AbstractsEducation Research & Administration

The primary objective for all teachers is tied with the provision of proper education for all their given students in a manner that is suited specifically to their needs. One means for facilitating this is through the use of an effective handbook highlighting a number of appropriate strategies that suit the group being taught on a certain topic. With this regard, this handbook presented several effective strategies, which can be used in teaching fractions to middle school students. The underlying aim of this project is to extend the available fractions??? research on middle school students struggling with fractions. This entailed the creation of a handbook that is applicable to the Saudi Arabian fractions??? curriculum so as to facilitate fraction teaching for the middle school students. The author carried out extensive research from American libraries that are characterized by rich fractional content as compared to Saudi Arabia, since the latter is considerably underdeveloped with regards to pertinent resources. The strategies established in the handbook showcase a mixture of conventional strategies and the approved evidence based effective strategies. The handbook has made provision for pertinent information on fractions and contains four chapters, namely; an introduction chapter, a chapter on fractions??? content that is part of the curriculum of middle school mathematics, a chapter on effective strategies for effectively teaching fractions, and finally a chapter on how to appropriately assess student learning of the fraction content. More importantly, there has been the identification of eight effective strategies applicable in fractions teaching, in addition to several assessment techniques appropriate in the monitoring of students??? progress. The handbook???s information is expected to assist teachers in the overall teaching of fractions to the mathematics middle school students. The intention of the handbook is to offer appropriate support, in addition to complementing the overall implementation of the traditional curriculum applicable for middle school fractions,. Hence, the project does not really make provision for a fractions??? textbook but rather a guide to a fraction???s textbook and fractions??? teacher. Via the provision of subsequent guidance with respect to the teaching of fractions, this project has attempted to efficiently illuminate a specific pedagogical framework with regards to mathematical thinking enhancement. This is with reference to the means of supporting, eliciting, and effective extending of conventional higher-order skills in mathematics such as reasoning; connecting and integrating; expressing and communicating; in addition to problem solving and application. Advisors/Committee Members: Oloff-Lewis, Jennifer (advisor).