Scribd
Upload
184 views3 pages

Summary - Children's Difficulties in Beginning Algebra

The document discusses common difficulties students face when beginning algebra. It identifies four main areas of difficulty: 1) Students focus on finding numerical answers rather than understanding procedures and relationships; 2) Students struggle with algebraic notation and conventions, misinterpreting symbols; 3) Students have trouble seeing letters as variables that can represent different values rather than fixed numbers; 4) Students misunderstand relationships between algebra and arithmetic, applying incorrect arithmetic methods. The document emphasizes the importance of teaching algebraic concepts and relationships clearly to help students overcome these difficulties.

Uploaded by

Maria Sabbah Ghandour
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
184 views3 pages

Summary - Children's Difficulties in Beginning Algebra

The document discusses common difficulties students face when beginning algebra. It identifies four main areas of difficulty: 1) Students focus on finding numerical answers rather than understanding procedures and relationships; 2) Students struggle with algebraic notation and conventions, misinterpreting symbols; 3) Students have trouble seeing letters as variables that can represent different values rather than fixed numbers; 4) Students misunderstand relationships between algebra and arithmetic, applying incorrect arithmetic methods. The document emphasizes the importance of teaching algebraic concepts and relationships clearly to help students overcome these difficulties.

Uploaded by

Maria Sabbah Ghandour
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Maria Sabbah- Maths and Science

Children’s Difficulties in Beginning Algebra

Children’s difficulties in beginning algebra is an article written by Lesley R. Booth that

discusses the following parts: why algebra is difficult to learn, the focus of algebraic activity

and the nature of answers, notation and convention in algebra, letters and variables and

students’ understanding of arithmetic.

To find why algebra is difficult to learn is to identify students’ errors in algebra, and to

investigate the reasons behind those errors. One research project, SESM (Strategies and

errors in secondary mathematics) has been done in the United Kingdom where grade 8 to

grade 10 students participated within algebraic context. Those students were studying algebra

since grade 7. The results showed common errors that students do such as the focus of

algebraic activity and the nature of answer; the use of notation and convention in algebra; the

meaning of letters and variables; and the kinds of relationships and methods used in

arithmetic.

In arithmetic the focus of activity is to find the answer, while in algebra it’s on the procedures

and relationships in order to find the answer. Students are not aware of this; they still think

that they just need to find numerical answers. Even when students produce a correct algebraic

answer, they don’t view it as a proper answer because there are no numbers. Other students

think that they should find a single term answer, and this shows that students have a cognitive

difficulty in accepting lack of closure (Collis 1975). Moreover, another aspect to this problem

is the name-process dilemma where students appear to accept more an algebraic answer than

the fact that the same expression may represent both procedure and answer.
Notation and convention in algebra part tackles student’s interpretation of symbols and the

need for notational precision. One major problem is that students don’t interpret symbols

correctly. In arithmetic symbols, + and = are seen as terms of action to be performed and to

write down the answer, while in algebra the + sign may signal the result of addition as well as

the action and the = sign is views as indicating an equivalence relation. Students are not able

to understand the meaning of such signs in algebra. In addition, students have confusion with

the place value aspect of conjoining, and they choose a two digit number to replace the single

letter; and these lead them to create other kinds of errors. The need for the exact precision in

recording statement is important in arithmetic as well as in algebra. Some students are not

able to distinguish two forms, they still believe that the larger number is always divided by

the smaller and this is the teacher’s fault when they started to learn division or because of

their own experience. For example, they are not able to distinguish between p/q and q/p

whereas in algebra if they write 12/3 or 3/12 is not a big deal if the subsequent computation is

correct. So, we can avoid this misconception by introducing problems where the smaller

number is to be divided by the lager.

Letters and variables are errors that have been found. Students have difficulties in

interpretation of meaning of letters in algebra. The letters “m” and “n” in arithmetic are be

seen as meters and cents, while in algebra it represents the number of meters and the number

of cents; and this is the problem that students face. They are not able to distinguish the

difference between them. The notion of variable is one of the most important aspects of

algebra. When children interpret letters as numbers, they tend to regard more the letter as

representing a specific unique value, and this is one problem arising from letters’ views.

We have discussed about the differences between algebra and arithmetic, but algebra is not

separate from arithmetic. In algebra, relationships and procedure should be apprehended

within the arithmetical context, because if students have misconceptions it will decrease their
algebraic performance. Moreover, students misunderstand arithmetical convention that is;

they don’t use parentheses because they believe that the written sequence of operations shows

the order in which the computation should be solved. Furthermore, there is evidence that

elementary children use informal problem solving methods, and this have an implication for

students’ ability to produce general statement in algebra. If students will use formal

procedure, the teacher should recognize that students may have an informal method when a

problem is given, she should recognize, discuss and consider this method.

In conclusion, all these problems show us the difficulties that students face when they start

with algebra. It’s important to teach correctly algebra, create an understanding of it.

Moreover, the teacher should help students when they have difficulties to avoid problems.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy