The effects of a whole-class mathematics intervention on students’ fraction knowledge in primary school

Abstract

The intention of the study was to examine the effects of a fraction intervention in a whole-class environment. The intervention aimed to enhance students’ conceptual fraction knowledge, with a major focus on fraction magnitude understanding. This study included 120 fifth-grade students in standard classroom settings. Utilizing a cluster randomized controlled trial design, students were divided into either an intervention group (n = 64) or a control group (n = 56). Students in the intervention condition received a series of seven 35-minute lessons. Students in the control condition received “treatment as usual”. Both post-test and delayed post-test results revealed that students in the intervention group performed significantly better than those in the control group on fraction concepts, with a stronger effect in measurement aspects compared to part–whole aspects. The intervention group also outperformed the control group on fraction arithmetic on both post-tests, while no significant difference was observed on fraction word problems.