EDMA412Rachel Paraman S00118748Tutor: Jill Brown

EDMA412 Assessment Task 2:

Area and perimeter interview, analysis, and link to research literature

Rachel Paraman S00118748

Introduction:

Literature suggests that the topics of length, area and volume prove to be particularly challenging for children to understand (Chappell &

Thompson, 1999: Martin & Strutchens, 2000: Robinson, Mahaffey & Nelson, 1975 cited in Tas Sisman & Aksu, 2015), yet they are crucial as

they help students to better understand their world around them (Oberdorf & Taylor-Cox, 1999). Furthermore, understanding of key

measurement and geometric areas is also important as it links to other key areas of mathematics and helps students make connections

between their learning (Oberdorf & Taylor-Cox, 1999). Like any learning area, mathematics facilitates the opportunity for errors and

misconceptions to arise (Gough, 2008; Mohyuddin & Khalil, 2016; Tan Sisman & Aksu, 2015). Given the fact that misconceptions are often hard

to break due to the connectedness that students feel with their idea or rule that they have created (Mohyuddin & Khalil, 2016), it is important

as a teacher that we are aware of the types of misconceptions, how they are caused and how they can be rectified (Tan Sisman & Aksu, 2015)

because if not rectified, misconceptions can hinder future learning in other areas (Gough, 2008; Mohyuddin & Khalil, 2016). Interviews such as

these are a great way to probe student understanding and to weed out possible gaps in learning, which can then influence future planning

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(Reys et al., 2012). It is important to understand the difference between an error and a misconception, as errors can be caused by a number of

different things including misconceptions (Mohyuddin & Khalil, 2016; Tan Sisman & Aksu, 2015). Misconceptions can be described as a

perceived pattern or generalization, which often results in a congruent pattern of mistakes (Mohyuddin & Khalil, 2016; Tan Sisman & Aksu,

2015). Three primary aged students were interviewed in this report about their understanding of perimeter and area. Due to the closed

question nature of this interview (Reys et al., 2012), I modified the interview to become more open, by asking the students to explain why they

had chosen their answer and also recording any observable behaviour that may indicate what they were thinking. This offered more insight as

to what they understand about perimeter and area, and also ruled out whether they had a lucky guess at choosing the right answer (Reys et

al., 2012). With the relevant literature and data from the interviews combined, I have also considered two possible tasks that would be useful

in the classroom when teaching perimeter and area.

Tasks 1 and 2: Interview and analysis of child responses:

Student A:
Age: 11
Gender: Female
Year Level: 5
QUESTION ANSWER JUSTIFICATION OBSERVATIONS
1A R and S have equal area It is the same shape, just in a Very quick to respond that they
different way are the same before I could
Correct finish answering the question

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1B S has the bigger perimeter The outline is bigger on this one
(Shape S) than that one (Shape
Correct R)
1C R and S have equal card to paint Because they are the same
shapes. This bit is the same as
Correct this. This one is the same to this
and those are the same (pointing
to corresponding shapes)
1D It is further around the outside Because of the outlines. This
of S shape is bigger
Traced the outline of each shape
with their finger and their eyes
Again, very quick to respond that
they are the same. Indicates a
connection between the idea of
area and the idea of painting the
area of both shapes
Traced one shape and then
realised it was the same as 1B

Correct
2A P has the bigger area Because there are more pins Counted the pins while nodding
inside it (Shape P) head and tapping finger.
Correct
Thought that there was nothing
inside of Shape Q because there
were no pins inside it
2B P has the bigger perimeter This shape (Q) is longer, but it is Hesitated with this question. The
smaller than that one (P). That large difference in area is
Incorrect one (P) has a bigger outline interfering with focusing on just
the perimeter. It is evident that
the child believes that P has a
bigger perimeter because it is a
bigger shape
2C P has more space inside it Because I counted the pins Counted pins, rather than
estimating by visual comparison
Correct
2D It is further around the outside Because P is bigger Was quick to respond based on
of P previous experience with
question 2B
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EDMA412Rachel Paraman S00118748Tutor: Jill Brown

Incorrect

Analysis of Student A:

Student A demonstrates a conceptual understanding (Tan Sisman & Aksu, 2015) of both area and perimeter in isolation (i.e. Area is the

amount of surface enclosed within a shape and perimeter is the distance around a shape (Reys et al., 2012)), however some confusion is

present when looking at the relationship between the two attributes and the impact that changing one attribute has on the other. Student A

knows that the area of a shape remains the same if the shape is cut into sub-parts and rearranged to form a new shape (i.e. Changing the

perimeter of the shape). This is evident in question 1A, where Student A stated that R and S have equal area because its the same shape just

in a different way. Student A also recognises that whilst the area did not change, the perimeter became greater when transformed into Shape

S because the outlines [of Shape S] is bigger [than Shape R]. When manipulating the idea of area as being a surface covering in the context of

paint, Student A further demonstrates an understanding of area, correctly justifying why the same amount of paint would be needed to cover

both cards.

