The primary purpose of this study was to investigate how sixth grade elementary school students react to the types of letters use, what levels of understanding letters students are in and what difficulties are in understanding letters, and to raise is...
The primary purpose of this study was to investigate how sixth grade elementary school students react to the types of letters use, what levels of understanding letters students are in and what difficulties are in understanding letters, and to raise issues about instructional methods of algebra.
For the purpose of this study, research questions were established as follows:
1. How do sixth grade elementary school students react to the types of letters use?
2. How well do sixth grade elementary school students the levels of understanding letters?
3. According to their the levels of understanding letters, what kinds of difficulties do sixth grade elementary school students encounter in the process of the levels of understanding letters?
To solve these research questions, a descriptive study through pencil-and-paper tests was conducted. The test instruments for identifying student's types of letter use and measuring the levels of understanding letters were developed through a literature research. The tests consisted of 18 questions with 6 types of letters use. According to the results of testing, students' types of letter use and the levels of understanding letters were classified. The level of each students' understanding of letters were categorized on a 5 scale ranging from 0 to 4, as specified by the Guttman scale. Then through the questionnaire, the difficulties that students encounter in understanding letters as symbols were analyzed according to the levels of understanding letters.
The tests and questionaire were conducted in ten schools located in Dalseo-gu, Daegu. The subjects of this study were 292 students in sixth grade from ten schools.
The conclusions from the results of this study were as follows:
First, the result that how students react to the types of letters use, the higher the types of letters use, the more sixth grade elementary school students had low scores on the types. Only 37.3% of students are comprised in the type 5 and 18.8% of students are comprised in the type 6. Therefore, teaching methodologies of letters and expressions in the classroom need to encourage for students to improve their ability of using and understanding letter.
Second, It was found that 40.1% of students were categorized in level 3. Accordingly it is necessary to have a program of teaching and learning to improve their understanding levels of letters. This indicates that teachers need to pay attention to teach fundamental factors not letter used as a specific unknown but letter used as a generalized number and as a variables.
Third, It was found that 15.1% of students were categorized in level 0 as well as level 3. In order to develop understanding of letters, it is important that students use letter evaluated and letter used as an object.
Fourth, According to the levels of understanding letters, sixth grade elementary school students have the difficulties in understanding letters. It is informative for teachers to understand these students' difficulties and thinking processes.
Fifth, In school, when letters are taught and learned, the meanings of letters have been simply treated as placeholders without due effort to make various their meanings. Consquently, students have not understood the letters. students have difficulties in understanding how differently letters are used as symbols. We must treat the different uses of letters and introduce them successively according to the student's understanding levels of letters.