Dividing Fractions with Meaning: A Four-Part Professional Development Series
Understanding fractions in the elementary grades is essential to solidifying operations with rational numbers in the later ones; however, fractions represent the most challenging topics for upper elementary grades students to grasp and teachers to teach. Recent changes in mathematics standards have placed a heavy emphasis on the teaching and learning of fraction operations at the fifth-grade level. Yet, many of the teachers in this grade lack the content and pedagogical knowledge necessary to teach fraction operations meaningfully. Through a series of four focused professional development sessions, teachers will gain a deeper understanding of fractions, the big ideas necessary to compute with them, and the connection between the division of fractions and whole number division. Session activities are designed to promote conceptual understanding via concrete models and meaningful contexts. Teachers will then use the understanding gained through the series to develop more meaningful lessons and learning experiences for their students.