Knowledge Types Used by Eighth Grade Gifted Students While Solving Problems

Serdal Baltacı,Bülent Güven,Avni Yıldız

doi:10.1590/1980-4415v28n50a02

Abstract

This study aims to determine how primary school eighth grade (14 years old) gifted students use knowledge types while solving problems. In the context, the data were collected through clinical interviews conducted with three gifted students. The students’ voice recordings during problem solving and the solutions they wrote on the paper formed the data of the study. We found out that gifted students use more algorithmic knowledge and less schema knowledge in the problems that they had to solve. It can be said that the reduced usage of schema knowledge is likely to be a result of the fact that the gifted students produce different solutions using the field knowledge instead of remembering the schemas of similar problems they have encountered before.

Highlights

Este estudo pretende avaliar de que modo alunos com altas habilidades/superdotação na oitava série da escola primária (14 anos) usam os tipos de conhecimento enquanto a resolução de problemas
We show the knowledge types that the three primary school eighth grade gifted students used in the problems which were asked to them
The findings were supported with the direct quotations taken from the clinical interviews and the solutions students wrote on the paper. These findings were interpreted for each student separately and it aimed to determine how gifted students used the knowledge types in problem solving

Summary

Introduction

Este estudo pretende avaliar de que modo alunos com altas habilidades/superdotação na oitava série da escola primária (14 anos) usam os tipos de conhecimento enquanto a resolução de problemas. A qualified educational program should train people who are able to “solve problems” This requirement reveals the importance of focusing on problem solving as a thinking process in our educational system. Problem solving includes more than remembering the simple tasks or the implementation of well-learned procedures (LESTER, 1994). It has an important place in mathematics. Mayer (1982a) mentions that an individual should have four types of knowledge in problem solving These knowledge types are semantic knowledge, schema knowledge, algorithmic knowledge, and strategic knowledge. Assigning the “x” variable to the unknown in the problems and explaining the problem with these variables, while understanding semantic knowledge, affect the problem solving process (STACEY; MACGREGOR, 2000). One needs semantic knowledge in order to determine the given information in general, to define the problems by drawing, to use symbols like “x” for the unknown, to determine what the found value stands for, and to determine the required information for the solution

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Conclusion