Eating Healthy: Understanding Added Sugar through Proportional Reasoning

Research suggests that integrated STEM activities can best support students in developing their mathematical and scientific understanding. On one hand, while science provides mathematics with real-life authentic problems to investigate, mathematics provides science powerful tools to explore those problems. In line with this call, in this study, we designed an integrated lesson at the cross-section of proportional reasoning and added sugar present in food products to explore how added sugar provides students with a meaningful context to engage in proportional reasoning and how proportional reasoning helps students identify the quantity of added sugar present in different food products and provides students with a platform to initiate a conversation around quality of food products. Developed on the theoretical framework of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME), this lesson was remotely implemented on three middle school students. The result section highlights the design principle of the lesson that provided students with an opportunity to construct an understanding of both the disciplines through a mutual interaction.

STUDENTS’ PROPORTIONAL REASONING IN MATHEMATICS THROUGH COVID-19 PANDEMIC CONTEXT

The aim of this study was to ascertain high school students' proportional reasoning in the sense of the COVID-19 pandemic. How do students' thoughts flow when confronted with problems requiring proportional reasoning? This research is a mixed study by collecting data through problem-solving questions to 253 junior high school students in Muaro Jambi, Jambi Province, Indonesia. The problem-solving activities are based on real-world scenarios and require reasoning that is proportional and pertinent to the COVID-19 pandemic context. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the test is administered through the Whatsapp framework. Students' responses are examined in detail to ascertain their proportional reasoning skills. The results indicate that almost all students correctly answered the first question. However, only a small percentage of students were able to answer to and make the correct argument for the second question. The findings indicated that students demonstrated a reasonable level of proportional reasoning when confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic situation. According to the findings of this report, it is important for teachers of mathematics to establish learning activities and problem-solving tasks that help students improve their proportional reasoning skills. Keywords: COVID-19; Problem Solving; Proportional Reasoning; Real-World Situations AbstrakTujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menggali penalaran proporsional siswa SMA dengan konteks pandemi COVID-19. Bagaimana alur pemikiran siswa ketika dihadapkan pada masalah yang membutuhkan penalaran proporsional? Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian campuran dengan pengumpulan data melalui pertanyaan pemecahan masalah kepada 253 siswa SMP di Muaro Jambi, Provinsi Jambi, Indonesia. Kegiatan pemecahan masalah didasarkan pada skenario dunia nyata dan membutuhkan penalaran yang proporsional dan relevan dengan konteks pandemi COVID-19. Karena pandemi COVID-19 yang sedang berlangsung, tes dikirim melalui aplikasi Whatsapp. Tanggapan siswa diperiksa secara rinci untuk memastikan kemampuan penalaran proporsional mereka. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa hampir semua siswa menjawab pertanyaan pertama dengan benar. Namun, hanya sebagian kecil siswa yang mampu menjawab dan membuat argumen yang benar untuk pertanyaan kedua. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa siswa memiliki alur penalaran proporsional yang cukup baik dengan menggunakan konteks kondisi pandemi COVID-19. Menurut temuan ini, penting bagi guru matematika untuk menetapkan kegiatan pembelajaran dan tugas pemecahan masalah yang membantu siswa meningkatkan keterampilan penalaran proporsional mereka. Kata kunci: COVID-19; Pemecahan Masalah; Penalaran Proporsional; Situasi Dunia

Comparing probabilities in urns: A study with primary school students

The study aimed to explore the strategies used by Costa Rican primary school students when comparing urn probabilities. The sample was intentional and consisted of 55 6th graders. Using an interpretive approach, we analyzed the children’s responses to a questionnaire of five probability comparison items taken from previous studies, including different levels of proportional reasoning. Results indicate that problems in the first levels of proportional reasoning were solved easily by students, while problems at higher levels increased in difficulty. One-variable strategies, which compare only the favorable or unfavorable cases in both urns, are predominant; although there are correspondence strategies, few students show complete proportional reasoning. Aside from slight variations, results are similar to previous studies, which suggests that this task is influenced more by the child’s level of maturity than the instruction received.

Could probability be out of proportion? Self-explanation and example-based practice help students with lower proportional reasoning skills learn probability

Proportional reasoning failures seem to constitute most errors in probabilistic reasoning, yet there is little empirical evidence about its role for attaining probabilistic knowledge and how to effectively intervene with students who have less proportional reasoning skills. We examined the contributions of students' proportional reasoning skill and example-based practice when learning about probabilities from a reformed seventh grade curriculum. Teachers in their regular classrooms were randomly assigned to instruct with a reformed textbook (control) or a version revised to incorporate correct and incorrect example problems with prompts to explain (treatment). Students' prior knowledge in proportional reasoning skill separately predicted probabilistic knowledge at posttest, regardless of their prior knowledge in probability or minority status. Overall, students in the treatment condition improved more in their probabilistic knowledge, if they started with less proportional reasoning skills. Our findings suggest that example-based practice is beneficial for students with less prior knowledge of proportions, likely a key concept for developing probabilistic knowledge.

Identifikasi Kemampuan Berpikir Logis Mahasiswa Calon Guru Fisika Menggunakan Instrument TOLT

This study aimed to identify the type of reasoning and the level of prospective physics teacher students’ logical thinking ability. This type of research was a field study with a quantitative descriptive method. The test was the technique used in collecting data of this study. The instrument used in this study was the standard test like Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT). This test consists of 10 questions that measured five types of reasoning, namely proportional reasoning, variable control, probabilistic reasoning, correlation reasoning, and combination reasoning. The level of logical thinking ability was distinguished into concrete, transitional, and formal thinking operational. The sample of this study was students of physics teacher candidates at the first-year level, totaling 30 students. All of data was analyzed by quantitative descriptive. In general, students tend to the type of proportional reasoning and controlling variables and less on probabilistic reasoning. Based on the level of logical thinking ability, the results showed that the percentage of 30 students who were in the concrete, transitional, and formal categories, respectively, were 30%, 30%, and 60%. This data becomes the basis for consideration in the development of learning models and learning assessments used in lectures, especially in Department of Physics Education in one of the University in Makassar city, so that they are able to contribute to the development of students' level of logical thinking skills as a provision for the next life.