Diagnosing Students’ Misconceptions in Number Sense via a Web-Based Two-Tier Test

Yung-Chi Lin; Der-Ching Yang; Mao-Neng Li

doi:10.12973/eurasia.2016.1420a

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Yung-Chi Lin ¹, Der-Ching Yang ² ^* , Mao-Neng Li ²

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¹ National Changhua University of Education, TAIWAN² National Chiayi University, TAIWAN^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

A web-based two-tier test (WTTT-NS) which combined the advantages of traditional written tests and interviews in assessing number sense was developed and applied to assess students’ answers and reasons for the questions. In addition, students’ major misconceptions can be detected. A total of 1,248 sixth graders in Taiwan were selected to participate in this study. Results showed that the average percentage of correct answers was about 45%. Among the students who chose correct answers, about 22.9% of them used a number sense method to solve problems. In addition, students’ misconceptions are classified by content domains. The major contributions of the WTTT-NS are to (1) avoid students using written computations answering number sense questions; (2) present a whole picture of students’ misconceptions and the weight of these misconceptions; (3) include the strengths of quantitative and qualitative methods; (4) identify students’ “true understanding” (a correct answer based on their correct understanding instead of guessing) by exploring reasons for their choices. In sum, the WTTT-NS is a new worthwhile method to assess students’ number sense competence.

Keywords

sixth graders
misconceptions
number sense
two-tier test

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 12, Issue 1, January 2016, 41-55

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1420a

Publication date: 01 Jan 2016

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How to cite this article

APA

Lin, Y.-C., Yang, D.-C., & Li, M.-N. (2016). Diagnosing Students’ Misconceptions in Number Sense via a Web-Based Two-Tier Test. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 12(1), 41-55. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1420a

Vancouver

Lin YC, Yang DC, Li MN. Diagnosing Students’ Misconceptions in Number Sense via a Web-Based Two-Tier Test. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2016;12(1):41-55. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1420a

AMA

Lin YC, Yang DC, Li MN. Diagnosing Students’ Misconceptions in Number Sense via a Web-Based Two-Tier Test. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2016;12(1), 41-55. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1420a

Chicago

Lin, Yung-Chi, Der-Ching Yang, and Mao-Neng Li. "Diagnosing Students’ Misconceptions in Number Sense via a Web-Based Two-Tier Test". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2016 12 no. 1 (2016): 41-55. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1420a

Harvard

Lin, Y.-C., Yang, D.-C., and Li, M.-N. (2016). Diagnosing Students’ Misconceptions in Number Sense via a Web-Based Two-Tier Test. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 12(1), pp. 41-55. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1420a

MLA

Lin, Yung-Chi et al. "Diagnosing Students’ Misconceptions in Number Sense via a Web-Based Two-Tier Test". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 12, no. 1, 2016, pp. 41-55. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1420a