engleski

Different Perspectives On Success In Solving Stand-alone Problems by 14 to 15-year-old Students

The paper defines a special type of problem tasks and considers its didactic potential, as well as the success of students in solving the selected problem. The research instrument used is a geometrical task from the National Secondary School Leaving Exam in Croatia (State Matura). The geometrical task is presented in three versions: as verbal problem, as verbal problem with a corresponding image and as problem in context. The material analysed in the present paper was collected from 182 students in 7th and 8th grade of Croatian urban elementary schools. The didactic potential is considered from the aspect of use of mathematical concepts and connections. The success of students in problem-solving is considered from the aspect of implementation of the problem- solving process and producing correct answers, depending on the manner in which the tasks are set up. The results show that the stand-alone problem, as a special type of problem task, has considerable didactic potential. However, the students’ skills of discovering and connecting mathematical concepts and their properties are underdeveloped. In addition, the manner in which the tasks are set up considerably affects the process of solving the task and consequently the success of that process. Based on the results of the research, proposals are given for application of stand-alone problems in teaching mathematics.

isolated problem ; mathematical task ; problem solving ; problem evaluation

nije evidentirano