Assessment Project

Episode 12

Patrick F. Flood
Hunter College

ASSESSMENT PROJECT EPISODE 12

1. School and Learning Environments
This project is focused on two students, CA and TH, both of whom are 11-year-old
children living in Manhattan. Each child receives one hour of individualized tutoring instruction
in math per week.
The tutoring environment for Student CC is in an urban setting. Its within an office
building located in the Chinatown neighborhood of downtown Manhattan. The entrance to the
building is on Mott Street, which is in the heart of Chinatown.

The building has a doorman and an elevator. The tutoring instruction takes place in a
room serving as a waiting area that adjoins the professional office of Student CCs mother.

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Student CCs mother has a PhD in Language Instruction and is very supportive of her
childrens education. She sees her patients clientele (children, along with their parents) in her
private office. The office and its waiting area have a clean, modernized appearance. There are
several chairs and a long counter that can be used for writing and studying.

The room has a window overlooking Mott Street which can be noisy at various times of
the year -- especially during the Chinese New Years celebrations. However, the counter where
the tutoring occurs faces a long wall which is good for minimizing distractions. Above the
counter, attached to the wall, are shelves that have books, paper, and other accessories such as
crayons and pencils.
CC attends the Transfiguration School located in the Chinatown area of Manhattan at 37
St. James Place, New York NY 10038. Transfiguration is a private school that serves 267
students in grades 1-8 and is Roman Catholic in orientation.1 The Community Rating is 3 stars
out of 5 and the ethnic breakdown is as follows:. 2
Ethnicity

Percent

Asian

95.5%

Hispanic

1.5%

Black

1.1%

Two or More Races

1.5% 2

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The most recent Annual Report forfrom Transfiguration School shows the following: 3

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The tutoring environment for Student TH is also in an urban setting. His instruction takes
place in a large, residential, apartment-building on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The

ASSESSMENT PROJECT EPISODE 12

building itself is part of a massive apartment complex known as Stuyvesant Town. Student TH
lives in an apartment with his family that includes his father, mother, and younger sister. The
parents are working professionals between 40 and 50 years old who value education for
their children. The parents work full-time in professional fields: the mother works in the field of
for-profit education and the father in business. The parents appear to value education insofar as
the father is pursuing his MBA degree and the family pays in excess of $7,000 a year for
private school education for each of their children in addition to the price of a private
tutor.4

The tutoring occurs in the dining room area at the dining table. Beside the table, there is
a box of scrap paper, pencils and pens, and several workbooks that the mother has acquired for
the purpose of strengthening THs math education. The mother of TH works for a major tutoring
organization within the area of administration.

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TH attends Epiphany Elementary School which is located at 234 E 22nd St, New York,
NY 10010. Epiphany is a private school that serves 448 students in grades Pre-K, K-8 and is
Roman Catholic in orientation.5 The Community Rating is 3 stars out of 5 and the ethnic
breakdown is as follows:
Ethnicity

Percent

White

69.8%

Hispanic

9.9%

Asian

12%

Black

8.4% 6

Epiphany Elementary has the following Ethnic Demographics by count of students:

White Students

316

Hispanic Students

71

Black Students

23

Asian/Pacific Islander Students

28

American Indian/Alaskan Native Students

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander Students 10

2 or More Races Students

0.7

ASSESSMENT PROJECT EPISODE 12

Academic Subject Area: 5th Grade Math
Specific instructional topics include Fractions, Decimals, and Units of Measurement.
Recent tutoring sessions have focused on Fraction Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and
Division.

Target Students
Student CC and Student TH were selected due to the instructional time
allotted of one hour per week of individualized attention. Each students is well-behaved
and comes from supportive and well-educated households.
Since 2007, I have been teaching college seniors in the New York City College of
Technology of CUNY within the Department of Computer Science Technology. However, I
do not currently hold a teaching position within my intended subject area of adolescent math
education. I selected two students, CC and TH, because I tutor each of them, individually,
for one hour per week in math.
Each student appears polite during our lessons. For example, during tutoring sessions,
CC will always ask if she may use the bathroom; and, student TH has asked for permission to
answer a telephone that was ringing in his apartment.
CC is an Asian-American girl whose parents were born in China. She speaks English
primarily but she is also learning Mandarin. She presents herself as quiet and polite and lacks
confidence in her mathematical abilities. CC is quiet during our sessions. For example, she
will sometimes look at a math problem and neither write nor speak for 30 seconds or longer. I
will often ask her what she is thinking at these times. She also appears to lack confidence in
her mathematical abilities. As evidence of this, I will sometimes have her answer a series of
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ASSESSMENT PROJECT EPISODE 12

