The development of students’ algebraic proficiency

Irene van Stiphout; Paul Drijvers; Koeno Gravemeijer

doi:10.29333/iejme/274

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Irene van Stiphout, Paul Drijvers, Koeno Gravemeijer

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Abstract

Students’ algebraic proficiency is debated worldwide. To investigate the development of algebraic proficiency in Dutch secondary education, we set up a study, in which 1020 students in grades 8 – 12 took four algebra tests over a period of one year. Rasch analysis of the results shows that the students do make progress throughout the assessment, but that this progress is small. A qualitative analysis of test items that invite structure sense reveals that students’ lack of structure sense may explain the results: the majority of the students were not able to deal flexibly with the mathematical structure of expressions and equations. More attention to structure sense in algebra education is recommended.

Keywords

algebra
algebraic skills
Rasch scale
secondary education
structure sense
symbol sense

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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, 2013, Volume 8, Issue 2-3, 62-80

https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/274

Publication date: 10 Nov 2013

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How to cite this article

APA

Stiphout, I. V., Drijvers, P., & Gravemeijer, K. (2013). The development of students’ algebraic proficiency. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 8(2-3), 62-80. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/274

Vancouver

Stiphout IV, Drijvers P, Gravemeijer K. The development of students’ algebraic proficiency. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2013;8(2-3):62-80. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/274

AMA

Stiphout IV, Drijvers P, Gravemeijer K. The development of students’ algebraic proficiency. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2013;8(2-3), 62-80. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/274

Chicago

Stiphout, Irene van, Paul Drijvers, and Koeno Gravemeijer. "The development of students’ algebraic proficiency". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education 2013 8 no. 2-3 (2013): 62-80. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/274

Harvard

Stiphout, I. V., Drijvers, P., and Gravemeijer, K. (2013). The development of students’ algebraic proficiency. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 8(2-3), pp. 62-80. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/274

MLA

Stiphout, Irene van et al. "The development of students’ algebraic proficiency". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, vol. 8, no. 2-3, 2013, pp. 62-80. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/274