SUCCESS OF AI MATH SOLVER TOOL IN SOLVING NON-STANDARD MATHEMATICS COMPETITION PROBLEMS

For some time now, researchers around the world have been examining the effects of using AI in mathematics education to provide additional support and assistance to students. One line of research focuses on helping students who wish to participate in math competitions by solving more complex mathematical problems. In addition to regular national math competitions, which allow students to progress to international mathematical Olympiads, there are competitions aimed at popularizing mathematics and developing logical thinking in students. One such competition is the international Kangaroo competition. In this paper, we analyze the performance of the AI Math Solver on the Interactive Mathematics platform in solving problems from the 2024 Kangaroo competition for students in the 3rd and 4th grades of elementary school, as well as the 7th and 8th grades of elementary school, and the 3rd and 4th grades of high school. The tasks were uploaded in the form of images (screenshots), both in Serbian and English, because in the formulation of the tasks and/or provided answers for the Kangaroo competition, images often appear. Out of a total of 84 tasks, both in Serbian and in English, it correctly solved 24, which is just under 30% success in both cases. Furthermore, some tasks solved in Serbian were not solved in English, and vice versa. Additionally, differences were found in the distribution of correct answers among tasks of different difficulty levels.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the P4C content approach on the meta-cognitive beliefs and critical thinking of students and experimental method with pre-test, post-test design. The statistical population consisted of all sixth grade elementary school students in Torbat-e Heidariye city who studied in the academic year of 2016-2017, of whom through cluster sampling and after screening, 50 students randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. Measurement tools included the Children's meta-cognition questionnaire (MCQ_C) (Bekaw et al., 2009, Modified by Qaderi et al., 2012) and the Sasu critical thinking Scale (2013). At first, both groups were tested. Then, for the experimental group, 10 sessions of 1 hour content approach of P4C was provided, and the control group did not receive any special training during this period. At the end, again from both groups received a post-test, Data were analyzed by SPSS software using multivariate covariance test and variance analysis, and the results showed that using content approach of P4C with 95% probability with metacognitive and critical thinking of students has a significant relationship, So that the average scores of meta cognitive beliefs in the experimental group after the practice of teaching philosophy have been significantly decreased, so average scores of critical thinking increased, if there is no significant change in the control group. Finally, the research hypothesis that the content approach of P4C has a significant effect on the meta-cognitive and critical thinking of male students in the sixth grade of elementary school students has been confirmed.

Students’ critical thinking skills are still low, especially in science lessons. This study aims to analyze the effect of the Inquiry Learning Model on the critical thinking skills of students in science subjects in fifth grade elementary school students. This type of research is a quasy experiment with the Nonequivalent Control Group Design. The population of this study were all 160 students of fifth grade elementary school with a sample of 34 students in the experimental group and 29 students as the control group which was determined using the Cluster Random Sampling Technique. Collecting research data using the description test method consisting of 9 valid questions. Research data were analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis techniques and inferential statistical analysis techniques and then analyzed using the t-test (polled variance formula). The results showed that t-count was 3.923 and ttable was 1.999 at a significance level of 5% (α equal to 0.05) with degrees of freedom (dk) equal to 61 so that Ho was rejected. It was concluded that there was a significant influence from the application of the Inquiry learning model on critical thinking skills in science lessons for fifth grade elementary school students. This research makes a new contribution in understanding the effectiveness of the inquiry learning model in increasing critical thinking in fifth grade students.

This research is motivated by the not yet optimal learning of mathematics in elementary schools, this can be seen from the low learning outcomes of mathematics. This study aims to: 1) To analyze the differences in mathematics learning outcomes for fifth grade elementary school students using the PBL learning model and conventional models, 2) to analyze the differences in mathematics learning outcomes for 5th grade elementary school students who have high critical thinking skills and those with low critical thinking skills, 3) To analyze the effect of the interaction between the PBL learning model and critical thinking skills on the mathematics learning outcomes of 5th grade elementary school students, 4) to analyze the differences in fifth grade elementary school mathematics learning outcomes for students who have high critical thinking skills between those using the PBL model and conventional models, 5 ) To analyze the differences in mathematics learning outcomes for fifth grade elementary school students who have low thinking skills between those using the PBL model and the conventional model. This type of research is quantitative with a quasi-experimental method. The population is class V students in cluster 6, Muara Enim Regency. The sampling technique is cluster random sampling. The sample taken is 40 students consisting of two classes, namely the experimental class (Class V SDN 3 Kelekar) and the control class (class V SDN 1 Kelekar) data were collected by means of learning outcomes tests and critical thinking skills instruments. The analysis technique uses the Independent Sample T Difference Test, two-way ANOVA technique with a significance level of 0.05. The results showed a significance value of 0.015 <0.05 so it can be concluded that 1) There are differences in learning outcomes for fifth grade elementary school students using the PBL learning model and conventional models, 2) There are differences in math learning outcomes for fifth grade elementary school students who have high critical thinking skills. with low critical thinking, 3) There is an interaction effect between PBL learning models and critical thinking skills on mathematics learning outcomes in fifth grade elementary school, 4) There are differences in mathematics learning outcomes for fifth grade elementary school students who have high critical thinking skills between those using PBL and conventional models. , 5) There are differences in mathematics learning outcomes for fifth grade elementary school students who have low thinking skills between those using the PBL model and the conventional model.

This study analyzed the attributes of the conceptions of <TEX>$3^{rd}$</TEX> to <TEX>$6^{th}$</TEX> grade elementary school students on three states of matter and investigated the characteristics of the classified results of various examples of matter by grades. Through discussion activities, we confirmed the stabilization of conception attributions. For this study, 113 participants from two <TEX>$3^{rd}$</TEX> to <TEX>$6^{th}$</TEX> grade elementary school classes were selected. The concentration analysis (C-factor) and normalized gain (G-factor) of the conceptions for the quantitative analysis of the conception changes were used. The elementary school students retained different percentages of the attributes for states of matter. The characteristic of the grades were different between the 3rd grade and other grades. Based on these results, we pointed out the problems with the present teaching methods in science textbooks and stated the advantages of the effects of the representation of mixtures.

El objetivo de la presente investigación fue establecer el efecto de la aplicación del trabajo colaborativo virtual, como estrategia didáctica para el desarrollo del pensamiento crítico en los estudiantes de 3er grado de primaria 2020, planteando como problema general ¿Cuál es el efecto del aprendizaje colaborativo virtual en el pensamiento crítico en los estudiantes del 3er grado primaria, 2020?, la investigación estuvo enmarcado en un enfoque cuantitativo, tipo aplicado de nivel experimental, utilizando el diseño cuasi experimental, con un paradigma positivista.La muestra de estudio estuvo conformada por 62 estudiantes de la institución educativa 7080, quienes a través del instrumento de la prueba escrita para la variable de pensamiento crítico, se realizó la validación mediante juicio de expertos doctores metodólogos y temáticos, quienes evaluaron la pertinencia, relevancia y claridad de cada uno de los ítems; a fin de obtener y consolidar un instrumento válido para su aplicación y recolección de información.Así mismo se confirmó una confiabilidad alta de los instrumentos a través del estadístico Kuder Richardson (Kr 20), el estudio concluye que el aprendizaje colaborativo virtual tiene efectos significativamente en el pensamiento crítico en los estudiantes del 3er grado de primaria, 2020.

