Exploring the thinking strategies of grade 7 students in solving problem situations involving first-degree equations. (c2005)

Abstract

In this study we investigated the thinking strategies of grade 7 students in solving a problem situation involving first-degree equations, prior to formal instruction in algebra. Twelve students participated in individual, talk-aloud problem solving sessions and were interviewed about their attempts to solve the given problem. The sessions were videotaped for further analysis. Students generated different solution plans, using arithmetical rather than algebraic methods. The majority of participants used trial-and-error strategies for solving the given problem. Very few were those who constructed an algebraic equation but then shifted to an arithmetic approach while solving it, representing the unknown by a "?" (a question mark) or "_ " (a blank space). The study revealed that it is yet unfamiliar to students who represented the problem's mathematical content with a mathematical equation form to continue and proceed algebraically. Thus, before being introduced to the concept of equation and unknown, and before being instructed on the algorithms for solving equations, students do not operate algebraically on equations, which are not yet symbolically formalized.