Eighth-grades students’ mental models in solving a number pattern problem

Abstract

This study aims to explore all the types of students' mental models of number patterns. The study used a qualitative approach with an explorative type. The subjects used to characterize the student's mental models in this study were 46 eighth grade students in Indonesia. To reveal the subjects’ mental model, they were asked to solve the number pattern problem and were interviewed. For ensuring the validity and reliability of the research results, triangulation technique was used by comparing the results of video recording interviews and written test results. The study showed that in solving the problem of number patterns given, there were 4 types of mental models. They were formal direct mental model, formal indirect mental model, synthetic direct mental model, and synthetic indirect mental model. What we found in this study shows that some students have different mental models to solve the problem. Hence, in future teachers must introduce various strategies to solve the problem and conduct learning that can enrich students' mental models.