Whilst Student A demonstrates an understanding that shapes can have the same area and different perimeters, some more exposure to

shapes with the same perimeter and different areas would be beneficial. When comparing the perimeter of the shapes in question 2, Student

A demonstrated a common misconception that if the area of the shape is bigger, then the perimeter must also be bigger. This of course is not

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the case as we can see in question 2 that the areas are distinctly different, however the perimeters are exactly the same. This misconception is

similar to that described by Gough (2008) where students believe that the area enclosed within a loop of string is always the same because the

length of string remains unchanged.

Another perceived misconception that Student A demonstrated was that the number of pins tells you how big the perimeter is, rather than

considering the spaces in between the pins as one unit and this is congruent with Tan Sisman & Aksus (2015) research. This means that

Student A believes that the perimeter of Shape R is 21cm, when in fact the actual perimeter is 20cm. This also links to common misconceptions

in measurement when children include the starting point on a ruler as 1 rather than 0.

Student B:
Age: 12
Gender: Female
Year Level: 6

QUESTION ANSWER JUSTIFICATION OBSERVATIONS

1A R and S have equal area Its the same shape in a Very confident to answer
different spot question and justification
Correct demonstrated a clear
understanding
1B S has the bigger perimeter It has more sides and longer I believe Student B meant more

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EDMA412Rachel Paraman S00118748Tutor: Jill Brown

length when say more sides

Correct as they traced the sides with
their finger when they said it
1C R and S have equal card to paint Because you can rearrange Very confident and prompt to
them and they are the same answer question
Correct
1D It is further around the outside There is more space to walk Traced both shapes with finger
of S around (S)

Correct
2A P and Q have equal area The string fits around both Possible misconception: same
perimeter means the same area
Incorrect
2B P and Q have equal perimeter The inside is thinner, but the Confident to answer promptly
outside is the same
Correct
2C P has more space inside it Theres more pins inside it (P) Counted pins. Possible lack of
connection between the idea of
Correct area and space being used
interchangeably
2D It is further around the outside Because there is more space Very confident to respond to this
of P one. Possible misunderstanding
that more area means more
Incorrect perimeter

Analysis of Student B:

Similar to Student A, Student B demonstrates a conceptual understanding (Tan Sisman & Aksu, 2015) of both area and perimeter in isolation,

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however some confusion is present when looking at the relationship between the two attributes and the impact that changing one attribute

has on the other. Student B demonstrates an understanding that shapes can have the same area with varying perimeters and this is evident in

both the answers and justifications for all of question 1. Student B can use the visual aids such as matching each corresponding coloured piece

of card in question 1 or using the pins in the geoboard in question 2 to double check and argue why the area is either the same or different.

Some confusion is present when comparing two shapes which have the same perimeter. A possible misconception highlighted by Student B

was that the area of both P and Q were the same because the string fits around both (i.e. They both have the same perimeter), which is

again congruent with the misconception described by Gough (2008). Another possible misconception highlighted by Student B when

comparing two shapes was assuming that the perimeter of a shape must be bigger if the area of the shape is bigger than the other shape in

question and this is evident in both the response and reasoning behind question 2D.

Student B also demonstrates the misconception that counting the number of pins in the geoboard will indicate the perimeter of the shape,

rather than considering one unit as the distance between 2 pins, which is again consistent with the research by Tan Sisman & Aksu, 2015).

Student B would benefit from more exposure to learning experiences with investigating shapes that have the same perimeter, as well as

investigating shapes in varying forms (geoboards, concrete materials, drawing shapes on grid paper etc.). Activities using informal units such as

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beans or rods could also rectify Student Bs misconception on individual units.