math questions that I have written down. When she is finished, I will ask her how many
questions she thinks she answered correctly. Usually she underestimates the number of correct
answers. For instance, she once answered four questions out of four questions correctly.
However, before I had checked them, she said that she probably had answered only two of them
correctly.
She is not given adequate time nor sufficient attention in math class at school. The
mother of CC said that the primary reason she wanted a tutor for CC is because CC is not given
adequate time nor sufficient attention in math class at school.

TH is a boy who likes to play basketball. His father is Irish-American and his mother is
Asian-American. She was raised in the United States but sent to high school in Hong Kong by
her parents in order to receive a strong education under the British system in place there in the
1980s. THs parents initially requested having him tutored in math because they want him to do
well on the upcoming New York State Common Core exams.
Both TH and CC are sufficiently proficient in Math for 5th graders. That is to say, they
are each performing at a NYS Level of 3 (out of 4 levels). According to the NYS Education
Department, For Grades 3-8 ELA and math, students at Levels 2 and above are on track for
current graduation requirements. Students at Levels 3 and above are on track to graduate at the
aspirational college- and career-ready level (indicating readiness to succeed in credit-bearing first
year college courses).8 The parents of TH said that he just missed the cut-off for a Level 4
designation the last time that he took a state exam.

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Grades 3-8 ELA and Math
Level 4: Student excels in the Common Core Learning Standards for this grade level.
Level 3: Student is proficient in the Common Core Learning Standards for this grade.
level (on track to achieve at the aspirational college- and career-ready level,
first
required for Regents Diploma purposes with the Class of 2022).
Level 2: Student is partially proficient in the Common Core Learning Standards for this
grade level (on track to meet current New York high school graduation
requirements).
Level 1: Student is well below proficient in the learning standards for this grade level. 9
Both students are capable and receptive to learning but neither has fully mastered
the material as of yet. As evidenced by their test scores, each student seems capable in math
and receptive to learning, however, neither has yet fully mastered the material. CCs most recent
test scores in school were 86%, 91%, and 79%. CC recently said that her favorite subject was
math. According to her mother, CC is doing Ok in her other classes and she does not have
tutors for any of her other subjects. THs three most recent test scores (including quizzes) in
math class were: 90%, 58%, and 81%. According to THs mother, one of the reasons she
requested me as a math tutor was because she was very concerned with his 58% score. TH said
that he prefers ELA to Math and that History is his favorite class in school. He said that his
average grades at the end of the marking period for all classes are usually in the 80s and up to
low 90s.

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2. Learning Goal
A general goal for TH and CCs learning is providing instruction in the content area of
fraction addition in order to augment and reinforce the material that they are learning in school.
The New York State 5th Grade Common Core Standardized Test, to be administered in April
2015, will include the addition of fractions because fraction concepts are considered a major part
of 5th Grade math curriculum.
With respect to New York State Performance Standards, the measured Common Core
Learning Standards (CCLS) item that this learning goal relates to is 5.NF.2 as defined below.
This standard requires New York State students to perform at a level where they can solve word
problems by adding and subtracting fractions that refer to the same whole yet have unlike
denominators. 96
As per CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NF.A.2:
Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions referring to
the same whole, including cases of unlike denominators; e.g., by using visual
fraction models or equations to represent the problem. Use benchmark fractions
and number sense of fractions to estimate mentally and assess the reasonableness
of answers. For example, recognize an incorrect result 2/5 + 1/2 = 3/7, by
observing that 3/7 < 1/2. 10

Learning Progression

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The Learning Progression for this instructional goal will build upon the concept of
fractions being equal parts of one complete item. As described earlier, the learning goal for this
episode includes successfully performing the operation of addition where the terms to be added
are fractions that have unlike denominators. Each of the two target students will learn that when
fractions are added together, they must first have the same denominators. If the fractions do not
have the same denominators, then it is necessary to rewrite one, or both, of the fractions in terms
of a new denominator. 5 In order to learn how to add and simplify fractions, the students are
expected to have a skill base that includes mastery of the times tables - also known as
multiplication facts - by this point so that they can easily find multiples and factors of the
numerators and denominators for the given fractions. As part of this learning progression, the
students will learn the concepts of Least Common Denominator (LCD), Least Common
Multiple (LCM), and Greatest Common Factor (GCF). The various types of pedagogy to be
used, along with the rationale for the methods and skills are described below (immediately
following the Specific Learning Objectives.)

