Missing value and comparison problems: What pupils know before the teaching of proportion

Abstract

This paper analyses grade 6 pupils’ mathematical processes and difficulties in solv-ing proportion problems before the formal teaching of this topic. Using a qualitative methodology, we examine pupils’ thinking processes at four levels of performance in missing value and comparison problems proposed in a written test and in an oral interview video and audio recorded. The results show that pupils tend to use scalar composition and decomposition strategies in missing value problems and functional strategies in comparison problems. Pupils’ difficulties are related to a lack of recognition of the multiplicative nature of proportion relationships.