Fraction Board Instruction and Learning Participation in a Rural Fifth Grade Classroom
Abstract
Fraction instruction requires students to connect equal parts and quantities with symbolic notation. This study examined how fraction-board instruction was implemented and revised, and how achievement and participation changed in one rural fifth-grade classroom. Classroom action research involved 25 students, comprising 14 girls and 11 boys, at State Primary School 12 Pemunduran (SD Negeri 12 Pemunduran), Muaro Jambi Regency, Indonesia. Two cycles of two meetings each followed planning, action, observation, and reflection. Written assessments, structured observation, and classroom documentation were analyzed descriptively. The class mean increased from 60.0 before the intervention to 70.8 after Cycle I and 81.0 after Cycle II. The proportion meeting the school’s mastery criterion of 70 increased from 16% to 60% and then 100%. Question-asking increased from 20% to 48% to 80%, while question-answering increased from 28% to 60% to 88%. Difficulties after Cycle I informed stronger teacher guidance, more varied tasks, and additional media access in Cycle II. These changes accompanied improved class-level performance but cannot establish the independent effect of the board. The absence of a comparison group, together with unreported psychometric validation and disaggregated outcomes, limits causal and equity claims. The study provides contextual evidence on guided use of concrete resources and identifies individual reasoning and participation opportunities as priorities for further evaluation.
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Published
2026-09-30