Objectives The purpose of this study is to empirically verify whether there is a change in the mathematical achievement of 3rd and 4th grade elementary students before and after COVID-19, focusing on latent profile analysis. Methods For this purpose, tests were conducted using the Elementary Math Word-problem Curriculum Based Assessment before the COVID-19 pandemic(2019) and after the COVID-19 pandemic(2020). Excluding the data with missing values, the main results obtained by analyzing the data of 324 3rd graders and 280 4th graders, total 604 students in 2019 and 389 3rd graders and 317 4th graders, total 706 students in 2020 are as follows. Results First, as a result of examining the difference in mathematical achievement for each sub-domain between the 3rd and 4th graders in 2019 and 2020, it was found that there was no significant difference in the 3rd grader, but the 4th grader showed a decrease in mathematical achievement. In particular, the decline in academic ability was remarkable in the areas of figures and measurement, which is important to understand concepts using concrete objects. Second, as a result of latent profile analysis for 3rd grader, the number of latent profile from 4 in 2019 decreased to 3 in 2020. Third, as a result of latent profile analysis for 4th grader, It was confirmed a polarized distribution with decreasing middle class ratio. Conclusions This means that elementary school students also have an achievement gap due to COVID-19. Based on the results of this study, the significance and limitations of this study were discussed.

In learning mathematics, critical thinking is needed to solve problems in various ways including interpreting, analyzing and evaluating. This study aims to analyze the critical thinking of third grade elementary school students in solving problems on the subject of fractions. The research was conducted at Elementary school by involving 26 students as the subject. This research used qualitative method. The data collection techniques used description tests and interviews. The description tests were reviewed based on four critical thinking indicators, namely interpreting, analyzing, evaluating and inference. This qualitative data processing technique is reducing data, presenting data, and drawing conclusions. The validity of the data was carried out using a triangulation technique, namely the results of student description tests, and interviews were triangulated to obtain a description of students' critical thinking skills in solving math problems with fractions. The results showed that students with high critical thinking met the four indicators, students who had moderate critical thinking only met two indicators, and students who had low critical thinking did not meet the four indicators. In conclusion, students' critical thinking skills were low. They could not understand the problem well and had not solved it properly. Meanwhile, students who think highly critically are able to understand questions about fractions, to analyze, to choose the right method, and to conclude clearly and logically.

The purpose of Correlation between the Open Approach Teaching in Mathematics and the Critical Thinking of First Year Students of St Theresa International College, Thailand, is to study the levels of open approach teaching in mathematics, critical thinking of the first year students of St Theresa International College, Thailand and the levels of correlation between open approach teaching in mathematics and the critical thinking of the first year students of St Theresa International College, Thailand. The sample group used in this research consisted of 214 first year students of St Theresa International College. Tools used are questionnaires, statistic is by mean, t-Test, Pearson’s simple correlation moment. It is found that overall, the levels of open approach teaching in mathematics are at a moderate level. The levels of critical thinking of the students, overall, are also at a moderate level. It is found that the levels of correlation between the open approach teaching in mathematics and the critical thinking of the students, overall, are at a high level with statistic significant at .01, coefficient correlation at .669.

The purpose of this study was to identify the components of critical thinking education model based on the Vygotsky’s constructivist theory and to study the effectiveness of the model on the critical thinking of the fifth grade elementary students. The method of this study wascombined studies (qualitative and quantitative). The statistical population in the qualitative section included all relevant articles indexed in databases of science direct, PubMed, cinahl, and Scopus. From this population, 34 articles were selected using purposeful sampling and for validate the pattern were selected 32 relevant experts by purposeful snowball sampling. The statistical population of quantitative part consisted all 5th grade elementary school students in the academic year of 2017-2018 in Tehran. From this population, 66 people were selected using a cluster sampling method and randomly assigned two experimental and control groups. Data collection tools included researcher-made questionnaire and the Watson-Glaser critical thinking appraisal (1998). To analyze the qualitative section data was used content analysis, for patternvalidation using the confirmatory factor analysis and effectiveness section was performed using covariance analysis. The findings showed that the critical thinking model were classified according to Vygotsky’s theory in three classes: teacher role, learner's role and the role of knowledge. The results showed that fitting the critical thinking model was optimal according to experts and critical thinking pattern led to a significant difference between groups in critical thinking by 53%. According to the results, applying Critical Thinking Model based on Vygotsky's theory is effective on critical thinking of students.