Student C:
Age: 11
Gender: Male
Year Level: 5
QUESTION ANSWER JUSTIFICATION OBSERVATIONS
1A You cannot tell if one area is You cant turn it to match it Visually compared each part of
bigger or not the shape to one another. I think
Wait, they are the same the fact that the pink triangle
Incorrect was flipped and he couldnt
Self-corrected to R and S have visually place it on top of the
equal area other shape as it was caused him
to think You cannot tell

Self-corrected when he realised

that they were made up of the
same shapes
1B S has the bigger perimeter Its wider (S) Traced along the edge of each
shape with their eyes
Correct There are more centimeters in
this one (S) Looked at the edge of each
shape that made up S and
These lines would only go up to compared it to R. He could
here on this shape (S) and there visually see that the outside edge
would be more of shape R would not go all the
way around shape S and gave a
very good estimate of where he

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thinks it would start and end

1C R and S have equal card to paint Its the same shape Was very quick to respond to
this one based on previous
Correct experience with 1A. He did say
they were the same shape,
however I believe what he
meant to say was that they were
the same shapes that made up
each of the shapes R and S
1D It is further around the outside Its wider Visually compared both shapes
of S again. Could visibly be seen
More space to count on counting the pins in his head
Correct
More centimeters
2A P has the bigger area More pins shows more space Was quick to respond, but
double checked by counting the
Correct You can fit more pins (P) pins
2B P has the bigger perimeter It is bigger and not as wide Hesitated. Tracked the outline of
both shapes with eyes
Incorrect It has matching corners
2C P has more space inside it More space in the middle and Very quick to respond.
its bigger Justification shows an
Correct understanding of area
2D It is further around the outside Because it is wider Hesitated again. Contradicts 2A.
of Q The large difference in area
interfered with focusing on the
Incorrect attribute of perimeter

Analysis of Student C:

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EDMA412Rachel Paraman S00118748Tutor: Jill Brown

Similar to Students A and B, Student C understands that shapes can have the same area, but vary in the size of their perimeter. This is evident

when Student A distinguished that both shapes R and S have the same area and require the same amount of paint to cover with their

justification lying in the fact that they are made up of the same sized parts. The misconception that the shape with the larger area means that

it also has a larger perimeter hindered Student C from recognising that both shapes have the same perimeter, as was demonstrated by the

piece of string at the beginning of question 2. Student C can correctly argue that a shape has a larger area due to either having more pins

inside it or because there is more space or surface (Reys et al., 2012). Furthermore, Student C can recognise that the perimeter is the

measurement of distance around the shape (Reys et al., 2012).

Student C would benefit from more exposure of examples of shapes where the perimeter remains the same, however the area changes.

Activities such as this would help Student C to understand why the examples in question 2 have the same perimeter, despite one shape looking

distinctly larger than the other.

Task 3: Report of some aspects of research literature related to student understanding and relevant tasks to the teaching of area
and/or perimeter:

As stated previously, geometry is both an important and often difficult concept to learn (Chappell & Thompson, 1999: Martin & Strutchens,

2000; Robinson, Mahaffey & Nelson, 1975 cited in Tas Sisman & Aksu, 2015), however overall, children tend to gain a lot of enjoyment out of

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studying the topic due to their intrigue with shapes and patterns (Oberdorf & Taylor- Cox, 1999). Understanding measurement and geometry is

important as it enables children to connect their learning with the real world (Oberdorf & Taylor- Cox, 1999), but also because it is the

foundation to other related maths topics (Tan Sisman & Aksu, 2015) such as volume, angles etc. Literature suggests that a superficial

understanding of key measurement areas such as area, perimeter and volume remains prevalent amongst upper primary aged students and

this is due to teaching being focused on finding the product, rather than focusing on the procedure and understanding what it is that the

product is representing (Tan Sisman & Aksu, 2015).

Given the impact that understanding measurement and geometry has on the progression of learning, it is therefore important that we as

teachers are providing effective, quality teaching (Mohyuddin & Khalil, 2016). This means knowing the related mathematics concepts

ourselves, knowing how students learn the topics (Mohyuddin & Khalil, 2016), being aware of common misconceptions that can arise, their

causes and how to rectify and prevent them in the future (Tan Sisman & Aksu, 2015). Not all errors are caused by misconceptions, however

misconceptions generally lead to a pattern of errors and can create further misconceptions (Mohyuddin & Khalil, 2016; Tan Sisman & Aksu,

2015) and hindering on future learning. It is important to understand the underlying cause of student errors before taking any action to rectify

the problem (Mohyuddin & Khalil, 2015).

