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Cassidy Church
Zandra de Araujo
15 October 2014
Student Work Analysis: Group 1
My Solution
In the original task, Sally was correct in her thinking. Since the whole was not defined,
Sally was looking at two brownies as the whole cut into four pieces total. She is then saying
there are 3, size parts that are shaded giving us . Secondly, Marcus is correct in his thinking
although he defined the whole as 1 brownie. Each brownie is cut into halves, making each part
equal to . In this situation, there are 3, size pieces shaded giving Marcus 1 . Marcus got 1
because 2, size pieces are equal to 1 then he had one more size piece giving him 1 .
Lastly, Demetrius is correct. Demetrius is also defining the whole as one brownie. He is saying
each piece is the size of of the whole. There are 3, size pieces shaded, giving us 3/2.

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Description of the Learning Goal

The learning goal for this assignment includes multiple parts. First, students are sharing
their ideas about what they know about fractions so the teacher can in turn give constructive
feedback so the students can further their knowledge about fractions (Van de Walle, 2012).
Secondly, teachers can recognize errors and strategies that students chose to use so they can
construct their instruction in the future (Van de Walle, 2012). Thirdly, students are learning to
justify their work. For example, when the question asked students to explain their thinking.
Fourth, students are learning to use their existing schemas to show what they already know and
show the teacher what needs to be reiterated in instruction (Van de Walle, 2012). Fifth, the
students are modifying existing schemas to incorporate new ideas about fractions (Van de Walle,
2012). Either the work is causing assimilation or accommodation (Van de Walle, 2012). Some
students might be experiencing disequilibrium when working with fractions. Sixth, teachers are
learning the students zone of proximal development to see what knowledge is out of reach for a
student to learn on his/her own (Van de Walle, 2012). Seventh, students are learning when the
teachers asks probing questions to keep the students engaged in a productive struggle (Van de
Walle, 2012). Eight, students are learning how to strengthen Polyas steps which include 1.
understand the problem, 2. devise a plan, 3. carry out the plan, and 4. look back. Ninth, students
are learning to make sense of a problem by looking at a visual representation, formulate a
solution strategy, and explain a line of reasoning (Van de Walle, 2012). Tenth, this task is
helping students learn the difference between a numerator and a denominator. Eleventh, students
are learning how to define a whole properly. Students also learn that fractions are always in
relation to a whole. Twelfth, students should learn how to use language that draws attention to
the whole (Van de Walle, 2012). Lastly, teachers prompt students to gain a relational

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understanding about fractions, rather than an instrumental understanding (Van de Walle, 2012).
Students are not the only ones learning throughout this lesson. Students answers to the prompts
allow for teacher reflection and information about students learning and understanding.
Examining Student Solutions
Student 1: Grade 5 completed the brownie problem by reading the thinking of the three
different students and decided if Sally, Demetrius, and Marcus were correct or incorrect. Student
1: Grade 5 was asked to justify their answers so we could gather clear information about their
understanding of fractions. For Sallys answer of student 1 is seeing one brownie as the whole.
He is not seeing that two brownies can be a whole in this situation. Student 1 is having difficulty
defining the whole. As a teacher, I would prompt this student by asking him to define the whole
that he was thinking about when he answered this question. Possibly, student 1 does not
understand that there are two separate brownies because his answer states no, because the boxes
are separated. This is all of the information I am aware of through his short answer. I would
have to speak to this student further and prompt productive questions to gather more knowledge
on his ability with fractions. Next, student 1 understands that Marcus sees one brownie as the
whole because student 1 references this in his answer by recognizing one brownie is one whole
by saying one box is shaded all in and the other one is shaded so it is . Again, I would need
to prompt this student further by asking What does Marcus define the whole as? Furthermore,
how did Marcus get the answer of 1 ? I want this student to reiterate what the whole is so I
can ensure that he understands completely. I am concerned that this student does not fully grasp
the fraction sense but is able to recognize Marcuss thought process. Thirdly, in justifying
Demetrius's answer, student 1 may not understand that two brownies can be one whole. He
showed me that in justifying Sallys work because he said the boxes are separated. He may

