Teaching and Learning Fraction and Rational Numbers: The Origins and Implications of Whole Number Bias

Many researchers agree that children's difficulty with fraction and rational numbers is associated with their whole number knowledge, but they disagree on the origin of the whole number bias. This article reviews three explanations of the nature of the bias. These accounts diverge on the questions of whether or not early quantitative representation originates from a numerical-specific cognitive mechanism, and whether or not the early quantitative representation privileges discrete quantity. The review suggests that there does not yet appear to be sufficient evidence to decide among the competing accounts as to the nature of the whole number bias. Yet, in the search for the understanding, two important issues…