In a recent study we followed the teaching and learning of fractions and proportion with focus on how students develops their knowledge from grade 4 to grade 8. Another focus was on teachers’ ability to identify the object of learning and its crucial aspects.

A qualitative analysis of the date shows that the students often failed in understanding crucial aspects of fractions and proportion and for that reason they made systematic mistakes later on. One reason for this appeared to be teachers’ lack of subject matter knowledge and an insufficient focus on the object of teaching. This became most evident in grade 8, where students’ misconceptions of fractions and extending of fractions, forced the teachers to introduce procedural methods like cross-multiplication. However, such teaching methods caused still more confusion and new misconceptions.