Mathematical problem-solving and metacognitive skills of 5th grade students as a function of gender and level of academic achievement

Amal Al-Shabibi

doi:10.18844/cjes.v13i2.3306

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate differences in the mathematical problem-solving and metacognitive skills of the fifth-grade students in Oman as a function of gender and level of academic achievement. The participants were 90 grade five students randomly selected from one educational governorate in the Sultanate of Oman. They were evenly divided into three groups based on gender and levels of academic achievement. Four instruments were used in the study: a mathematical problemsolving test, a non-verbal metacognitive scale, Raven Coloured Progressive Matrices and a long-term memory test. The results for metacognitive and mathematical problem-solving skills indicate that students with a high level of academic achievement obtained the highest score while students enrolled in a learning disability program obtained the lowest score. In addition, possible interventions were identified that may improve the metacognitive skills of students enrolled in the learning disability program, which could lead to improvement in their mathematical problem-solving skills. Keywords: Problem-solving, metacognition, learning disability, academic achievement.

Highlights

Performance in mathematics relies on what we know and on how, and how efficiently, we employ our knowledge of concepts and facts (Schoenfeld, 2014)
The study aimed at describing differences among fifth-grade students in metacognition and mathematical problem-solving with respect to the level of academic achievement and gender
Post-hoc comparisons using LSD showed that high achievers tended on average to outperform both the students enrolled in a learning disability program and average achievers on the non-verbal metacognitive skills test after controlling for intelligence and long-term memory

Summary

Introduction

Performance in mathematics relies on what we know and on how, and how efficiently, we employ our knowledge of concepts and facts (Schoenfeld, 2014). Mathematics engages our problem-solving skills: an individual’s understanding of mathematics is affected by the way he or she uses the information provided (Lambdin, 2003). Mathematical problem-solving helps individuals to build logical reasoning skills that can be useful in many situations The Ministry of Education in the Sultanate of Oman stipulates that 30% of mathematics assessment in cycle one schools should evaluate mathematical problem-solving skills. This percentage drops to 20% of mathematics assessment when students move to cycle two of their education (i.e., fifth grade until the 10th grade)

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Conclusion