Analysis of Student Errors in Conceptual Understanding of Fractions in the 4th Grade
Siti Rufaidah Khoiriyah (a*), Wahyudin (b*)

a) Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia
*siti.rufaidah11[at]upi.edu
b) Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia
*wahyudin[at]upi.edu

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to describe the types of student errors in understanding the concept of fractions in the fourth grade of elementary school. This research was conducted using a descriptive qualitative method. The subject was three students with most errors in the test indicators who were taken from 30 students of fifth grade in an elementary school in Tasikmalaya City, West Java who had studied fractions in fourth grade. The data collection techniques used are observation, test questions, interviews, and documentation, with data analysis techniques in the form of qualitative data analysis. The results showed that there were several types of student errors in understanding the concept of fractions, namely: (1) operations error, where students use inappropriate operations in solving math problems, (2) computational or factual errors, where students use appropriate operations but make mistakes involving basic facts such as miscalculation of numbers, and (3) algorithm error, where the student uses the appropriate operation but makes a number of factual errors in the step of implementing the strategy or in applying the operating procedure. The error occurred caused by the wrong way students think about the concept of fractions and students are careless in doing calculations. Therefore, it is necessary to make efforts to deal with these mistakes and anticipate so that these mistakes will not be repeated for future students in understanding the concept of fractions.

Keywords: Student errors- conceptual understanding- fractions

Topic: Mathematics Education