College algebra students' perceptions of exam errors and the problem-solving process.
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| Title: | College algebra students' perceptions of exam errors and the problem-solving process. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Pilgrim, Mary E.1 (AUTHOR), Burks, Linda C.2 (AUTHOR) lburks@scu.edu, Ryals, Megan3 (AUTHOR), Hill-Lindsay, Sloan1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Frontiers in Education. 2025, p1-16. 16p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Problem solving, *Metacognition, *Psychology of students, *Learning strategies, *STEM education, *Algebra, Error analysis in mathematics |
| Abstract: | The first 2 years of college mathematics play a key role in retaining STEM majors. This becomes considerably difficult when students lack the background knowledge needed to begin in Calculus and instead take College Algebra or Precalculus as a first mathematics course. Given the poor success rates often attributed to these courses, researchers have been looking for ways in which to better support student learning, such as examining the impact of enhancing study habits and skills and metacognitive knowledge. One way that students can enhance their metacognitive knowledge in order to modify their study habits and practices is through reflection on mistakes. For this paper in particular, we focus on mistakes students make on exams. We interviewed students after they took an exam and completed an exam analysis worksheet. As part of a study on the impact of metacognitive instruction for College Algebra students we found that students often attributed their exam errors to "simple mistakes." However, we identified many of these errors as "not simple." To understand students' perceptions of their mistakes within the context of problem-solving, we adapted an established problem-solving framework as an analytical tool. We found that students' and researchers' classifications of errors were not aligned across the problem-solving phases. In this paper we present findings from this work, sharing the adapted problem-solving framework, students' perceptions of their exam mistakes, and the relationship between students' categorizations of their errors and the problem-solving phase in which the errors occurred. Understanding students' perceptions of their mistakes helps us better understand how we might support them as learners and better situate them for success in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Frontiers in Education is the property of Frontiers Media S.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 183202522 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: College algebra students' perceptions of exam errors and the problem-solving process. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pilgrim%2C+Mary+E%2E%22">Pilgrim, Mary E.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Burks%2C+Linda+C%2E%22">Burks, Linda C.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> lburks@scu.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ryals%2C+Megan%22">Ryals, Megan</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hill-Lindsay%2C+Sloan%22">Hill-Lindsay, Sloan</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Frontiers+in+Education%22">Frontiers in Education</searchLink>. 2025, p1-16. 16p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Problem+solving%22">Problem solving</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Metacognition%22">Metacognition</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychology+of+students%22">Psychology of students</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Learning+strategies%22">Learning strategies</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22STEM+education%22">STEM education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Algebra%22">Algebra</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Error+analysis+in+mathematics%22">Error analysis in mathematics</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The first 2 years of college mathematics play a key role in retaining STEM majors. This becomes considerably difficult when students lack the background knowledge needed to begin in Calculus and instead take College Algebra or Precalculus as a first mathematics course. Given the poor success rates often attributed to these courses, researchers have been looking for ways in which to better support student learning, such as examining the impact of enhancing study habits and skills and metacognitive knowledge. One way that students can enhance their metacognitive knowledge in order to modify their study habits and practices is through reflection on mistakes. For this paper in particular, we focus on mistakes students make on exams. We interviewed students after they took an exam and completed an exam analysis worksheet. As part of a study on the impact of metacognitive instruction for College Algebra students we found that students often attributed their exam errors to "simple mistakes." However, we identified many of these errors as "not simple." To understand students' perceptions of their mistakes within the context of problem-solving, we adapted an established problem-solving framework as an analytical tool. We found that students' and researchers' classifications of errors were not aligned across the problem-solving phases. In this paper we present findings from this work, sharing the adapted problem-solving framework, students' perceptions of their exam mistakes, and the relationship between students' categorizations of their errors and the problem-solving phase in which the errors occurred. Understanding students' perceptions of their mistakes helps us better understand how we might support them as learners and better situate them for success in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Frontiers in Education is the property of Frontiers Media S.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1359713 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 16 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Problem solving Type: general – SubjectFull: Metacognition Type: general – SubjectFull: Psychology of students Type: general – SubjectFull: Learning strategies Type: general – SubjectFull: STEM education Type: general – SubjectFull: Algebra Type: general – SubjectFull: Error analysis in mathematics Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: College algebra students' perceptions of exam errors and the problem-solving process. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Pilgrim, Mary E. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Burks, Linda C. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Ryals, Megan – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Hill-Lindsay, Sloan IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 21 M: 02 Text: 2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 2504284X Titles: – TitleFull: Frontiers in Education Type: main |
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