Understanding graphs – does metacognitive questioning help students develop and refine their mathematical ideas?

This digest found in

Authors

Kramarski, Bracha School of Education, Bar-Ilan University

Publisher

Learning and Instruction (2004) Vol. 14 pp 593-619
(Original title: “Making sense of graphs: does metacognitive instruction make a difference to students’ mathematical conceptions and alternative conceptions?”)

Introduction

How can we help students understand graphs and overcome some of the conceptual difficulties they have?
In this rigorous study the researcher investigated whether mathematics instruction based on questioning that targeted students’ knowledge about their mathematical thinking (metacognitive questioning) would promote students’ learning and enhance their understanding of graphs. (Examples of metacognitive questions are: ‘Does this make sense? Why is s/he doing it that way? What did I/we do last time we had a similar problem?). Students used such questioning approaches within small group learning situations in which they worked together to solve the same problem (co-operative learning). The research focused on 196 (Year 9) students and six teachers in two schools. The study found that the students significantly improved their understanding about how to interpret and construct graphs. Research evidence also showed that co-operative small group working structured through metacognitive questioning engaged more students and produced more elaborate verbal contributions from the participants when compared to the control groups.

Keywords:
Israel; Key Stage 3; Secondary schools; Numeracy; Pupil grouping; Speaking and listening; Metacognition; Learning processes

Your path: Home > Welcome to The Research Informed Practice Site (TRIPS) > Themes > Thinking skills > Understanding graphs - does metacognitive
Research Home Themes \| Find digests \| About the digests resources glossary researchers contact TRIPS Introduction What sorts of conceptual problems did the students have? How did the intervention affect students' mathematical understanding? What was classroom discourse like and how did it differ between the two samples? What classroom activities did the intervention involve? What questions were used to foster metacognition? How was the study designed and carried out? What are the implications of this work? Where can I find out more? Send us your feedback Collated digests To view/remove/add notes and save your collated digests click here Get Word Reader Understanding graphs – does metacognitive questioning help students develop and refine their mathematical ideas? This digest found in Thinking skills Mathematics Send to a friend Word doc 80KB Printer friendly Authors Kramarski, Bracha School of Education, Bar-Ilan University Publisher Learning and Instruction (2004) Vol. 14 pp 593-619 (Original title: “Making sense of graphs: does metacognitive instruction make a difference to students’ mathematical conceptions and alternative conceptions?”) Introduction How can we help students understand graphs and overcome some of the conceptual difficulties they have? In this rigorous study the researcher investigated whether mathematics instruction based on questioning that targeted students’ knowledge about their mathematical thinking (metacognitive questioning) would promote students’ learning and enhance their understanding of graphs. (Examples of metacognitive questions are: ‘Does this make sense? Why is s/he doing it that way? What did I/we do last time we had a similar problem?). Students used such questioning approaches within small group learning situations in which they worked together to solve the same problem (co-operative learning). The research focused on 196 (Year 9) students and six teachers in two schools. The study found that the students significantly improved their understanding about how to interpret and construct graphs. Research evidence also showed that co-operative small group working structured through metacognitive questioning engaged more students and produced more elaborate verbal contributions from the participants when compared to the control groups. Keywords: Israel; Key Stage 3; Secondary schools; Numeracy; Pupil grouping; Speaking and listening; Metacognition; Learning processes