Research project Practice-based research in collaboration between university and school.
The purpose of the project is to clarify the role that interplay between different forms of expression plays in students' learning process of number sense: (1) How can key aspects of number sense at different school levels be clarified through different types of interplay between forms of expression? (2) How are students’ understanding of key aspects of number sense affected by different types of interplay between forms of expression?
Number sense refers to the understanding of and ability to use numbers and operations. Meaningful knowledge of numbers and operations requires different forms of expression, such as symbols, words and images. For example, in subtraction there is interplay between symbols (4–3), words (difference) and images (illustrations on number lines). We know that students find it difficult to deal with different forms of expressions in mathematics, but there is not much research focusing on the interaction between different forms of expression in relation to number sense.
The aim of the project is to create design principles for how teaching at different school levels can be structured to support students’ learning of number sense. Different types of interplay between forms of expression form the basis for concretising such design principles, with regard to how teaching materials can be designed and used to support students’ learning process.
The project is being carried out in collaboration with Örnsköldsvik municipality and is linked to the municipality's priority area of progression in number sense. By creating design principles for teaching number sense, the project can produce results that answer the municipality's question of how teachers can build a solid foundation in number sense. Progression is examined by studying teaching and learning throughout an entire school year in classes from several different grades.
