Generalization in fifth graders within a functional approach

Resumen

This article discusses evidence of fifth graders’ (10-11 year olds’) ability to generalize when solving a linear function problem. Analyzed in the context of the functional approach of early algebra, the findings show that students generalized both when solving specific problems and when asked to define the general formula. The results are described in terms of the type of questions in which students generalized their answers, as well as of the functional relationships identified and the types of representation used to express them. Most of the pupils who generalized did so based on the correspondence between pairs of values in the function at issue.