This development research aims to determine the validity and reliability of the critical thinking instrument for fifth grade elementary school students on the use of traditional game-based SIGUPIS media (Elementary Social Learning Song Creation). The assessment instrument developed was in the form of a questionnaire. The research subjects consisted of 3 validators and 20 fifth grade elementary school students. Data collection was carried out using a questionnaire or questionnaire technique. The data collected is in the form of data on the validity and reliability of critical thinking instruments. Data on the development of critical thinking instruments obtained through the validity test were analyzed with Aiken's v, while the data from the reliability test were analyzed with Kappa Statistics using SPSS version 16. The results showed that the validity test by the validator obtained the results of the ten statements used belonging to the high category so that the instrument is suitable for use. The reliability test shows that the alpha value is 0.967 so that the reliability of the instrument is included in the very high category. Based on the results of this study, the questionnaire instrument to find out the critical thinking of fifth grade elementary school students in utilizing SIGUPIS media based on traditional games is feasible to use.

Fine motor skills are a good indicator of a child’s overall development. They underpin almost all everyday activities from self-care skills such as dressing to academic skills such as writing and drawing. In this study we examined the development of fine motor skills of early elementary school children. The sample for this study consisted of 175 children (93 boys, 82 girls, mean age= 120 months; SD = 10.7 months). attending 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. We used Grooved Pegboard test for measuring fine motor skills. We found a medium, statistically significant, correlation between age and motor skills, with stronger correlation at younger age. In relation to child’s grade, there were statistically significant differences in motor skills between children attending 3rd and 4th grade, but no differences between children in 4th and 5th grade. As for the gender, there were no mean differences between boys and girls in the 3rd grade, but there were differences in 4th and 5th grade with girls achieving statistically significantly better scores on Grooved Pegboard test. Fine motor skills should routinely be examined in children and appropriate remediation programs should be set if a child falls behind in motor skills. We concluded a paper with several ways how elementary schools can include fine motor exercises in their curricula.

본 연구의 목적은 초등학교 고학년과 중학생을 대상으로 여가추구형 스마트폰 사용이 스마트폰 과의존과 사회적 위축의 순차적 이중매개를 통하여 학업열의에 미치는 영향을 종단적으로 분석하는 데 있다. 이를 위해 한국아동⋅청소년패널조사(KCYPS) 2018 데이터의 초등학생 4학년에서 6학년까지의 자료와 중학생 1학년에서 3학년까지의 자료를 활용하고 잠재성장모형을 통해 변인들의 구조적 관계를 분석하였다. 연구결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 초등학교 4학년과 중학교 1학년 때는 여가추구형 스마트폰 사용이 학업열의에 직접적인 부적 영향을 미치며, 스마트폰 과의존과 사회적 위축 각각을 매개로 하여 영향을 미치기도 하는 부분적인 매개 관계가 있음을 알 수 있었다. 또한, 스마트폰 과의존과 사회적 위축을 순차적으로 거치면서 영향을 미치는 순차적 이중매개 효과도 있는 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 연구대상의 학년이 올라가면서 학업열의를 감소시키는 비율에 영향을 미치는 요인은 초등학교 4학년과 중학교 1학년 시기의 여가추구형 스마트폰 사용과 스마트폰 과의존 정도였다. 반면, 각 변인들의 변화율은 학업열의의 감소율에 영향을 미치지 않는 것으로 나타났다. 이와 같은 연구결과를 통해, 초등학교 4학년과 중학교 1학년을 대상으로 게임, TV/동영상 시청 등 여가추구형 스마트폰 사용에 대한 지도를 진행할 뿐 아니라 사회적 위축 예방을 위한 대인관계 증진 프로그램을 제공할 필요가 있으며, 스마트폰 과의존을 예방할 수 있도록 청소년과 가족들이 함께 참여하는 코칭과 상담 프로그램을 제공할 필요가 있음을 제안하였다.The purpose of this study is to longitudinally analyze the effect of leisure-oriented smartphone use on academic enthusiasm, through sequential dual mediation of smartphone over-dependence and social withdrawal, targeting upper students in elementary school and middle school students. To this end, data from 4th grade to 6th grade of elementary school students and from 1st to 3rd grade of middle school students on the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS) 2018 data were used, and the structural relationship of variables was analyzed through the potential growth model. The research results are as follows. First, in the 4th grade of elementary school and the 1st grade of middle school, it was found that the use of smartphones for leisure pursuits had a direct negative effect on academic enthusiasm, that there is a partial mediating relationship that affects smartphone over-dependence and social withdrawal as mediations. In addition, it was found that there is double mediation effect that affects smartphone over-dependence and social withdrawal sequentially. Second, academic enthusiasm decrease as the grade goes up, and the factors influencing this decrease rate was the leisure-oriented smartphone use and smartphone over-dependence during the 4th grade of elementary school and 1st grade of middle school. On the other hand, the rate of change of each variables did not affect the rate of decrease in academic enthusiasm. Based on the results of this study, this study was proposed to provide guidance for the leisure-oriented smartphone use such as games and TV/Videos watching, and interpersonal relationship enhancement programs should be provided to prevent social withdrawal, and coaching and counseling program in which adolescents and their families participate together to prevent smartphone over-dependence, to 4th graders in elementary school and 1st graders in middle school.

This research aims to provide an influence on the use of Student Worksheets (LKPD) based on Project Based Learning (PBL) on improving 21st century skills in fifth grade elementary school students. The problem raised is the low development of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication skills in students who use conventional learning methods. This research uses quantitative methods with a quasi-experimental design. The research sample consisted of 60 students who were divided into two groups: 30 students in the experimental group who used PBL-based LKPD and 30 students in the control group who used conventional LKPD. The instruments used include skills tests, observation sheets, and student perception questionnaires. Data were analyzed using the t test (t-test). The research results showed that the experimental group experienced a significant increase in critical thinking skills by 18.53%, creativity by 16.82%, collaboration by 19.31%, and communication by 14.21%. Meanwhile, the control group only experienced an increase of 9.11%, 7.62%, 8.43% and 6.71% respectively. In conclusion, PBL-based LKPD is significantly more effective in improving 21st century skills in elementary school students compared to conventional learning methods. These findings support the implementation of PBL as an effective learning strategy at the basic education level.

This article considers the search for new methodological approaches to teaching high school students mathematics that will promote the development of their logical thinking. Based on the analysis conducted by the authors of the study identified an urgent need to develop the logical thinking of students in mathematics lessons through various methods of solving problems. The authors of the article set out to investigate the factors that will ensure the implementation of a problem-based approach to teaching mathematics. These factors include the choice of a certain type of mathematical problem; selection of a method for solving mathematical problems; compiling a system of problems of one type that require the selection of methods for solving them. The authors reveal the introduction of the problem approach as a method of developing students’ logical thinking in the article on the example of solving irrational equations with parameters. The authors of the study explain the value of problems with parameters by the fact that the process of solving them contributes to the formation of students’ research skills. In the study, the authors focused on the analytical method of solving problems with parameters. Structural analysis of problems allowed the authors to formulate the following didactic requirements for the system of mathematical problems such as compliance with the problems of the course content and the principle of gradual increase in complexity; the rational relationship between the logical and heuristic components of educational activities; the presence of ideological and technical complexity, etc. To confirm the effectiveness of the introduction of the problem-based approach to the educational process, as a method of developing students’ logical thinking, an experiment was conducted. The main objectives of the experiment were to identify the level of logical thinking of students; development and implementation in the educational process of a system of problems with parameters in the study of the topic “Irrational equations”, which contribute to the development of logical thinking of students; analysis of the results of the experiment. The obtained results and their statistical processing confirmed significant differences in the levels of development of logical thinking in the control and experimental groups, respectively. This proved the effectiveness of a problem-based approach to teaching mathematics and the development of logical thinking of students.