Specific Learning Objectives

Given the two students in the targeted population, both students (100%) will attain
the following Specific Learning Objectives (SLO): The Specific Learning Objectives (SLOs)
that I am focusing on for this episode are as follows:
Demonstrate how to find common denominators in order to create equivalent fractions;
Given two fractions having unlike denominators, students will rewrite the two fractions so that

they have like denominators, by finding their LCM

Explain their solutions by using fractions strips (fraction pieces and other artifacts) or by
drawing illustrations; and,

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ASSESSMENT PROJECT EPISODE 12

Given a fraction, students will create a model to prove that fractions are equivalent by using

fraction strips
Score above 80% on topic quizzes (in the form of problem-solving worksheets) and other

assessed activities for questions relating to measured CCLS item 5.NF.2.

The next step in the learning progression is where the students will then combine fraction strips.
Given two fractions, students will use a model to add fractions together by using fraction strips.

3. Description with Rationale of Teaching Methods, Activities, and Materials

Each student will receive one-on-one direct instruction. During tutoring sessions, each
of my students normally receives one-on-one direct instruction. However, for this assessment
episode, the teaching approach being used is inquiry-based learning. This was selected since
the activity being assessed (described within Section 5 Task Development and
Administration) closely aligns with the inquiry-based process of learning. Specifically:
Inquiry-Based Learning starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios -- rather than
simply presenting established facts or portraying a smooth path to knowledge. The
process is often assisted by a facilitator. Inquirers will identify and research issues and
questions to develop their knowledge or solutions. Inquiry-based learning includes
problem-based learning, and is generally used in small scale investigations and projects,
as well as research.11
The tutoring sessions will incorporate visual learning through the use of manipulatives
such as fraction pieces, coins, and other artifacts. While explaining how to approach problems,
the lesson questions will be scaffolded so that students will be challenged yet still feel supported.
According to Benson (1997), Scaffolding is actually a bridge used to build upon what
students already know to arrive at something they do not know. If scaffolding is properly

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administered, it will act as an enabler, not as a disabler. (pp.206-207Benson, 1997).
According to Lipscomb, Swanson, and West (2014) fromat Thethe University of Georgia:
In the process of scaffolding, the teacher helps the student master a task or concept that
the student is initially unable to grasp independently. The teacher offers assistance with
only those skills that are beyond the students capability. Of great importance is allowing
the student to complete as much of the task as possible, unassisted. The teacher only
attempts to help the student with tasks that are just beyond his current capability. Student
errors are expected, but, with teacher feedback and prompting, the student is able to
achieve the task or goal. When the student takes responsibility for or masters the task, the
teacher begins the process of fading, or the gradual removal of the scaffolding, which
allows the student to work independently.12
Modelling will also be used to stimulate each students curiosity and level of
engagement. According to Bandura (1986), Using this type of instruction, teachers engage
students in imitation of particular behaviors that encourage learning. (Bandura, 1986p.110).
According to Duplass (2006) stated that, metacognitive modelling is a thinking-out-loud
approach, in which the teacher plans and then explicitly articulates the underlying thinking
process and should be the focus of teacher talk (Duplassp. 204, 2006).
TAs a he tutor, I will use repetition as often as necessary in order to emphasize important
points or to guide the student along. The tutorI will rephrase statements and questions in order to
clarify instruction. Christenbury and Kelly (1983) wrote, Sometimes when students do not
answer a question, it may be that they did not hear the question or did not understand it.

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ASSESSMENT PROJECT EPISODE 12

Repeating the question a second time or rephrasing it may be helpful. Both of these tactics,
however, should be deferred until the proper wait time has elapsed (Christenburyp. 24, 1983).
At logical breaking points or at moments of transition, the tutorI will ask each student to
summarize the highlight(s) of the lesson. By expressing the main point(s) of the lesson in his
or her own words, each student will have the chance to crystallize the knowledge being
acquired more firmly in their minds. Having students summarize improves their memory of
the topic and can be used in almost every content area. 13
Fraction problems will be given for the students to solve. These will appear on
worksheets that were downloaded from the internet or from the class homework that the students
were assigned. Other problems will be created spontaneously by the tutor to illustrate a specific
learning point. Students will use notebooks and scrap paper to write on. They will be
encouraged to write neatly and in a structured format using pencils that have erasers. The use of
calculators will be minimized. If necessary, the tutor will use the students textbook or the
internet to formally define a term or theorem, etc., or to display an illustration.
Activities include presenting a Word Problem to each student and asking him or her to
write an addition expression using fractions from the information provided in the word problems.
Fraction Pieces (also known as Fractions Strips) will be used to visually show the concept of
replacing the given fractions with equivalent fractions. Students will then rewrite the addition
expression with an equivalent expression whose fractions have common denominators. Lastly,
the student is to solve the problem by following the fraction addition rule of adding the
numerators together, retaining the common denominator, and then simplifying the sum as
necessary.

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ASSESSMENT PROJECT EPISODE 12

4. Method
From Group 1 in Menu of Methods, the Student Think-Aloud during Problem-Solving
interactive method was used for this Episode. The two students will be asked to think aloud as
they are tasked with finding the common denominators. While assessing the Specific Learning
Objective of Demonstrate how to to find common denominators in order to create
equivalent fractions, Given two fractions, students will use a model to add fractions together
by using fraction strips the instructor will gain an insight into how the students think about the
problem and be able to view their understanding of how to proceed in solving it. While there are
multiple steps within the process of adding fractions, each of the individual steps that the student
must think through, is at a DOK Level 1. For example, when finding the LCD, the DOK Level 1
task is for the student to show how he or she will generate a list of multiples for each of the
unlike denominators.
The Think-Aloud method is appropriate for this SLO because the tutor needs to assess
and understand where the student is at in his or her thinking. If the student explains her
thinking well and she is thinking correctly about the problem and its solution, then the instructor
will have a good sense that the student understands the lesson. By contrast, if the students
verbalized thinking is not on the right path, then the tutor will have the opportunity - and perhaps
a rare opportunity at that - to hear misconceptions that the student is experiencing. This can
potentially yield valuable information primarily because thinking is abstract and cannot be
observed directly. (An incorrect answer on a quiz where the work is shown by the student may
not yield as much evidence of the students thought processes as hearing them think aloud.)

5. Task Development and Administration

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ASSESSMENT PROJECT EPISODE 12

Each student was asked to clear the workspace in front of them and then handed a sheet
of paper having lines with boxes inside the lines. (See attachment below.) Using this sheet, each
student, CC and TH, was asked to do the following:

On the top line, write the number 1 inside the one box that appears on this row.
On the second line, write the word Half into each of the two boxes on this row.
On the third line, write the word Third into each of the three boxes on this row.
On the fourth line, write the word Fourth into each of the four boxes on this row.
On the fifth line, write the word Sixth into each of the six boxes on this row.
On the sixth line, write the word Twelfth into each of twelve boxes on this row.
Finally, use the scissors provided to cut out each of the boxes from the piece of paper.

To become familiar with these fractions strips, also known as fraction pieces, the
students were asked to compare the lengths of the various strips. For example, if you place the
1 strip in front of you on the desk and then the HALF strip directly beneath it such that the
two strips are aligned at the left (meaning they start at the same point) you can see that the 1
strip is longer than the HALF strip. And, if you attach another HALF strip to the end of the
existing HALF strip, you can see that the two HALF strips (when joined together) have the same
length as the one 1 strip. This means that the 1 strip can be replaced with two HALF strips.
Similarly, the students will be shown that the 1 strip can be replaced with three THIRD strips.
They will then be shown that you can only add strips that have the same lengths. For instance,
you can add one HALF to the end of another HALF strip and you can also add THIRD strips
together so that you have three THIRD strips as described above. However, you cannot join a
HALF strip and a THIRD strip since they have different lengths.
If you need to join strips that do not have the same lengths, you must replace the strips
with other strips. For example, if you want to add one HALF with one FOURTH, you can
replace the HALF strip with two FOURTH strips. Now, you can add these two FOURTH strips