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also be thinking in the out of language. For example, how can we take 3 out of 2? I would
prompt this student by asking him to consider each brownie being 1 whole and see if he can view
the situation differently. Furthermore, I could also ask him if there were 4 pieces in the whole,
then what would be the size of each piece? This question would help guide Student 1:Grade 5
in the correct direction.
Student 2: Grade 5 justified Sally, Marcus, and Demetriuss work with some
misconceptions similar to Student 1: Grade 5. First, in justifying Sallys work, student 2 was not
viewing the whole as two brownies. He is portraying that he believes that the whole is one
brownie, therefore he understands Marcuss thinking rather than Sallys. He may understand that
the whole needs to be defined, but he is simply just assuming when answering Sallys answer
that the whole is one brownie. I would need to prompt this student further by asking could the
whole be two brownies? and further, if the whole was four pieces, what size would each piece
be equal to? Secondly, when rationalizing Marcuss thinking, student 2 understood that each
brownie is equal to one whole. He knew this because he stated because it is 1 whole and 1 half.
Through this statement, I can possibly see that this student may understand that each piece is
in size. If I wanted to know exactly what student 2 believes to be true, I would ask what does
Marcus define the whole as? and if the whole is one brownie, what size is each piece equal
to? Lastly, in reviewing Demetrius's understanding, student 2 understands how to divide 3/2 to
get 1 . I am unaware if the student understands that the whole is one brownie and each piece is
the size of . Therefore, we have 3, shaded pieces, giving us 3/2. Student 2s response was
yes, because I did the math. From this statement, all I can gather fully is that this student
knows how to do long division. I would prompt this student further by asking if you did not
long divide, could you see how Demetrius is correct in a different way?

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Student 4: Grade 5 had many similarities in his justifications with Student 1: Grade 5 and
Student 2: Grade 5. First, in Sallys justification, student 4s answer conclude that he may know
that the whole is two brownies and each piece is the size of . There are 3, size pieces, giving
us . Student 4 may understand this concept because he states yes, because are shaded. I
would have to ask this student to define the whole and further, ask what the size of each piece is.
Secondly, when student 4 explained Marcuss thinking, student 4 appears to understand that one
brownie is the whole. He also appears to understand that each piece is the size of , or student 4
may not understand that each piece is the size of . He may not understand the size of each piece
because he may just simply understand that one brownie is shaded and half of the other brownie
is shaded. I would need to prompt this student further by asking him to define the whole and
explain what the size of each piece is. Furthermore, I would also ask him how he thinks Marcus
got his answer because this would set the base for further instruction. Lastly, when completing a
justification for Demetriuss response, student 4 said no, because 3/2 is an improper fraction. I
would have to question this student further, but he may be thinking in the out of language. For
example, again, how can I take 3 pieces out of 2 pieces? I would ask this student why are
you concerned that 3/2 is an improper fraction? With this question, I would use the answer to
guide my future instruction.

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Similarities and Differences Among Students Solutions

Student 1 and 2 on question one (Sally) seemed to not grasp the idea that the whole can
be 2 brownies. Student 1 said no, because the boxes are separated, and student 2 said no
because there is one whole. They both are having difficulty defining the whole and
understanding that each piece is the size of . Every student (1,2,4) appeared to understand
Marcuss thinking. Each answer was extremely similar. Student 1 stated yes, because one box is

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shaded in and the other one is shaded so it is . Student 2 responded yes because it is 1 whole
and a half. Student 4 said yes because 1 whole is shaded and is shaded on the other. What
is concerning about these answers is if the students truly understand that the whole is defined as
1 brownie and each piece is in size. There is 3, pieces shaded giving us 1 . They are each
able to recognize Marcuss thinking process but do they see one brownie shaded and half of
another? To answer this question, I would need to questions students further. Student 1 and 4
have similar thinking on Demetrius's problem. Student 1 responded no, because there are 4
pieces. Student 4 stated no because 3/2 is an improper fraction. Student 1 and 4 are again
having trouble viewing 2 brownies as a whole. In this case, they may also be thinking in the out
of language. For example, how can I take 3 pieces out of 2 pieces? Student 4 appears to
understand Sallys thinking, which is different from student 1 and 2. Student 4 states yes,
because are shaded. From this statement I can assume that he knows that the whole is 2
brownies and each piece is in size but to know for sure, I would have to prompt this student
further with probing questions. Student 2 on Demetrius's problem said yes because I did the
math. He completed long division for 3/2 and got 1 . From this answer all I can gather is that
he was able to complete long division.
Peer Feedback
My peer feedback from my assigned partner was helpful in completing my final part of
the student work analysis. In part one of the assignment, I did not include an appropriate amount
of diagrams. My peer feedback was correct to give me a good in the diagrams section. I used a
couple of diagrams to explain my thinking in the original task but I did not include diagrams to
show Student 1, 2, and 4s thinking when justifying Sally, Demetrius, and Marcuss answers.
This was changed in my final product.

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Secondly, my peer feedback said I was very explicit in stating what I wanted each
student to learn by explaining what each student needed to further explain through prompting
questions to gather the students true understanding. I chose to change some wording and
questions because I felt like this was an essential part of understanding the students grasp on
fractions. Lastly, my peer feedback stated that each one of my responses were descriptive in
explanation. I furthered this by adding more information that I thought would be helpful when
reading this analysis.

References in APA Style

Van de Walle, J., Karp, K., & Bay-Williams, J. (2012). Exploring What it Means to Know and
Do Mathematics. In Elementary and middle school mathematics: Teaching developmentally.(8th
ed.). Boston, Mass.: Allyn & Bacon.

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