PROCEEDINGS OF THE 19TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2016
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Separating issues in the learning of algebra from mathematical problem solving
Page: 605
Students’ difficulty in learning school algebra has motivated a plethora of research on knowledge and skills needed for success in algebra and subsequent undergraduate mathematics courses. However, in gateway mathematics courses for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors, student success rates remain low. One reason for this may be to the lack of understanding of thresholds in student mathematical problem solving (MPS) practices necessary for success in later courses. Building from our synthesis of the literature in MPS, we developed Likert scale items to assess undergraduate students’ MPS. We used this emerging assessment and individual, task-based interviews to better understand students’ MPS. Preliminary results suggest that students’ issues in algebra do not prohibit them from using their typical problem solving methods. Thus, the assessment items reflect students’ MPS, regardless of possible misconceptions in algebra, and provide a mechanism for examining MPS capacity separate from procedural and conceptual issues in algebra.