The Learners' Performance in an Open Contextualized Geometry Problems
Main Article Content
Abstract
Problem-solving has never been an easy task for learners of all ages. The mere sight of word problems triggers fear in the learners, contributing to low performances and their inability to learn mathematical concepts. Teachers often settle on teaching traditional methods even though they know that learners are having a hard time with respect to solving Mathematics word problems. Hence, this research explored the use of open contextualized geometry problems in teaching geometry concepts that are rooted in the ‘Open Approach’ teaching method. The problems used in this study were realistic problems and at the same time constructed to have more than one answer to facilitate the learning of learners with varying abilities. The study was administered to thirty-eight (38) Grade 7 participants in a pretest-posttest design with qualitative support. From the results of this study, it showed that there is a significant difference in the performance of the learners in the pretest and posttest. Among learners with varying abilities, it also showed that there is a highly significant difference in the mean scores in pretest and posttest showing that the learners gained improvements regardless of their proficiency level during the whole time of implementation. However, this study was not able to confirm through interviews on the reason why there is an improvement in the performance of the learners due to pandemic reasons which is part of the limitation of the study. Hence, it is recommended to conduct a study on understanding more of the factors that improve the learners’ performance in open contextualized geometry problems.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
References
Astari, T., Hasibuan, V., & Abdullah, D. (2018). Difference effect of the open ended approach and realistic approach on the ability of problem solving student elementary school. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1114, Article 012047. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1114/1/012047
Chogo, C., Githua, B., & Changeiywo, J. (2017). Effect of open-ended teaching learning approach on secondary school students’ mathematics achievement in learning three dimensional geometry. International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research, 6(12), 141–146.
Cole, R., Haimson, J., Perez-Johnson, I., & May, H. (2011). Variability in pretest-posttest correlation coefficients by student achievement level (NCEE Reference Report No. 2011-4033). National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
Collier, C. (2016, November 21). How to adopt a collaborative problem-solving approach through ‘yes, and’ thinking. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2016/11/21/how-to-adopt-a-collaborative-problem-solving-approach-through-yes-and-thinking/
Goslin, K. (2016). The effect of purposeful mathematics discourse in the classroom on students’ mathematics language in the context of problem solving [Master’s thesis, Queen’s University]. QSpace.
Intaros, P., Inprasitha, M., & Srisawadi, N. (2014). Students’ problem solving strategies in problem solving - mathematics classroom. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 4119–4123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.901
Irawan, A., & Surya, E. (2017). Application of the open ended approach to mathematics learning in the sub-subject of rectangular. International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research, 33(3), 270–279.
Krawec, J., Huang, J., Montague, M., Kressler, B., & Alba, A. M. (2012). The effects of cognitive strategy instruction on knowledge of math problem-solving processes of middle school students with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 36(2), 80–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/0731948712463368
Lai, K., Griffin, P., Mak, A., Wu, M., & Dulhunty, M. (2001, December). Modeling strategies in problem solving [Paper presentation]. 2001 Annual Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education, Perth, Australia.
Managing, R. (2019). Problem solving models: Effects on the problem solving skills among grade 8 learners [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology.
Morsanyi, K., Tomasetto, C., O’Connor, P., & Guardabassi, G. (2020, November 25). What a fear of maths does to children – new research. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/what-a-fear-of-maths-does-to-children-new-research-150108
Nohda, N. (2000). A study of “open-approach” method in school mathematics teaching focusing on mathematical problem solving activities. https://www.nku.edu/~sheffield/nohda.html
Öztürk, M., Akkan, Y., & Kaplan, A. (2019). Reading comprehension, mathematics self-efficacy perception, and mathematics attitude as correlates of students’ non-routine mathematics problem-solving skills in Turkey. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 51(7), 1042–1058. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2019.1648893
Tambychik, T., & Meerah, S. M. (2010). Student’s difficulties in mathematics problem-solving: What do they say? Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 8, 142–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.12.020
Thompson, L. (2007). The effects improving student discourse has on learning mathematics (Action Research Project No. 23). DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/mathmidactionresearch/23
Woranetsudathip, N., Yuenyong, C., & Nguyen, T. (2021). The innovative lesson study for enhancing students’ mathematical ideas about addition and subtraction through open approach. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1835(1), Article 012061. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1835/1/012061