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ASSESSMENT PROJECT EPISODE 12

to the one FOURTH strip and you will see that you now have three FOURTH strips. This is
equivalent to adding one HALF strip with one FOURTH strip.
The students are then asked to perform the following operation: Add two THIRD strips
with one FOURTH strip. At this point, the students will clear a space in front of them and bring
forward two THIRD strips and one FOURTH strip. Since these strips are not all of equal length,
the students cannot simply join the strips together. They must replace each of the THIRD strips
with four TWELFTH strips. Likewise, they must replace the one FOURTH strip with three
TWELFTH strips. Once they have done this, the students will see that they have eleven
TWELFTH strips.
As they solved this problem, the students were asked to explain what they are thinking.
Both students said words to the effect of, You cant add a THIRD strip and a FOURTH strip
together since they dont have the same size.
When they were asked, How then can you add these strips -- what do you have to
do in order to add them? Student CC said, I can change the THIRD strips into SIXTHs
since the SIXTH strips are smaller.
CC was then told, Ok, show me how you would do that.
After sliding the SIXTH strips over to her workspace, and trying to line them up,
CC saw that she could perfectly fit two SIXTH strips directly beneath each THIRD strip so
that two SIXTH strips and one THIRD strips had the same length. When she tried to do
the same thing by replacing the FOURTH strip with SIXTH strips, CC said, The SIXTH
(strips) dont fit right.
Before I could ask her what she should do, CC immediately said to use the
TWELFTHs. So she removed the SIXTHs from her workspace and brought over the

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ASSESSMENT PROJECT EPISODE 12

TWELFTH strips. Without speaking, she diligently lined up the TWELFTH strips by
placing 8 of them directly below the two THIRDS and 3 of them beneath the one FOURTH
strip. She then started counting how many TWELFTH strips she had in total, One, two,
three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven.
I asked CC then what these strips indicated: So then what does eleven here mean?
She replied, There are eleven TWELFTH strips.
I asked her if thats the answer to the question and also if she could repeat the
problem that she was asked to solve. (The instruction was: Add two THIRD strips with
one FOURTH strip.)
CC said, Two THIRD strips and a FOURTH strip are the same as eleven
TWELFTHs.
Student TH performed the same steps as CC with one additional step in the middle.
Before trying the SIXTH pieces, TH tried unsuccessfully to fit the FOURTH pieces under
the THIRD pieces to see if he could get them to have the same length.
After each student got the correct answer, they were shown how to write what they
did using the fraction strips with mathematical symbols; i.e., + = 11/12.
Student work samples are presented below as transcriptions of theirthe student thinking
aloud. The activity was administered in each students usual tutoring environment (as described
in Section 1.)
CC was asked, How then can you add these strips -- what do you have to do in order to add
them?
She replied, I can change the THIRD strips into SIXTHs since the SIXTH strips are smaller.
CC was then told, Ok, show me how you would do that.

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ASSESSMENT PROJECT EPISODE 12

After sliding the SIXTH strips over to her workspace, and trying to line them up, CC saw that
she could perfectly fit two SIXTH strips directly beneath each THIRD strip so that two SIXTH
strips and one THIRD strips had the same length. When she tried to do the same thing by
replacing the FOURTH strip with SIXTH strips, CC said, The SIXTH (strips) dont fit right.
Before I could ask her what she should do, CC immediately said to use the TWELFTHs. She
then removed the SIXTHs from her workspace and brought over the TWELFTH strips. Without
speaking, she diligently lined up the TWELFTH strips by placing 8 of them directly below the
two THIRDS and 3 of them beneath the one FOURTH strip. She then started counting how
many TWELFTH strips she had in total, One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
eleven.
I asked CC then what these strips indicated: So then what does eleven here mean?
She replied, There are eleven TWELFTH strips.
I asked her if thats the answer to the question and also if she could repeat aloud the question that
she was asked to solve. (The instruction was: Add two THIRD strips with one FOURTH
strip.)
CC said, Two THIRD strips and a FOURTH strip are the same as eleven TWELFTHs.

TH was asked, How then can you add these strips -- what do you have to do in order to add
them?
He replied, I can change the THIRD strips into FOURTHs since the FOURTH strips are
smaller.
TH was then told, Ok, show me how you would do that.

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ASSESSMENT PROJECT EPISODE 12

TH moved the FOURTH strips over to his workspace, and when trying to line them up, he saw
that he could not perfectly fit FOURTH strips directly beneath two THIRD strips so that the
FOURTH strips had the same length as the two THIRD strips. TH said, The FOURTH strips
dont fit right.
At this point, I asked him to move the FOURTH strips to the side which he did. -----I asked TH, Since you cant replace the THIRD strips with FOURTH strips, can you think of
another approach?
TH replied, I can try to change the THIRD strips into SIXTHs since the SIXTH strips are
smaller.
TH was then told, Ok, show me how you would do that.
After sliding the SIXTH strips over to his over to her wworkspace, and trying to line them up,
TH saw that he could perfectly fit two SIXTH strips directly beneath each THIRD strip so that
two SIXTH strips and one THIRD strips had the same length. However, when he tried to do the
same thing by replacing the FOURTH strip with SIXTH strips, TH said, The SIXTH strips
wont fit.
He then immediately said to use the TWELFTHs. TH removed the SIXTHs from his workspace
and brought over the TWELFTH strips. He carefully lined up the TWELFTH strips by placing 8
of them directly below the two THIRDS and 3 of them beneath the one FOURTH strip. He then
started counting how many TWELFTH strips there were in total, One, two, three, four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven.
I asked TH at this point what these strips indicated: So what does eleven here mean?
He replied, There are eleven TWELFTH strips.

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ASSESSMENT PROJECT EPISODE 12

I asked him if thats the answer to the question and also if he could repeat aloud the question that
he was asked to solve. After repeating the instruction, Add two THIRD strips with one
FOURTH strip, TH said, Two THIRD strips and a FOURTH strip are the same as eleven
TWELFTHs.
After each student got the correct answer, they were shown how to write what they did using
the fraction strips with mathematical symbols; i.e., + = 11/12.

6. Using evidence gathered via the task to evaluate student learning:

provide an in-depth analysis of the student work or evidence of student thinking.

This activity was helpful for understanding exactly how the students think. Both students
are often quiet and dont let the instructor know what they are thinking. This particular task,
however, is well-suited to having students think aloud. The activity more closely resembles a
type of a game or a puzzle than a math lesson. By specifically being told to Think Aloud
during the activity, neither CC nor TH seemed particularly bothered by describing their thoughts
out loud. Neither student was confused when they saw physical representations of fractions (in
the form of fraction strips) placed in front of them.
This method is appropriate for achieving the Specific Learning Objective of
Demonstrate how to to find common denominators in order to create equivalent
fractions, Given two fractions, students will use a model to add fractions together by using
fraction strips because it is observable and is also flexible in thatsince the activity and
associated instruction could be adjusted based on the students progress and learning needs. The

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evidence gathered from the activity was essentially qualitative in nature due to the method
chosen and the number of students.
As a tutor I learned several lessons for this experience.:

Students do well when math is presented in context. That is to say, they need to be able to
connect the lesson being taught to something that they already understand; or, that they can relate
it to; or, that they can actually try out for themselves. In this case, the students already know how
to tell whether an object in front of them is less than, larger than, or equal in size to another
object in front of them. According to CORD, a not-for-profit education research and reform
organization:
In Contextual Learning theory, learning occurs only when students
(learners) process new information or knowledge in such a way
that it makes sense to them in their own frames of reference (their
own inner worlds of memory, experience, and response). This
approach to learning and teaching assumes that the mind
naturally seeks meaning in contextthat is, in relation to the
persons current environmentand that it does so by searching
for relationships that make sense and appear useful. 14
That is to say, they need to be able to connect the lesson being taught to something that
they already understand; or, that they can relate it to; or, that they can actually try out for
themselves. In this case, the students already know how to tell whether an object in front of
them is less than, larger than, or equal in size to another object in front of them.

