Fraction magnitude: promoting the development of size concepts for fraction numbers at the beginning of secondary school - behavioral effects and neural correlates.
In cooperation with the neurosciences at the University of Tübingen, the project aims at linking different levels of explanation (behavioral level and neuronal level) to describe subject-specific learning. In this context, the learning and transfer effects of students during a promotion to build up size concepts for fractions are not only investigated on the behavioral level, but additionally recorded on the neuronal level using the method of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Neuropsychological research suggests that activating size conceptions of numbers leads to increased activity in specific brain regions, and therefore changes in activation patterns can be mapped through training.
Team
Prof. Dr. Andreas Obersteiner
Dr. Thomas Dresler, University of Tübingen
Johannes Rosenkranz
Silke Wortha, University of Greifswald
Johannes Blöchle, University of Tübingen
Project-related publications and presentations
Wortha, S., Obersteiner, A., & Dresler, T. (2021). Neurocognitive foundations of fraction processing. In M. Danesi (Ed.). Handbook of Cognitive Mathematics. Springer: Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44982-7_27-1
Obersteiner, A., & Rosenkranz, J. (2020). Größenvorstellungen zu Bruchzahlen – eine Pilotstudie im sechsten Schuljahr. In H.-S. Siller, W. Weigel & J. F. Wörler (Hrsg.), Beiträge zum Mathematikunterricht 2020 (S. 1221–1224). Münster: WTM-Verlag.
Rosenkranz, J., & Obersteiner, A. (2019). Assessing and fostering students’ understanding of fraction magnitudes. Meeting of the scientific network “Developing and stimulating competencies: Methodological challenges and opportunities for research”. Leuven (BE).
Obersteiner, A., Dresler, T., Bieck, S. M., & Moeller, K. (2019). Understanding fractions: Integrating results from mathematics education, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience. In A. Norton, & M. Alibali (Eds.), Constructing number: merging perspectives from psychology and mathematics education (pp. 135–162). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00491-0_7
Rosenkranz, J., Obersteiner, A., Blöchle, J., & Dresler, T. (2019). Förderung des Aufbaus von Größenvorstellungen für Bruchzahlen zu Beginn der Sekundarstufe – behaviorale Effekte und neuronale Korrelate. In A. Frank, S. Krauss, & K. Binder (Hrsg.) Beiträge zum Mathematikunterricht 2019 (S. 1407). Münster: WTM-Verlag.
Rosenkranz, J., Obersteiner, A., Blöchle, J., & Dresler, T. (2019). Fostering students’ understanding of fraction magnitudes: behavioral effects and neural correlates. 18th Biennial Conference of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI). Aachen.