How Do Year One Students Represent and Solve Word Problems Based on Numbers Parts-Whole Relationship?

Numbers parts-whole relationship is mainly represented by number bonds in the Malaysian year one mathematics textbooks. Seldom tasks are given to encourage students to create their own representations. The purpose of this study was to investigate how year one students represent and solve word problems based on numbers parts-whole relationship. On this account a cross sectional survey was conducted to collect data from a purposive sample of 42 year one students chosen based on enrollment and their mathematics performance in LINUS. Their numbers parts-whole representation was examined with the 'Number Pairs Instrument' and a short interview. Results indicated that though the students have been taught about using representations for finding number pairs, they faced difficulty in producing accurate and complete representations by themselves to solve the word problems. This study shows that year one students need guidance and practice for creating efficient representations to solve parts-whole word problems which require multiple answers.