Philippine E-Journals

SOLO Taxonomy and Newman Error Analysis: Understanding the Difficulties of Students in Solving Word Problems in Pre-Calculus

Junlor C. Dacsa I

 

Abstract:

Error analysis in mathematics education has a long history. For the past years, many researchers used error analysis to better understand students’ incorrect solutions and/or answers when given mathematical word problems. This study is aimed at exploring the SOLO Taxonomy and Newman Error Analysis as means of understanding the difficulties of students from STEM track programs when solving word problems in Conic Sections in the senior high school setting. A descriptive-qualitative design was used to investigate the different errors committed by the students using the Newman Error Analysis and then describe how learners’ understanding builds while solving word problems in Conic Sections using SOLO Taxonomy. The participants of the study were STEM students from Higher School ng UMak of the University of Makati. Validated open-ended questions were used to identify the level of understanding and errors committed by the students when solving the problems in Conic Sections. The study revealed that most students commit errors under the transformation level when their level of understanding is between multi-structural and relational. Implications and future research were discussed.