This article describes the test data showing that a large number of science oriented college students were unable to solve simple algebraic problem. The data indicate that relatively advanced students also have series problems in translating meaningful situations into equations. Syntactic methods- methods not dependent on comprehending the meaning of the prescribed problem situation- can produce incorrect or meaningless result in other problems.
Written test data suggests that most errors were due to a difficulty with simple algebraic equations rather than a difficulty with simple algebraic manipulation skills or with simple ratio reasoning. One of the example which is discussing in this chapter is to represent “There are six times as many students as professors at a university” in an equation. 63% student did the task correctly(S=6P), where the typical wrong answer was 6S=P. High percentages of reversals are also observed in translations from pictures to equations, data tables to equations and equation to sentences. This demonstrates that the reversal error is not simply a result of ordering the words in a problem in a particular way. The error persist s even when the subject works from pictures or tables instead of words. The misconceptions causing the reversal error also seems to be fairly resilient.
In the interview with these students two conceptual sources of reversal errors are found - a syntactic word order matching process and a semantic static comparison process.
In word order matching, the student simply assumes that the order of key words in the problem statement will map directly into the order of symbols appearing in the equation. This is a syntactic strategy in the sense that it is based on rules for arranging symbols in an expression that it is based on rules for arranging symbols in an expression that do not depend on the meaning of the expression. In the previous example the words six times as many students will be translated as 6S and the equation will be written as 6S=P
Some semblance of reason in static comparison approach as an intuitive symbolization strategy, but the approach is a very literal attempt to compare the relative sizes of the two groups in a static manner. For the previous example the translation will be as S(6)->P(1), so that the equation is written as 6S=P.
Operative approach is a hypothetical active operation involves viewing the equation as representing an operation on a variable quantity to produce a number equal to another unspecified quantity. This approach derives correct answer(6P=S) for the previous problem. Student understand the equation as a function relating two variable quantities. Understanding an equation in two variables appears to require an understanding of the concept of variable at a deeper level than that required for one-variable equation. The key to understanding correct translations lies in the ability to invent an operation that generates and equivalence, and to realise that it is precisely this action that is symbolised on the right side of the equation.
This article describes the test data showing that a large number of science oriented college students were unable to solve simple algebraic problem. The data indicate that relatively advanced students also have series problems in translating meaningful situations into equations. Syntactic methods- methods not dependent on comprehending the meaning of the prescribed problem situation- can produce incorrect or meaningless result in other problems.
Written test data suggests that most errors were due to a difficulty with simple algebraic equations rather than a difficulty with simple algebraic manipulation skills or with simple ratio reasoning. One of the example which is discussing in this chapter is to represent “There are six times as many students as professors at a university” in an equation. 63% student did the task correctly(S=6P), where the typical wrong answer was 6S=P. High percentages of reversals are also observed in translations from pictures to equations, data tables to equations and equation to sentences. This demonstrates that the reversal error is not simply a result of ordering the words in a problem in a particular way. The error persist s even when the subject works from pictures or tables instead of words. The misconceptions causing the reversal error also seems to be fairly resilient.
In the interview with these students two conceptual sources of reversal errors are found - a syntactic word order matching process and a semantic static comparison process.
In word order matching, the student simply assumes that the order of key words in the problem statement will map directly into the order of symbols appearing in the equation. This is a syntactic strategy in the sense that it is based on rules for arranging symbols in an expression that it is based on rules for arranging symbols in an expression that do not depend on the meaning of the expression. In the previous example the words six times as many students will be translated as 6S and the equation will be written as 6S=P
Some semblance of reason in static comparison approach as an intuitive symbolization strategy, but the approach is a very literal attempt to compare the relative sizes of the two groups in a static manner. For the previous example the translation will be as S(6)->P(1), so that the equation is written as 6S=P.
Operative approach is a hypothetical active operation involves viewing the equation as representing an operation on a variable quantity to produce a number equal to another unspecified quantity. This approach derives correct answer(6P=S) for the previous problem. Student understand the equation as a function relating two variable quantities. Understanding an equation in two variables appears to require an understanding of the concept of variable at a deeper level than that required for one-variable equation. The key to understanding correct translations lies in the ability to invent an operation that generates and equivalence, and to realise that it is precisely this action that is symbolised on the right side of the equation.
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