Graduation Semester and Year
2017
Language
English
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Mathematics
Department
Mathematics
First Advisor
James A. M. Álvarez
Abstract
This study investigates the alignment of students' actual problem-solving practices and compares them to the outcomes on a Likert scale mathematical problem solving (MPS) assessment. The Likert scale survey items developed by the Mathematical Problem Solving Item Development Project (MPSI) to gather information on undergraduate's MPS in five domains: sense-making, representing/connecting, reviewing, justifying, and challenge (Epperson, Rhoads, and Campbell, 2016). This snapshot investigation analyzes two individual undergraduate student interviews to characterize the students' MPS practices. Data analysis suggests a promising alignment between the MPSI survey results and students' actual practices. The analysis also establishes preliminary reliability of the MPSI survey items and their links to the MPS domains from observations and responses during the student interviews. In addition, the relationship between the undergraduate students' subject-matter domain knowledge in algebra, their MPS behaviors, and their responses on the MPSI survey items is explored to determine what effects subject-matter domain knowledge may have on the MPSI survey results.
Keywords
Mathematical problem solving
Disciplines
Mathematics | Physical Sciences and Mathematics
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Phan, Duy, "A SNAPSHOT OF THE ALIGNMENT OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM SOLVING PRACTICES TO A LIKERT SCALE ASSESSMENT OF MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM SOLVING" (2017). Mathematics Theses. 26.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/math_theses/26
Comments
Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington