Representations in Teaching and Learning Fractions

APRIL 2002 Tools for Representing Fractions This article discusses fraction models. The terms representation and model are sometimes used almost interchangeably, but the two terms are not synonymous. For example, we use a model to represent a mathematical idea. The reason for this ambiguity is that both representation and model have several different meanings and share some meanings. A model can be a scale model of an actual object, a series of equations that mathematically model a physical phenomenon, a demonstration, something that illustrates or exemplifies a mathematical concept, concrete materials used in instruction, and so on. Similarly,