This study aimed at examining through an experiment whether or not Gwon Se-rim's assertion (2009) that out of improvement proposals for the teaching of the concept of possibility, the improvement of the ability to analyze and use information and behav...
This study aimed at examining through an experiment whether or not Gwon Se-rim's assertion (2009) that out of improvement proposals for the teaching of the concept of possibility, the improvement of the ability to analyze and use information and behavior-centered aim should be emphasized is valid. It also tried to examine the possibility to realize the assertion.
In order to achieve the aims above, the following research questions were addressed.
1. Are there any difference in academic achievement between the experimental group who were taught the unit of possibility for 8th graders with the emphasis on the ability to analyze and use information and the control group who were not?
2. Are there any difference in mathematical attitudes between the experimental group who were taught the unit of possibility for 8th graders with the emphasis on the ability to analyze and use information and the control group who were not?
The subjects of this study included 77 8th graders from two advanced classes at the middle school in Seongnam City where the researcher worked. For three weeks, the students received 10 classes of the unit of possibility that emphasized the ability to analyze and use information. According to the results, the possibility class that emphasized the ability to analyze and use information did not cause statistically significant difference in academic achievement among students. However, the class made statistically significant difference in mathematical attitudes at a 95% confidence level. It is thought that no significant difference was detected in academic achievement because students in the control group were taught briefly the way to analyze information to prevent the potential problem of learning deficiency caused by the content not covered in the textbook, the experimental tool of the control group.
Based on the subjects' responses to the questionnaire regarding academic achievement and the experiment, the following suggestions were made.
First, in the possibility class that emphasized the ability to analyze and use information, students showed lots of interest in matters related to their experiences, such as Monty Hall problem, the non-transitivity of possibility and past-tense reasoning. Therefore, it is required to research various teaching methods that improve the ability to analyze and use information in the unit of possibility and to develop teaching materials that present problematic situations related to students' situations. In addition, it is also required to teach students systematically to express their thoughts logically.
Second, students thought that it was more difficult to express an event using set than to express using tree diagram or ordered pairs. In order to improve students' ability to analyze and use information, it is necessary to provide various activities for students to express a problematic situation or event systematically using expressions appropriate for the situation or event, though it takes time.
Third, the question related to reasoning through gradually reducing numbers of cases was the one to which the fewest students in both the experimental group and the control group provided a correct answer. Students thought that reasoning process that gradually reaches a conclusion through the repetition of information acquirement and judgment was difficult. However, as numbers of cases alone can reach a reasonable decision making through information analysis, numbers of cases should be presented as a reading material or exploration in the textbook and be taught in detail using more specific and easier examples.
Fourth, students showed very various reactions to past-tense reasoning. The control group often judged based only on a possibility value calculated through mathematical possibility rather than the principle of possibility and did not accept easily. In order to make students think based on possibility, it is necessary to research the process that leads them to judge based on the principle of possibility what event will take place and to think the basis for such judgment.
Fifth, with regard to the content regarding the non-transitivity of possibility, students in both the experimental group and the control group understood relatively easily the content and recorded a higher rate of correct answer. Initially students asked "Is there something wrong with the question?" regarding the non-transitivity of possibility, the feature differentiated from other mathematical learning content. However, they also expressed strong curiosity to the fact that non-transitivity does not work in parts of mathematics. It appears reasonable to introduce to 8th graders content related the non-transitivity of possibility which is considered to help offer statistically significant interpretation from given materials because the content is linked to the verification of hypotheses in statistics.
Sixth, compared with the control group, the experimental group had more classes, thus there was less time to check the experimental group's degree of learning. If the time for checking is secured through adjusting the composition and amount of core content, more positive effects will be found in students' academic achievement.