Translation between Symbolic Representations: Relationship between Instruction and Performance.

Autor/inn/en	Webb, Noreen M.; und weitere
Institution	Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing, Los Angeles, CA.
Titel	Translation between Symbolic Representations: Relationship between Instruction and Performance.
Quelle	(1990), (24 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Algebra; Black Students; High School Students; High Schools; Hispanic Americans; Interpretive Skills; Mathematical Applications; Mathematics Materials; Performance; Problem Solving; Secondary School Teachers; Symbols (Mathematics); Teaching Methods + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? High school; High schools; Student; Students; Oberschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Studentin; Hispanic; Hispanoamerikaner; Interpretationsmethode; Angewandte Mathematik; Innermathematische Anwendung; Mathematische Tafel; Achievement; Leistung; Problemlösen; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode
Abstract	Students' performances on mathematical problems varying in symbolic form and the kinds of symbolic representations and translation used in instruction were explored. The sample consisted of 29 students enrolled in Algebra II in a summer program for minority students. All students were Black or Hispanic American and most were about to enter grade 11. For two topic areas--solving simultaneous equations in two unknowns and distance-rate-time relationships--sets of problems were developed that varied the symbolic form of the problem as given and of the response required. Materials that teachers used, student notes, and interviews with the teacher determined the symbolic forms used in instruction and the kinds of translation explicitly discussed. Results suggest that presenting students with only conventional symbolic representations of problems is likely to give a limited picture of their mathematical problem-solving abilities. It is possible to understand students' difficulties in translating among symbolic representations by systematically varying the symbolic form of the problem and response. Data suggest that the symbolic form of the response required plays a critical role in determining performance. Using alternative symbolic forms may be a good way to measure students' conceptual understanding of mathematics. The kinds of translation covered in instruction did not seem to play a major role in this study. Two tables present study data, and a 20-item list of references is included. (SLD)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC