NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
ERIC Number: ED412086
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1997-Apr
Pages: 29
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
An Investigation of U.S. and Chinese Students' Mathematical Problem Posing and Problem Solving.
Cai, Jinfa
Cross-national studies in mathematics have consistently reported that U.S. students do not perform as well as Asian students on tasks requiring the application of mathematical knowledge and skills routinely learned in school. Recent studies have shown, however, that for tasks assessing relatively novel and complex problem solving, performance differences between U.S. and Asian students are not so pronounced. This study explored 181 U.S. and 223 Chinese sixth-grade students' mathematical problem solving and problem posing abilities. It is part of a continuous effort to examine U.S. and Chinese students' performance by conducting a cognitive analysis of student responses to mathematical problem-solving and problem-posing tasks. The tasks included computational exercises, a problem-posing task in which students were asked to pose mathematical problems based on a given figural pattern situation, a division-with-remainder story problem, and a figural pattern problem. The Chinese students outperformed U.S. students on computation tasks but there were many similarities and differences between U.S. and Chinese students in performing relatively novel tasks. The findings suggest a generality with regard to the direct link between mathematical problem solving and problem posing from an international perspective. Contains 26 references. (PVD)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A