Corpus ID: 652632

Children's Understanding of Ruler Measurement and Units of Measure: A Training Study

@inproceedings{Deitz2009ChildrensUO,
  title={Children's Understanding of Ruler Measurement and Units of Measure: A Training Study},
  author={Kevin Deitz and Janellen Huttenlocher and Mee-Kyoung Kwon and Susan C. Levine and Kristin Ratliff},
  year={2009}
}

• K. Deitz, J. Huttenlocher, +2 authors K. Ratliff
• Published 2009
• Psychology

Children’s Understanding of Ruler Measurement and Units of Measure: A Training Study Susan C. Levine ([e-mail]) Department of Psychology, 5848 S. University Avenue Chicago, IL 60637 USA Mee-kyoung Kwon ([e-mail]) Department of Psychology, 5848 S. University Avenue Chicago, IL 60637 USA Janellen Huttenlocher ([e-mail]) Department of Psychology, 5848 S. University Avenue Chicago, IL 600637 USA Kristin Ratliff ([e-mail]) Department of Psychology, 5848 S. University Avenue Chicago, IL 60637 USA Kevin Deitz ([e-mail]) Department of Psychology, 5848 S. University Avenue Chicago, IL 60637 USA Abstract An understanding of measurement and units of measurement is important in mathematics and science. However, children in the United States perform very poorly on measurement items on standardized mathematics tests compared to students in other countries. We examine understanding of linear measurement and units of measurement in 2 nd grade students and carry out a training study aimed at improving their understanding, drawing on research showing that structural alignment is important in promoting learning. We find that students do not improve when training consists of measuring items aligned with a ruler, either when discrete units are coordinated with this activity by overlaying them on the ruler or when students engage in aligned ruler measurement and measurement with discrete units separately. However, we do find significant improvement when children measure objects that are misaligned and then aligned with the start of the ruler and discrete units are coordinated with ruler use. Keywords: Mathematics development; cognitive development; structural alignment; linear measurement; units; ruler Introduction Measurement links the abstract world of number to the concrete world of objects, which have continuous properties such as linear extent, area, and volume. An understanding of measurement is important in mathematics and science achievement as well as in everyday life. Despite the importance of measurement, American children score lower on items assessing measurement knowledge than on items assessing knowledge of other mathematics topics. Children’s difficulty understanding measurement is reflected in their persistent difficulty on NAEP linear measurement questions (86% errors in Grade 3; 78% Grade 4; 51% Grade 7; and 37% Grade 8; Carpenter et al., 1988; Lindquisit & Kouba, 1989). A part of their difficulty on such tests appears to be a lack of understanding of what a unit of measurement is. Children are introduced to linear measurement early in elementary school. Central aspects of classroom instruction include practice measuring with conventional measurement instruments such as rulers and thermometers as well as practice measuring with nonstandard units such as paperclips. The question of whether conventional measurement instruments or discrete non-conventional units are more effective in teaching children about measurement is a matter of debate (e.g., Boulton-Lewis, 1996; Nunes, Light, & Mason, 1993). What is clear, however, is that children who are taught using the instructional methods in wide use in the United States, which make use of both of these types of measurement experience, are not gaining a deep understanding of measurement and measurement units. Rather, they seem to be gaining a set of procedural skills that make them appear to understand measurement. The shallowness of children’s understanding can be seen by examining children’s performance on a simple task in which an object is misaligned with the “0”-point on a ruler (see Figure 1). Children typically make two types of errors on such problems (Lehrer, Jenkins, & Osama, 1998). One involves reading off the number on the ruler that aligns with the rightmost part of the object, i.e., responding “5 inches” in the case of the example in Figure 1. This type of error reflects reliance on a procedure that works perfectly as long as the object to-be-measured is aligned with the “0” point of a conventional ruler, but fails when the object is misaligned with this “0” point (Kamii, 2006; Martin & Strutchens, 2000). The other type of error involves counting the hash marks rather than the intervals or units that an object encompasses, i.e., responding “4 inches” for the crayon shown in Figure 1. This error type reflects an attempt to focus on units but a lack of understanding that the relevant