There exist mathematical problems with textual content that students must decode and understand in order to move forward in the problem solving process. This means that abilities and skills other than arithmetic are needed. The purpose of this study is to investigate and identify the problems that students come across in the encounter with the text in mathematical problems. In order to make visible the problems that arise, an observation of students takes place where the think-aloud method is applied to see the students' approach, which takes place in two groups of four students each. The data recorded during this observation is then used to analyze the students' approach as well as in the second method, video stimulated recall, which takes place with the students' teachers in order to further gain another perspective on the students' approach. The empirical work was analyzed primarily with a model created based on Kintsch's theory of problem solving components, but also socio-cultural theories on the importance of language and the concept of literacy. The results showed that the students have problems with how to proceed when they deal with mathematical problems. The students' ability to solve the tasks also decreased when adding irrelevant numerical information because they searched the text for numbers to make quick calculations. Their literacy skills turned out to be lacking as the majority of students had difficulty creating an overall understanding through their reading and text comprehension and because of this they also did not arrive at a correct solution.
- Grundlärarutbildning: årskurs 4-6
Litteracitet som nyckel till problemlösning: En kvalitativ studie om mellanstadieelevers problemlösningsprocess
Bengtsson, S. (Author), Friberg, J. (Author). 2023-Jun
Student thesis: Professional degree, Advanced level