Intuitive Development of the Concept of Integers among Primary School Students

Cemre Cengiz; Ebru Aylar; Esengül Yıldız

Vol. 11 No. 2 (2018) IEJEE

Intuitive Development of the Concept of Integers among Primary School Students

Cemre Cengiz
Ebru Aylar
Esengül Yıldız

Published January 8, 2019 | Pages: 191-199 | Views: 377

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Abstract

This paper investigated the intuitive development of the concept of integers among primary school students. In order to reveal if primary school students had an intuitive sense of integers, an assessment consisting of five questions was prepared and applied to a total 100 4^th grade students. A variety of integer concepts were utilized in the assessment including; integer ordering, less-than greater-than relations, as well as, integer addition and subtraction. In order to analyze the assessment data a coding system was utilized. Two researchers separately coded the students’ answer responses, and later met with a third researcher to resolve any differences of rater reliability. According to the findings from this research, the 4^th grade students investigated did exhibit an intuitive understanding of integers. In order to build upon students understanding of integers, examples from daily life as well as cardinal and ordinal meanings of numbers should be utilized in future instruction.

This paper investigated the intuitive development of the concept of integers among primary school students. In order to reveal if primary school students had an intuitive sense of integers, an assessment consisting of five questions was prepared and applied to a total 100 4th grade students. A variety of integer concepts were utilized in the assessment including; integer ordering, less-than greater-than relations, as well as, integer addition and subtraction. In order to analyze the assessment data a coding system was utilized. Two researchers separately coded the students’ answer responses, and later met with a third researcher to resolve any differences of rater reliability. According to the findings from this research, the 4th grade students investigated did exhibit an intuitive understanding of integers. In order to build upon students understanding of integers, examples from daily life as well as cardinal and ordinal meanings of numbers should be utilized in future instruction.

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Keywords

integers, intuitive understanding, cardinal understanding, ordinal understanding, children’s thinking

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Cemre Cengiz

Ebru Aylar

Esengül Yıldız

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Cengiz, C., Aylar, E., & Yıldız, E. (2019). Intuitive Development of the Concept of Integers among Primary School Students. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 11(2), 191–199. Retrieved from https://iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/view/648