

Decimals are negative numbers

First decimal place value is oneths

One hundredth is 0.100

is 0.4 or 0.25

(Irwin, 2001)
Comparing and ordering misconceptions and student
strategies/thinking
Research suggests students struggle to compare decimals. Longeris-larger misconception decreases from 32% to 5% from year 5 to
10, meaning it is less common in adults (Stacey & Steinle, 1999).
The second misconception, shorter-is-larger remains between 10%
and 15%, suggesting it continues into adulthood (Stacey & Steinle,
1999).
These misconceptions contain student-thinking patterns. Longer-islarger includes string length thinking where students judge a
decimals size based on its length. This is based on whole number
thinking where zeros influence numbers length and size (Steinle &

EDMA310: Learning and Teaching Mathematics 2

Jessica McQueen
S00144107

Stacey, 1998). Reverse thinking is when students ignore the th

believing the decimal columns represent more whole numbers
written in the reverse order (Steinle & Stacey, 1998, p.549).
Numerator-focused thinkers disregard the size of parts but focus on
the number of parts meaning 4.2 and 4.02 are equivalent because
they have 4 wholes and 2 parts (Steinle & Stacey, 1998). An
improvement is zero makes smaller thinking, students understand a
zero in the first column makes numbers smaller (Steinle & Stacey,
1998). Right hand overflow which leads to the zero rule behaviour.
Students have developed column overflow like whole numbers
where 150 is 15 tens therefore they think 0.15 is 15 tenths (Steinle
& Stacey, 1998).
Shorter-is-larger includes denominator-focused thinking where
students judge a decimals size on place value. They understand
one tenth is larger than one hundredth but incorrectly believe any
number of tenths is greater than any number of hundredths (Steinle
& Stacey, 1998). Reciprocal thinkers attempt to connect decimals
with fractions but struggle as there is no explicit denominator
(Steinle & Stacey, 1998). Negative thinking involves students
confusing negative number notation with decimals. Therefore, they
think because 0.20 > 0.35 then

-20 > -35 (Steinle & Stacey,

1998).
Apparent-experts can correctly compare most decimals. Some have
a solid understanding and are less likely to use memorised
procedures, such as adding enough zeros to compare uneven
decimals and were more likely to use benchmarks (Roche &
Clarke, 2004, p.489). Whereas others follow rules with minimal
understanding (Steinle & Stacey, 1998).
Students who accurately compare decimals with minimal decimal
place value understanding may be truncation thinkers. They focus

EDMA310: Learning and Teaching Mathematics 2

Jessica McQueen
S00144107

on the first two decimal places and ignore the rest. This is an
appropriate approximation without considering the other digits
(Steinle & Stacey, 1998). Rounding thinking is an improvement
because the digits size after the first two decimal places is
considered, but following digits still have minimal meaning (Steinle
& Stacey, 1998).
Implications for teaching
Students learn best when teaching is connected to their lives and
contextualised as sometimes students resist unrelated pedagogy
(Irwin, 2011). Teachers need to find a balance because if tasks are
too closely linked to students lives they will use factors other than
mathematical ones. However, if they are too distant from their
experiences students will not associate problems with mathematics
or apply known mathematical skills without considering the
appropriateness of the answer (Irwin, 2001, p.401). Decimals need
to be taught in a way that is not too close or too distant from
students experiences.
Students benefit from sense-making through active engagement
and communication (Hunter & Anthony, 2003). Students learn best
in an individual and social environment meaning they need
opportunities to independently learn, but have time to construct
understanding together (Hunter & Anthony, 2003). Teachers should
use fractional language and consider that teaching students to
simply add zeros before teaching how to accurately compare
decimals is detrimental (Roche & Clarke, 2004).
Students require constant and timely feedback to improve their
understanding and skills (McIntosh, Stacey, Tromp & Lightfoot,
2000). Despite focused teaching, decimals continue to be difficult
because students use prior knowledge to make unsuitable
generalisations. There is no student-proof method, therefore

EDMA310: Learning and Teaching Mathematics 2

Jessica McQueen
S00144107

teachers need to adapt teaching to suit their students (Irwin & Britt,
2004).
Word Count: 880 words (including 10%)
Critique of the Curriculum:
The sub-strand Fractions and Decimals is introduced at Level 1 but
decimals are not part of this until students recognise the place
value system can be extended to tenths and hundredths at Level 4
(VCAA, 2015, p.27). This is extended and by Level 6 students apply
their understanding of decimals in multiple ways including the
operations. Students connect equivalent fractions, decimals and
percentages and understand that these represent the same number
in different ways (VCAA, 2015).
Only 25% of Year 4 students quickly develop an understanding of
decimals and 70% of students in Year 10 have a full understanding
(McIntosh et al., 2010). This indicates that not all students
understand decimals when they are first taught and, while this
number increases, there is still a significant number of students who
struggle to understand decimals.
The timing of decimals introduction into the curriculum causes
challenges and an earlier introduction would give students
additional time to explore and understand (Hunter & Anthony,
2003). Currently decimals are introduced at a time when students
and teacher no longer expect mathematics to be linked to students
experiences in the real world (Hunter & Anthony, 2003). Therefore,
students develop procedural understanding because, instead of
sense-making activities, they are engaged in a rule-based and
algorithmic framework (Hunter & Anthony, 2003, p.1). Students do
not have enough time developing foundational understandings
before learning higher order processes, like the operations.

EDMA310: Learning and Teaching Mathematics 2

Jessica McQueen
S00144107

Literature highlights the importance of multiple representations that

is part of the curriculum as students are expected to connect
decimals, fractions and percentages (VCAA, 2015). This is important
in developing students understanding because the power and
flexibility of the internal representations, including the richness of
the relationships among different kinds of representation, is central
to conceptual understanding (Hunter & Anthony, 2003, p.1).
Students struggle with ordering and comparing decimals because
they do not have appropriate strategies. A solution would be to
teach these strategies when decimals are introduced, therefore
reducing the likelihood of students developing misconceptions.
There would then be no need to spend time re-learning correct
strategies in Level 5. It is important to address these
misconceptions as soon as they arise because they may have a
detrimental effect on students understanding of other concepts
involving decimals.
Overall the curriculum addresses the key understandings, however
issues arise through the teaching of these which must be addressed
in order to improve student learning.
Word Count: 394 words (including 10%)
Conclusion:
Decimals are an important mathematical concept and research
suggests there are many students who struggle to understand it
properly. There are a number of misconceptions about decimals and
there is significant evidence to suggest some students struggle to
accurately compare decimals. There is a strong tendency for
students to believe that longer-is-larger or shorter-is-larger. Teachers
need to be aware of these misconceptions and teach decimals in a
way that allows students to develop a strong understanding of
decimals and its place value system.

EDMA310: Learning and Teaching Mathematics 2

Jessica McQueen
S00144107

Word Count: 83 words (including 10%)

Total Word count: 1429 words (including 10%)

References:
Helme, S., & Stacey, K. (2000). Can minimal support for teachers
make a difference to students understanding of decimals?.
Mathematics Teacher Education and Development, 2, 105
120.
Hunter, R., & Anthony, G. (2003). Percentages: A foundation for
supporting students understanding of decimals. In L. Bragg,
C. Campbell, G. Herbert, & J. Mousley (Eds.). Mathematics
education research: Innovation, networking, opportunity
(Proceedings of the 26th annual conference of the

EDMA310: Learning and Teaching Mathematics 2

Jessica McQueen
S00144107

Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Vol 1,

pp. 452 -459). Geelong, Vic: MERGA.
Irwin, K. (2000). Effective teaching of decimals: Evaluating teachers
practices. In J. Bana & A. Chapman (Eds.), Mathematics
education beyond 2000 (Proceedings of the 23rd annual
conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of
Australasia, Fremantle, pp. 339 - 346). Sydney: MERGA.
Irwin, K. (2001). Everyday knowledge of decimals to enhance
understanding. Journal for Research in Mathematics
Education, 32(4), 399-420.
Irwin, K., & Britt, M. (2004). Operating with decimal fractions as a
part-whole concept. In I. Putt, R. Faragher, & M. McLean (Eds.).
Mathematics education for the third millennium: Towards
2010 (Proceedings of the 27th annual conference of the
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McIntosh, J., Stacey, K., Tromp, C., & Lightfoot, D. (2010). Designing
constructivist computer games for teaching about decimal
numbers. In L. Sparrow, B. Kissane, & C. Hurst (Eds.). Shaping
the future of mathematics education (Proceedings of the 33rd
annual conference of the Mathematics Education Research
Group of Australasia, pp. 409 - 416). Fremantle, WA: MERGA.
Reys, R., Lindquist, M., Lambdin, D., Smith, N., Rogers, A., Falle, J.,
Frid, S., & Bennett, S. (2012). Helping children learn
mathematics (1st Australian ed.). Milton, Australia: John Wiley
& Sons.
Roche, A., & Clarke, D. (2004). When does successful comparison of
decimals reflect conceptual understanding? In I. Putt, R.
Faragher, & M. McLean (Eds.). Mathematics education for the
third millennium: Towards 2010 (Proceedings of the 27th
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Group of Australasia, Townsville, Vol 1, pp. 486 - 493). Sydney:
MERGA.
Stacey, K., & Steinle, V. (1999). Understanding decimals: The path to
expertise. In J. M. Truran & K. M. Truran (Eds.), Making the
difference. (Proceedings of the 22nd annual conference of The
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia,
Adelaide, pp. 446-453). Sydney : MERGA.
Steinle, V., & Stacey, K. (1998). The incidence of misconceptions of
decimal notation amongst students in grades 5 to 10. In C.
Kanes, M. Goos, & E. Warren (Eds.), Teaching mathematics in

EDMA310: Learning and Teaching Mathematics 2

Jessica McQueen
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new times. (Proceedings of the 21st annual conference of the

Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Vol 2,
pp. 548-555). Gold Coast. Sydney: MERGA.
Steinle, V., & Stacey, K. (2001). Visible and invisible zeros: Sources
of confusion in decimal notation. In J. Bobis, B. Perry, & M.
Mitchelmore (Eds.), Numeracy and beyond (Proceedings of the
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Victoria Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). (2015). The
AusVELS Curriculum Mathematics. Retrieved from
http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Print/AusVELS.pdf?
d=M&l=F&l=1&l=2&l=3&l=4&l=5&l=6&l=7&e=0&e=1&e=2
&e=3&e=4&e=5
**Note: If there is no volume or page numbers listed in the
references this is because they were not provided for that year.
Emailed Anne Roche on 7/10/15. PDF page numbers were used for
in-text citation quotes for Hunter & Anthony paper.