Influence of number line approach on learning fractions: A case of basic six learners in the Cape Coast metropolis

Abstract

While the number line approach is successful for fractional learning, there is a dearth of study on its usage in Ghanaian upper primary schools. The study explored the influence of the number line approach on learning fractions. Learners’ achievements, attitudes, and learner’s challenges when using the number line were explored. A quantitative research method embedded with a pretest-posttest nonequivalent design was used. The Fractions Achievement Test (FAT) and a structured questionnaire were the instruments used for data collection. Eighty-one basic six learners with two intact classes (39 in control and 42 experimental groups) were purposively selected within the Cape Coast Metropolis. The experimental group was exposed to learning fractions using the number line, while, in the control group, fraction lessons were carried out through the use of set models. An independent samples t-test was employed to analyse the differences between the pre-test and post-test of the control and experimental group. The findings revealed that there was a significant difference in performance between the post-test scores for the control group (𝑀 = 7.36, 𝑆𝐷 = 1.78) and the experimental group (𝑀 = 9.21, 𝑆𝐷 = 2.83); 𝑡 (69.77) = −3.55; 𝑝 = 0.001 respectively. This implies that the experimental group outperformed the control group due to the influence of the number line approach. Learners in the experimental group had better, understanding, application, and positive attitude toward learning fractions due to the use of number line. Finally, learners however had some challenges, such as the inability to recognise that zero is part of the number system, poor estimation, and counting the tick lines on the number line instead of the intervals between them.