AN INVESTIGATION OF STUDENTS’ ALGEBRAIC PROFICIENCY FROM A STRUCTURE SENSE PERSPECTIVE

Al Jupri, Ririn Sispiyati, Kin Eng Chin

Abstract


Structure sense can be interpreted as an intuitive ability towards symbolic expressions, including skills to perceive, to interpret, and to manipulate symbols in different roles. This ability shows student algebraic proficiency in dealing with various symbolic expressions and is considered important to be mastered by secondary school students for advanced study or professional work. This study, therefore, aims to investigate students’ algebraic proficiency in terms of structure sense. To reach this aim, we set up a qualitative case study with the following three steps. First, after conducting a literature study, we designed structure sense tasks according to structure sense characteristics for the topic of equations. Second, we administered an individual written test involving 28 grade XI students (16-17 year-old). Third, we analyzed students’ written work using a structure sense perspective. The results showed that about two-thirds of the participated students lack of structure sense in which they tend to use more procedural strategies than structure sense strategies in solving equations. We conclude that the perspective of structure sense provides a fruitful lens for assessing students’ algebraic proficiency.


Keywords


Algebraic Proficiency; Structure Sense; Equations; Procedural and Structure Sense Strategies

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22342/jme.12.1.13125.147-158

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Journal on Mathematics Education
Doctoral Program on Mathematics Education
Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Sriwijaya
Kampus FKIP Bukit Besar
Jl. Srijaya Negara, Bukit Besar
Palembang - 30139
email: jme@unsri.ac.id
p-ISSN: 2087-8885 | e-ISSN: 2407-0610

Creative Commons License
Journal on Mathematics Education (JME) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.


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