2001/06/01 by Bethany Rittle‐Johnson, Robert S. Siegler, Martha W. Alibali · 3 citations
Mathematics · Social Sciences · #Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills #Mathematics Education and Teaching Techniques #Science Education and Pedagogy
paper · doi:10.1037/0022-0663.93.2.346
openalex publication_date 2001/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/03
The authors propose that conceptual and procedural knowledge develop in an iterative fashion and that improved problem representation is 1 mechanism underlying the relations between them. Two experiments were conducted with 5th- and 6th-grade students learning about decimal fractions. In Experiment 1, children's initial conceptual knowledge predicted gains in procedural knowledge, and gains in procedural knowledge predicted improvements in conceptual knowledge. Correct problem representations mediated the relation between initial conceptual knowledge and improved procedural knowledge. In Experiment 2, amount of support for correct problem representation was experimentally manipulated, and the manipulations led to gains in procedural knowledge. Thus, conceptual and procedural knowledge develop iteratively, and improved problem representation is 1 mechanism in this process