Our approach to teaching fractions is one of the key shifts with the common core standards. This video provides a brief explanation of the instructional changes. In the past, the focus was on providing lessons with shaded parts of a whole to represent fractions. Today, we should be emphasizing that fractions are numbers that can be placed on a number line. We are putting fractions into context, and expecting students to connect fractions to other mathematical concepts.
Understanding of fractions has been an area of weakness in the U.S. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences released the following: "Half of 8th graders could not place three fractions in order from least to greatest on the 2004 National Assessment of Educational Progress in math. It also found that fewer than 30 percent of 17-year-olds could convert 0.029 into a fraction" (Heitin, 2014).
These instructional shifts outlined in the common core will result in increased student understanding of fractions.
Sources:
Heitin, L. (2014, November 10). Approach to Fractions Seen as Key Shift in Common Standards. Education Week, pp. 6-8.
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