Dissertation
Undergraduate students’ strategies on pattern recognition, cognition and metacognition involving small group learning in Taiwan
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Summer 2020
DOI: 10.17077/etd.005609
Abstract
This study focuses on understanding undergraduate students’ pattern recognition in a Number Theory class in Taiwan in order to find instructional suggestions for enhancing undergraduate students’ learning. This is an exploratory study utilizing a multiple-case research methods approach that aims to seek a deeper understanding of how students perform their pattern recognition strategies, how they cognitively and metacognitively engage in the pattern recognition processes through small group learning. The findings include the following discoveries. First, students’ use of pattern recognition strategies is closely related to their academic achievements. Second, students’ aptitude for pattern recognition is mediated by individuals’ abilities to utilize cognitive representations and metacognitive strategies. Third, students’ dialogues in small group settings provide a tool for students to collectively construct their concepts. Finally, from the results of this study, it is salient that providing open-ended tasks and enough time to practice small group processing are two keys to open up students’ dialogues. Further suggestions in providing instructional scaffolding for students’ pattern recognition strategies and cognitive representation and metacognitive strategies in undergraduate mathematics classrooms and teacher education programs are also discussed.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Undergraduate students’ strategies on pattern recognition, cognition and metacognition involving small group learning in Taiwan
- Creators
- Yu-Fen Wu
- Contributors
- Brian Hand (Advisor)Anne Estapa (Committee Member)Walter I Seaman (Committee Member)Catherine J Welch (Committee Member)Pamela M. Wesely (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Teaching and Learning
- Date degree season
- Summer 2020
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- DOI
- 10.17077/etd.005609
- Number of pages
- xiii, 206 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2020 Yu-Fen Wu
- Comment
- This thesis has been optimized for improved web viewing. If you require the original version, contact the University Archives at the University of Iowa: https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/contact/
- Language
- English
- Description illustrations
- illustrations
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 181-199).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
In order to provide a quality STEM workforce, teaching in universities needs to improve students’ problem solving. This study aims to understand how undergraduate students learn so that mathematics educators have a better understanding about how to help students to solve problems. Pattern recognition is a key process for problem solving and therefore pattern recognition in Number Theory was chosen to be the central focus in this study. Five undergraduate participants in a Taiwanese mathematics classroom were selected for this case study.
The study found that students with higher grades in school may use more strategies of pattern recognition. Moreover, students who may use more pattern recognition strategies often have habits in demonstrating their ideas in representational forms such as graphs, tables, or natural languages and organizing their learning in a way that retrieves their skills easily from their memory when solving problems. Thus, these characteristics help students in learning mathematics and deserve mathematics educators’ attention in order to provide quality teaching.
Furthermore, undergraduate students could benefit in learning through communicating with each other, elaborating upon their ideas, and building solutions through small group learning. From this study, the researcher found that it takes time for students to practice how to interact with their peers productively and open-ended tasks can also advance students’ dialogues to a more collaborative level. In summary, through this study, we may gain a robust understanding to foster students’ problem solving in STEM areas.
- Academic Unit
- Teaching and Learning
- Record Identifier
- 9983988297802771
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