10-11 year old pupils’ self-regulated learning and problem solving skills

Abstract

Developing problem solving competence is one of the main goals of Mathematics Education. Self-regulated learning skills are important for success in problem solving. The aim of this paper is to present the results of a research about 10-11 years old pupils’ self-regulated learning and problem solving skills and the relation between these two skills. The results show that more than three quarters of 10-11 years old pupils like Mathematics, but only the half of them likes to solve non-routine problems. The positive attitude towards Mathematics is influenced by pupils’ positive experiences on solving problems and their beliefs in the utility of Mathematics in their future. Most of the pupils don’t give up if they can’t solve the problem, they go over the text again, they try to find similar worked examples, they ask for help. There is a mild correlation between pupils’ self-control and problem solving skills, a weak correlation between pupils’ attitude towards Mathematics and their problem solving skills.