Pattern generalization strategies and their different forms of use in fifth grade

Abstract

The article reports the strategies used by fifth grade primary school students, along with the different forms of use in solving three linear pattern generalization problems. The study is based on the proceeding forms and the different representational forms used to stablish a conclusion or answer a question. Seven types of strategies and fifteen forms of their use were identified and examined during six sessions in a teaching experiment. The findings highlight that counting and recursive strategies contributed in the children towards the use of strategies such as the difference, whole-object, chunking, functional and others. These strategies present from one to three different forms of use, thus manifesting the variety of paths used by children in the generalization of linear patterns.