Mathematical Problem Solving and Its Relationship to Students’ Epistemology of Mathematics in Korean Students

• In Event: Poster Session 17
  In Poster Session: Teaching and Learning Mathematics: Multiple Perspectives

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between mathematical problem solving strategies and students’ epistemology of mathematics of Korean students. We show that students’ epistemologies on the nature of mathematics is closely linked to the kinds of cognitive strategies that students employ, and in particular we focus on the difference between seeing mathematics as embodying clarity and definitiveness versus being a man-discovered field fundamental to all sciences. Evidence suggests that cultural context, in the societal sense, plays a crucial role in determining how students learn to solve or navigate through a mathematical problem space. However, having different epistemologies will suggest different ways of viewing, tackling, and solving the same mathematical problems.

Authors

• Christine K. Yang, Northwestern University

• Uri J. Wilensky, Northwestern University