Today's session was abut multiplicative thinking, fractions and decimals and measurement.
I was particularly interested in using visual representatives and materials to teach multiplying fractions. Historically, I have taught a rule for solving fraction multiplication such as 1/2 x 1/3 however, as was pointed out to us, only teaching the rule does not enable the kids to develop a conceptual understanding of what actually happens to the fraction when multiplying them. Much like teaching algorithms for whole number multiplication, children could complete the steps but didn't understand why it worked. In the coming weeks I'll be endeavouring to use materials and visual representatives to teach the multiplication of fractions in the hopes my children will develop their conceptual understanding of it.