Students are engaged when they have something to do. This activity was very different
from a lecture where students can passively sit and potentially disengage from the

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learning. With this task, the two students were asked to perform an operation using
physical manipulatives. This meant that each student was busy lining up the objects,
comparing their sizes, replacing them as needed with other objects, and counting them.
Additionally, the students had to explain their thinking each step of the way as they worked
toward the solution.
The students seemed to intuitively understand fractions when they could see them as physical
objects (i.e., fraction strips) that they could touch, examine, compare, and combine. When
fractions were expressed as real things, that exist in physical reality, the students did not seem to
have difficulty performing the steps required for adding fractions together -- even when the
fractions were of different sizes (which, when written symbolically, means the same as having
unlike denominators). The difficulty seems to show up when fractions are shown as simply
numbers without any context and without possessing any sense of physical reality.
According to Piaget (1952), children begin to understand symbols and abstract concepts only
after experiencing the ideas on a concrete level (p.135) level (Piaget, 1952). Dienes (1962)
extended this to suggest that children whose mathematical learning is firmly grounded in
manipulative experiences will be more likely to bridge the gap between the world in which they
live and the abstract world of mathematics. 15
I did not expect the students to pick up on the idea of how to add fractions together as rapidly as
they did. I simply gave them an explanation of how to use the fraction pieces and they were
able to then pull it together very quickly. It was almost obvious to them as to how to
proceed. This exercise in teaching math seemed to draw upon their own common sense.. I
had expected that for each step of the lesson, it would take a student at least three attempts on
average to successfully complete the step. However, I found that both students had usually
successfully completed each step of the lesson in only one or two attempts.

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I did not mention any mathematical rules during the activity such as how to find the Least
Common Denominator. Each student tried on their own, and eventually succeeded, in finding
the right-sized fraction strip to use. The next step in our lessons was representing the steps in
their solutions with the mathematical symbols which is where this particular activity left off.
7. Provide appropriately differentiated feedback based on students level of
performance and special needs, if any, to promote student growth in the content area.
Before the students began working on the activity, they were each told that you cant
combine fraction strips that have different sizes. So they knew they had to replace the existing
fraction strips for this activity - which were given as THIRDs and FOURTHs - with other
fraction strips.
When CC said she would replace the THIRD strips with SIXTH strips, I said Ok, show
me how you would do that. This replacement was successful. CC was not successful, however,
when she attempted to replace the FOURTH strip with SIXTH strips. I was expecting that I
would need to give her feedback at this point. However, I deliberately held back from asking CC
what she could now do after having tried replacing fraction strips unsuccessfully. I was glad I
didnt speak at this point, and perhaps interrupt her train of thought, since on her own CC
removed the SIXTH strips and correctly chose the TWELFTH strips instead.
The feedback I gave CC was in the form of questions toward the end of the lesson. I
was not certain whether she had understood the meaning of eleven TWELFTH strips in
terms of the problem that she was asked to solve. In fact, since it was asked several minutes
earlier, I was not certain if either student even remembered the question. So I asked CC to
repeat the question out loud that she was asked to solve and explain the meaning of the

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eleven TWELFTH strips and whether these solve the problem (The instruction was: Add
two THIRD strips with one FOURTH strip.)
In her response, CC correctly connected the solution to the question: Two THIRD strips
and a FOURTH strip are the same as eleven TWELFTHs.
The feedback during THs think-aloud began just after his first unsuccessful attempt at
replacing fraction strips. He was unable to replace THIRD strips with FOURTH strips. At this
point, I asked TH, Since you cant replace the THIRD strips with FOURTH strips, can
you think of another approach? I wanted to encourage him to think of another approach
without saying too much. (That is, I wanted this feedback to act as a prompt that would
trigger his further thinking.)
TH replied, I can try to change the THIRD strips into SIXTHs since the SIXTH strips
are smaller.
I then said, Ok, show me how you would do that.
At the end of the lesson, I asked TH to repeat the question out loud that he was asked to
solve and explain the meaning of the eleven TWELFTH strips and whether these solve the
problem. After repeating the instruction, Add two THIRD strips with one FOURTH strip,
TH said, Two THIRD strips and a FOURTH strip are the same as eleven TWELFTHs.
This type of feedback, of having TH summarize the activity in his own words, is
beneficial to him (as mentioned above, in Section 3) and also provides me with an idea of how
well he understood the activity. According to Yvonne Grant of the Connected Mathematics
Project:

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The teachers role is to guide students to the big ideas, to make sure that they have nailed
the mathematics. Part of the purpose of the summarize segment is to allow you to assess
how well your students are progressing toward the goals of the lesson. 16

8. Plan use of results: instructional responses and further assessment.

The next step in the instruction involves connecting the type of activity that the students
have completed above using a physical model of fractions with the symbolism that is normally
used in mathematics for representing fraction operations; specifically, the addition operator (+),
subtraction operator (-) , and writing fractions using number symbols for numerators and
denominators.
For example, using the quantities given in the activity, Two THIRD strips and a
FOURTH strip are the same as eleven TWELFTHs, the resulting equation will be + = 11/12.

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The next cycle of instruction will include modelling where I show the students where these
fractions written with symbols come from in terms of the physical fraction pieces and how they
are referred to when speaking (e.g., two-thirds or two out of three).
The students will be asked to perform an activity where they are given a fraction (e.g., )
and will have to use the appropriate fraction strip(s) to represent the given fraction. They will
then be asked to solve an expression through the use of fraction pieces that is given in the form
of mathematical symbols and two fractions such as: 3/6 + . To do this, students will first have
to choose the appropriate fraction pieces for representing the given fractions. They will then
have to replace fraction pieces so that the two fractions to be combined use fractions pieces of
the same length. Lastly, they will add the correct number of pieces to get the solution. For each
step of the process, students will be asked to show their work using the mathematical symbols as
well as physically using the fraction pieces. The assessment will be based on how well the
students connect the symbols to the physical model. This will close the gap not just between
what students dont know and what they need to know; but, also the gap between fractions as
math symbols and physical objects.

Attachments
I.

Fraction Pieces (Blank) as Given to Students

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ASSESSMENT PROJECT EPISODE 12

II.

Fraction Pieces - after being Completed by Students

Half

Half

Third

Third

Fourth

Sixth

Twelfth

Twelfth

Third

Fourth

Sixth

Twelfth

Twelfth

Fourth

Sixth

Twelfth

Twelfth

Sixth

Twelfth

Twelfth

Fourth

Sixth

Twelfth

Twelfth

Sixth

Twelfth

Twelfth

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References

Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive. Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Benson, B. (1997). Scaffolding (Coming to Terms). English Journal, 86(7), 126-127.
Christenbury L, Kelly PP. Questioning: A Path to Critical Thinking. Urbana, IL: National
Council of Teachers of English; 1983.
Duplass, J. (2006). Middle and High School Teaching: Methods, Standards, and Best
Practices. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 204.
Gardella, F. J. (2008). Introducing difficult mathematics topics in the elementary classroom: A
teachers guide to initial lessons. Routledge.
Piaget, J. (1952). The childs concept of number. New York: Humanities Press.

http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/new-york/new-york/transfiguration-school/

http://www.greatschools.org/new-york/new-york/4262-Transfiguration-School/

http://transfigurationschoolnyc.org/wp-

content/uploads/2014/09/Transfiguration_School_Annual_Report_2013-2014.pdf
4

http://www.theepiphanyschool.org/tuition.html

http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/new-york/new-york/epiphany-elementary-school/

64

http://www.greatschools.org/new-york/new-york/4440-Epiphany-Elementary-School/

http://private-schools.startclass.com/l/130174/Epiphany-Elementary-School

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8
http://www.nysed.gov/news/2015/state-education-department-releases-grades-3-8assessment-results
9,10

http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/ela-math/2014/2014Grades3-8ELAMath-final8-13-14.pdf

http://www.commoncoreworks.org/cms/lib/DC00001581/Centricity/Domain/120/ccss_progressi

on_nf_35_2011_08_12.pdf
11

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquiry-based_learning

https://www.engageny.org/file/.../grade_5_math_released_questions.pdf

12

http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Scaffolding

13

http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/summarizing

14

http://www.cord.org/uploadedfiles/Teaching_Math_Contextually.pdf

15

http://www.hand2mind.com/resources/whyteachmathwithmanipulatives

16

http://mathforum.org/workshops/iste2011/max_steve/les.pdf

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