Fraction Sense: Foundational Understandings

The intent of this commentary is to identify elements of fraction sense and note how the research studies provided in this special issue, in related but somewhat different ways, validate the importance of such understandings. Proficiency with fractions serves as a prerequisite for student success in higher level mathematics, as well as serving as a gateway to many occupations and varied contexts beyond the mathematics classroom. Fraction sense is developed through instructional opportunities involving fraction equivalence and magnitude, comparing and ordering fractions, using fraction benchmarks, and computational estimation. Such foundations are then extended to operations involving fractions and decimals and applications involving proportional reasoning. These components of fraction sense are all addressed in the studies provided in this issue, with particular consideration devoted to the significant importance of the use of the number line as a central representational tool for conceptually understanding fraction magnitude.