Proceedings of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education · Volume 1
Anna Lisa Simon, Florian Schindler, Maike Schindler
University of Cologne
⬇ Download PDFThe number line (NL) is an important tool in mathematics education for developing students’ understanding of numbers, yet its use is often not immediately accessible to students. To date, little is known about how students can be supported in learning to use the NL and how their related learning processes unfold. In this paper, we trace the learning process of Emir, a fourth-grade student with difficulties using the NL. Based on Emir’s verbalizations, eye movements, gestures, and actions, we qualitatively follow his learning process over the course of a school support study, focusing on reference-point use and distance interpretations. We use Emir’s case to showcase the volatile learning process of coming to use the NL and its reference points, and identify prominent challenges and turning points in supporting students’ use of the NL.
Number lineSupportLearning processEye tracking