Fourth-Grade Primary School Students’ Misconception on Greatest Common Factor and Least Common Multiple

Abstract

This study is aimed at determining students’ misconceptions on the teaching material of the greatest common factor and least common multiple. The sample of this study consisted of 124 fourth-grade elementary school students in the academic year of 2019–2020 in areas of Mataram, West Lombok, North Lombok, and East Lombok at West Nusa Tenggara Province. The instrument of this study is a test covering five questions in the form of open questions. The data are analyzed based on the students’ explanations while they answer the test. The students’ wrong answers are grouped into categories. The interview activities are carried out for students who have a misconception. Then, researchers create a table of frequencies/presentations relating to each type of students’ misconception. The results show that students experience misconceptions due to factors, including having a weak multiplication concept, having a weak prime number concept, determining the least common multiple of two numbers by multiplying the two numbers, and inability to distinguish between multiples and factors of a number. In light of the findings, a number of conclusions are obtained and several implications are put forward.

Research on Nonroutine Problems: A Hybrid Didactical Design for Overcoming Student Learning Obstacles

“…provides early learning activities where students determine the LCM and GCD values of several integers. This helps train their ability to perform multiplication and division operations on integers [44].…”

Learning obstacles analysis of lowest common multiple and greatest common factor in primary school

“…Several studies on LCM and GFC focus on developing learning using certain learning approaches, models, or methods, such as using the RME approach (Fauzan et al, 2020), using problem-based learning models (Li & Tsai, 2021), and implementing APIQ (Arithmetic Plus Quantum Intelligence) creative mathematics game method (Rahman, 2018). In addition, research on LCM and GCF misconceptions was conducted by (Sutarto, 2021) on fourth grade elementary school students. The misconceptions in this study were that students experienced misconceptions due to factors, the weak concept of multiplication and prime numbers, and the inability of students to distinguish multiples and factors of a number.…”

Freshman STEM students’ misconceptions in a basic limit theorem of limx→0(sinxWeldeana, Sbhatu, Berhe 2023Heliyon0000View full textAdd to dashboardCite

“…Misconceptions, as contributors to students' errors, are exhibited due to poor or weak comprehension of what is learned [ 24 , [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] ], faulty line of thinking in prerequisite knowledge, personal beliefs and attitudes [ 25 , 26 , 32 , 47 ] and motivation to learn on the part of students as well as inappropriate teaching methods [ 12 , 42 , [48] , [49] , [50] ]. Curricula can also be the source of the problem [ 21 , 45 , 50 ].…”