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EDMA412Rachel Paraman S00118748Tutor: Jill Brown

Some common misconceptions in relation to area and perimeter include believing that: the area is always bigger than the perimeter because

you have to multiply rather than add (Gough, 2008); the area contained within a loop of string is always the same because the length of the

string remains unchanged (Gough, 2008); the area is always length multiplied by width (Gough, 2008); for one area of a rectangle, there will

only be one possible perimeter i.e. When the area is 50cm^2, the perimeter will always be 30cm (Gough, 2008); the perimeter stays the same

when the shape is manipulated into a new shape (Tan Sisman & Aksu, 2015); if the shape has a bigger area than another, then the perimeter is

also bigger than the other; the area and the perimeter are the same for each shape (Tan Sisman & Aksu, 2015). As you can see, children who

exhibit any one of these experiences are likely to encounter some difficulties when completing tasks associated with area and perimeter.

The above misconceptions are very common and if not rectified can impact on future learning in a negative way (Gough, 2008; Tan Sisman &

Aksu, 2015). It is therefore important that students have a solid understanding of the properties and relationships between shapes (Oberdorf

& Taylor- Cox, 1999), as well as understanding what partitioning and iterating is before investigating area and perimeter (Tan Sisman & Aksu,

2015). Furthermore, tasks that involve using and understanding arrays and grid structures assists in understanding area and perimeter (Tan

Sisman & Aksu, 2015). It is important to expose our students to tasks which teach the students what attribute they are investigating, why they

are investigating it, and what it means (Tan Sisman & Aksu, 2015), rather than simply finding the area or the perimeter of a shape. Moreover,

students must learn how the attribute stands alone as well as the relationship that one attribute has with another (Reys et al., 2012). These

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strategies will work towards students developing a more meaningful understanding of measurement that can be related to other areas in

mathematics in more sophisticated ways. The following two tasks are examples from Reys et al. (2012) that could be used in the classroom to

assist students in understanding perimeter and area.

Relevant Task 1: Shapes with the same perimeter, different area:

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Source: (Reys et al., 2012)

This task relates to question 2 in the interview, which focuses on shapes that have the same perimeter, but different areas. All 3 students

would benefit from this task to address the misconception that a bigger area means that it also has a bigger perimeter. In the duration of this

task students will encounter examples similar to that in question 2 where the shapes are distinctly difference in visual size in relation to area,

however they are the equal in terms of perimeter. This task will help students to develop the relationship between the two attributes, but also

to understand that area and perimeter are not dependent on one another (Reys et al., 2012). Furthermore, this activity will help student to

understand what perimeter and area actually means as a concept, rather than simply performing an algorithm to find the product.

Relevant Task 2: Introducing the idea of finding the area using a formula

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Source: (Reys et al., 2012)

This task would be appropriate for all 3 students from the interview because they showed a solid understanding of the attribute of area in

isolation from perimeter, so this would further extend their understanding of area. This activity could help to rectify the misconceptions found

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in relation to a single unit explained in the student analyses and could be extended by introducing the idea of perimeter later on. This task

enables students to understand area beyond finding the product obtained by multiplying the length by the width, because students need to

follow the steps which break down what the formula actually represents and thus a better understanding of the process can be obtained from

this task.

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References:

Gough, J. (2008). Diversions: Fixing misconceptions: Length, area and volume. Australian Mathematics Teacher, 64(2), 34-35.

Mohyuddin, R. r., & Khalil, U. (2016). Misconceptions of Students in Learning Mathematics at Primary Level. Bulletin of Education & Research,

38(1), 133-162.

Oberdorf, C. D., & Taylor-Cox, J. (1999). Shape up! Teaching Children Mathematics, 5(6), 340. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy1.acu.edu.au/docview/214139140?accountid=8194

Reys, R. E., Lindquist, L. M., Lambdin, D. V., Smith, N. L., Rogers, A., Falle, J.Bennett, S. (2012). Helping Children Learn Mathematics (1st

Australian ed.). Milton, Australia: John Wiley & Sons

Tan Sisman, G., & Aksu, M. (2015). A Study on Sixth Grade Students Misconceptions and Errors in Spatial Measurement: Length, Area, and

Volume. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 14(7), 1293-1319.

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