The Definitions of Spatial Quantities in Elementary Curriculum Materials

Research indicates that U.S. students have misunderstandings in measurement, and one reason is the highly procedural focus of elementary curricula. Because the definitions of quantities are basic conceptual content, we examined definitional-type expressions (related to formal mathematical definitions) for spatial quantities (length, area and volume) within and across elementary curricula with special attention to the inclusion of units, quantification, and exhausting space. We found inconsistencies in the ways these conceptual aspects were presented. In some cases, the inclusion of particular conceptual content depended on the type of quantity, (e.g. "exhausting space" was strongly emphasized in area measure, but less so in length and volume). [For the complete proceedings, see ED583608.]