Proportional reasoning ability of school leavers aspiring to higher education in South Africa

Frith, Vera; Lloyd, Pam

doi:10.4102/pythagoras.v37i1.317

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(19 reference statements)

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“…The pattern of performance on this task illustrates the difficulty that many people have with reasoning with proportions, understanding the distinction between absolute and relative quantities and the language used to make this distinction. These difficulties are further analysed by Frith and Lloyd (2016). It appears also that many students also did not recognise that the question required them to integrate information from two different data representations.…”

Section: Example 3: Proportional Reasoning and Integrating Data From Different Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 95%

The quantitative literacy of South African school-leavers who qualify for higher education

Prince

Frith

2017

Pythagoras

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There is an articulation gap for many students between the literacy practices developed at school and those demanded by higher education. While the school sector is often well attuned to the school-leaving assessments, it may not be as aware of the implicit quantitative literacy (QL) demands placed on students in higher education. The National Benchmark Test (NBT) in QL provides diagnostic information to inform teaching and learning. The performance of a large sample of school-leavers who wrote the NBT QL test was investigated (1) to demonstrate how school-leavers performed on this QL test, (2) to explore the relationship between performance on this test and on cognate school-leaving subjects and (3) to provide school teachers and curriculum advisors with a sense of the QL demands made on their students. Descriptive statistics were used to describe performance and linear regression to explore the relationships between performance in the NBT QL test and on the school subjects Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy. Only 13% of the NBT QL scores in the sample were classified as proficient and the majority of school-leavers would need support to cope with the QL demands of higher education. The results in neither Mathematics nor Mathematical Literacy were good predictors of performance on the NBT QL test. Examination of performance on selected individual items revealed that many students have difficulty with quantitative language and with interpreting data in tables. Given that QL is bound to context, it is important that teachers develop QL practices within their disciplinary contexts.

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Section: Example 3: Proportional Reasoning and Integrating Data From Different Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 95%

The quantitative literacy of South African school-leavers who qualify for higher education

Prince

Frith

2017

Pythagoras

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“…However, the cross-product strategy in solving student problems is the most commonly used, even though students do not fully understand the relationship between invariance and covariation (Mahlabela & Bansilal, 2015;Nugraha et al, 2016). The teacher must provide various types of proportional problems and instill the basics of ratio more deeply (Frith & Lloyd, 2016;I et al, 2018). The teaching and usage of proportional reasoning in everyday life will become more difficult if it is not understood conceptually but algorithmically (Dooley, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proportional and Non-Proportional Situation: How to Make Sense of Them

Nugraha¹,

Sa’dijah²,

Susiswo³

et al. 2023

INT J EDUC METHODOL

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<p style="text-align: justify;">Teacher knowledge is one of the main factors in the quality of mathematics learning. Many mathematics teachers have difficulty using proportional reasoning. Proportional reasoning is one of the essential aspects of the middle school mathematics curriculum to develop students' mathematical thinking. Teachers should realize that developing proportional reasoning is not an easy task. In this study, we investigated how teachers give proportional reasoning about the concept of proportional and non-proportional situations, especially in making sense of them. The research subjects were mathematics teachers who had taught proportional-related material. Data was collected using task-based interviews outside the teacher's working hours. Data analysis and interpretation were completed using a framework meaning-based approach. The results of the data analysis showed that the teacher is careful in understanding information, is aware of multiple meanings, and knows key information in understanding the contextual structure of proportional and non-proportional situations. Furthermore, they are also able to identify additive and multiplication relationships, have flexibility in understanding proportional and non-proportional situations separately or collectively, and understand problem-solving systematics in detail.</p>

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“…Proportion is a basic concept for understanding various mathematical topics (Dougherty, et al, 2016). The concept of proportion is covered by the entire curriculum from primary to secondary school, highly useful for various professions in everyday contexts (Frith & Lloyd, 2016). In the school curriculum, the concept of proportion is used in solving problems.…”

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confidence: 99%

Student’s Thinking Process in Solving Proportions Based on Information Processing Theory

2024

Pegegog

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IN T ROD UCT IO NThinking in solving problems is one of the most important goals in learning mathematics (Jaleel & Titus, 2016;Nepal, 2017;Li, et al., 2019). Mathematical thinking plays a crucial role in learning activities and also in everyday life. According to (Bakar, 2015), mathematical thinking is an important aspect for students as it helps the brain to understand and remember the subject matter. Learning is not only carried out through listening to the material, writing the material, and doing tasks but also by involving mental processes that occur in the brain. Therefore, learning can refer to an activity that is always related to individual thought processes or cognitive processes (Walle, 2007).Mathematical thinking can be seen as a way of understanding mathematical problems based on the various sources collected to study a mathematical object (Mustafa, et al., 2019). Thinking, according to (Bakar, 2015), is an activity in which the mind is used to make decisions, find meaning, make judgments, and solve problems based on information and experiences found in everyday life. One way to find out students' thinking processes is to give them problems. In line with the opinion of (Solso, et al., 2008), someone will be motivated to think if they are faced with a problem. (Subanji, 2013), argues that an important key for students to think is to involve them in questions that force them to take advantage of their ideas to solve problems. When students solve problems, students are encouraged to think and try to find the solutions.The ability to solve problems is the ultimate goal of mathematics learning (Ersoy, 2016;Evidiasari, et al., 2019;Puran, et al., 2017). Solving problems in mathematics is considered very helpful for students' success in learning mathematics. (Hidajat, et al., 2019), state that mathematical problems are necessary for the development of mathematics itself.Therefore, students' ability to solve problems should be developed in mathematics classrooms.Problem-solving is a method used by students to understand and solve a problem (Sriraman, 2003). In problemsolving, students are required to develop the ability to create new ideas regarding the problems they face. As stated by (Santrock, 2008), problem-solving involves finding a suitable way to achieve a goal. When students formulate a problem, solve a problem, or want to understand a problem, they do thinking activities. (Solso, et al., 2008), define problemsolving as an ability to think that is directed directly to find a solution to a specific problem. Problem-solving and thinking are two interconnected activities (Cavanagh & McMaster, 2017). As explained by (Saragih & Napitupulu, 2015), when solving a problem, students carry out a series of thought processes.

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Proportional reasoning ability of school leavers aspiring to higher education in South Africa

Cited by 5 publications

References 12 publications

The quantitative literacy of South African school-leavers who qualify for higher education

The quantitative literacy of South African school-leavers who qualify for higher education

Proportional and Non-Proportional Situation: How to Make Sense of Them

Student’s Thinking Process in Solving Proportions Based on Information Processing Theory

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