AN OVERVIEW OF THIRD GRADE STUDENTS' UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONCEPT OF FRACTIONS

Fraction material is a complex study that makes it difficult for students to understand the concept.
The concept of fractions is different from natural numbers and whole numbers because it has its
own uniqueness that creates pedagogical challenges for the mathematics education community.
The purpose of this study was to determine the understanding of third grade elementary school
students regarding the concept of fractions based on Bruner's theory. This research used
qualitative method with descriptive approach. The research subjects were third grade elementary
school students in North Toraja Regency. In Bruner's theory, the understanding process starts from
the enactive stage to the iconic then to the symbolic, but based on the findings in this study
conducted to several elementary school students in North Toraja Regency, different results were
found, namely the understanding process starts from the iconic to the symbolic, without passing
the first stage, namely enactive. Students find it too difficult to understand the enactive stage
because the concepts taught at school immediately start with the image media so that is what
causes the loss of this stage. Therefore, it is expected for teachers to teach concepts starting from
the enactive stage because at this stage students understand more easily by using concrete objects
related to everyday life.