The implication of multiplicative structure for students' understanding of decimal-number numeration

Abstract

This paper reports on a study that examined the importance of multiplicative structure and whether, after several years of formal instruction in the decimal number system, Year 6 students had acquired an understanding of this structure. To this end, 173 Year 6 students were tested with a pencil-and-paper instrument developed to assess the decimal-number numeration processes that are normally taught in primary school and from which 45 students (32 high performing, 13 low performing) were selected for interviewing on tasks related to multiplicative structure. The interviews revealed that only the most proficient students (90% for tenths and hundredths in the test) had acquired a structural schema of multiplicativity that enabled access to application tasks.