Pattern Generalisation by Year Five Pupils
Piriya Somasundram 1 * , Sharifah Norul Akmar 1, Leong Kwan Eu 1
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1 Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Faculty of Education, University of Malaya, MALAYSIA* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Pattern generalisation is one of the most important elements in developing functional thinking in elementary school which leads to build foundation to work with algebra in later years of education. Therefore, this study took an initiative to study the performance of year five pupils in pattern generalisation and its correlation with mathematics achievement. The sample of the study comprised 720 fifth grade pupils from a district of Malacca. Data were collected using four adapted tasks. Paper and pencil-based assessment conducted during the class hours. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics with help of SPSS software. The findings showed samples’ ability to work with numerical patterns is better than their ability to work with figural patterns. However, the performance in far generalisation is extremely poor compared to near generalisation. While, a significant association found between performance of numerical and figural patterning tasks. Furthermore, there is no correlation between ability to work with patterns and mathematics achievement. With the increased interest in integrating functional thinking into elementary school teaching and learning, this work may be of interest to educators to identify how working with patterns could promote functional thinking and lead to a strong foundation for formal algebra learning in later years of education.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INT ELECT J MATH ED, 2019, Volume 14, Issue 2, 353-362

https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/5719

Publication date: 17 Feb 2019

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Article Downloads: 2179

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