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Aspect 7: Measurement
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Introduction
A measurement results from dividing a continuous quantity, such as length, area or volume, into identical units and determining the number of units. This allows continuous quantities to be compared with other quantities of the same type. To measure a continuous quantity, such as the length of a desk, the length has to be partitioned into units that can be counted by either repeating the unit along the length, or subdividing the length into units of a given size. That is, after identifying the endpoints of the length to be measured and the unit to quantify the distance between the endpoints, this unit is used repeatedly end to end (alongside the object being measured) to determine the accumulated number of units corresponding to the length. We call using the unit repeatedly end to end iterating the unit. Learning how spatially organised units t together, and how they may be counted systematically, is basic to understanding the measurement of length, area and volume. As we move from length to area and volume we increase the need to coordinate units of units. However, in each case to obtain a precise measurement, units must be aligned or packed so that there are no gaps or overlaps.
Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
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Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
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Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
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Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
Six units in each row and three rows result in an area of 6 x 3 =18
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Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
Another key understanding is that the units must be equal in size. In the rst year of a three-year longitudinal study of children initially in years 1 to 3, Lehrer, Jenkins and Osana (1998) found that over 80% of the children saw no problem with mixing two differentlength paper clips. Over time, however, 80% of children in grades 4 and 5 said that the units needed to be the same. Unless students understand length measurement they will not have the basis for developing area and volume concepts. As well as recognising the need for units to be equal in size, students need to recognise the relationship between number and units of measure. When a length is measured in two ways, using different but equal sized units (as below), some students consider that the greater number of units represents a greater length (Inhelder, Sinclair, & Bovet, 1974).
Individual units can be combined into composite units, such as a row of tiles or a layer of blocks. Experience with composite units will help students to learn that fewer large units are needed to measure a quantity, but smaller units give more precision. Composite units can be used in calculations and linked to early multiplication, e.g., 4 rows of 3 squares. Accounting for parts of units will extend students knowledge of fractions of continuous quantities.
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Area Multiplication
In dealing with tasks that make use of an array-structure, such as determining the number of square units needed to cover a rectangular area, students need to use spatial understanding combined with multiplicative strategies. The required spatial understanding for area multiplication tasks involves mentally organising or constructing the units (in this case squares) in order to cover the rectangle. Initially, little attention is given to where the squares should be positioned on the rectangle and the student simply follows a meandering path until it appears the area might be covered. No attention seems to be directed to gaps or overlaps that occur while reconstructing the units. At a more sophisticated level, the student is able to structure the square units in specic groups but may be unable to coordinate the structure of groups in two directions. At a higher level of understanding, the student is able to structure the units in rows, however the rows would be iterated incorrectly when covering the rectangle. At the highest level of understanding, the student follows a grid structure and is able to visualise a column and row structure (Battista, Clements, Arnoff, Battista, & Borrow, 1998).
Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
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Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
In determining the number of squares needed to cover the area, students multiplicative strategies move from counting by ones, to skip counting (often supported by the use of nger strategies) and nally to coordinating groups of groups, e.g.7 rows of 3 (Outhred & McPhail, 2000). However, the link between spatial structure and multiplication is not automatic and needs to be established.
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Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
L1 Direct alignment
Direct comparison of the size of two objects (alignment).
L2 Transitive comparison
Direct comparison of the size of three or more objects (transitivity). Indirect comparison by copying the size of one of the objects.
L3 Multiple units
Uses multiple units of the same size to measure an object (without gaps and overlaps). Chooses and uses a selection of the same size and type of units to measure an object (without gaps and overlaps).
L4 Indirect comparison
States the qualitative relationship between the size and number of units (i.e. with bigger units you need fewer of them). Chooses and uses a selection of the same size and type of units to measure by indirect comparison.
L6 Composite area
Creates the row-column structure of the iterated composite unit of area. Uses the rowcolumn structure to find the number of units to measure area.
L7 Repeated layers
Creates the row-column structure of the iterated layers when measuring volume. Uses the row-column layer structure to find the number of units to measure volume.
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Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
Direct comparison of length (common baseline). Determining which of the two pencils is longer relies on establishing a common baseline or starting point to make the comparison.
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Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
Direct comparison and ordering of length (transitivity). At Level 2 students can also make a copy of one object, say with their ngers, and use it to compare to another object.
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Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
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Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
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Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
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Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
Row structure
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Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
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Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
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References
Battista, M. T., Clements, D. H., Arnoff, J., Battista, K., & Borrow, C. V. A. (1998). Students spatial structuring of 2D arrays of squares. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 29(5), 503-532. Bragg, P., & Outhred, N. L. (2004). A measure of rulers - The importance of units in a measure. In M. J. Hines & A. B. Fuglestad (Eds.), Proceedings of the 28th annual conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Vol. 2, pp. 159-166). Bergen, Norway: Program Committee. Curry, M., Mitchelmore, M, & Outhred, L. (2006). Development of childrens understanding of length, area, and volume principles. In J. Novotn, H. Moraov, M. Krtk, & N. Stehlkov (Eds.), Proceedings of the 30th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Vol. 2, pp. 377384, Prague: PME. Inhelder, B., Sinclair, H., & Bovet, M. (1974). Learning and the development of cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Outhred, L., & McPhail, D. (2000). A framework for teaching early measurement. In J. Bana & A. Chapman (Eds.), Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia. (Vol. 2, pp. 487-494). Sydney, Australia: MERGA. Outhred, L. & Mitchelmore, M. C. (2000). Young childrens intuitive understanding of rectangular area measurement. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 31, 144-167.
Aspect 7: Measurement
Introduction The measurement framework Why bother with informal units? Area Multiplication Developing the structure of units in length, area and volume Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 References
Acknowledgements
This aspect of The Numeracy Continuum has been formed by the work of many researchers and teachers. First among the researchers have been the contributions of Dr Lynne Outhred and Dr Mike Mitchelmore. NSW Department of Education 2010
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