Solving worded real-world problems using simultaneous equations by pre-service mathematics teachers in regional Australia: Performances and implications

William Guo; William Guo

doi:10.3934/steme.2024003

STEM Education

2024, Volume 4, Issue 1: 35-50. doi: 10.3934/steme.2024003

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Case study

Solving worded real-world problems using simultaneous equations by pre-service mathematics teachers in regional Australia: Performances and implications

William Guo ^,

School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University, Bruce Highway, North Rockhampton, QLD 4702, Australia

Academic Editor: Suzieleez Rahim

Received: 31 October 2023 Revised: 21 January 2024 Accepted: 23 January 2024 Published: 25 January 2024

Studies have shown that solving worded real-world problems is a difficult challenge for pre-service secondary mathematics teachers engaging study in most tertiary institutions. This case study reports the performances of three groups of regional pre-service mathematics teachers in their attempts to solve three different worded real-world problems through simultaneous equations in their formal assessments. These students were the first-year pre-service mathematics teachers enrolled in an undergraduate education program in a regional university in Australia. Their performances are compared by statistical analysis. The result of this study indicates that design of the word questions should consider challenging tasks appropriate for the students to achieve the pedagogical purpose in solving real-life problems that can best facilitate training the students towards becoming knowledgeable and motivated mathematics teachers for secondary schools, rather than ideologically making a levelling field with less challenging problems to achieve a high pass rate mandated by many institutions.
- pre-service mathematics teacher,
- worded real-word problem,
- simultaneous equations,
- regional university
Citation: William Guo. Solving worded real-world problems using simultaneous equations by pre-service mathematics teachers in regional Australia: Performances and implications[J]. STEM Education, 2024, 4(1): 35-50. doi: 10.3934/steme.2024003

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Abstract

Studies have shown that solving worded real-world problems is a difficult challenge for pre-service secondary mathematics teachers engaging study in most tertiary institutions. This case study reports the performances of three groups of regional pre-service mathematics teachers in their attempts to solve three different worded real-world problems through simultaneous equations in their formal assessments. These students were the first-year pre-service mathematics teachers enrolled in an undergraduate education program in a regional university in Australia. Their performances are compared by statistical analysis. The result of this study indicates that design of the word questions should consider challenging tasks appropriate for the students to achieve the pedagogical purpose in solving real-life problems that can best facilitate training the students towards becoming knowledgeable and motivated mathematics teachers for secondary schools, rather than ideologically making a levelling field with less challenging problems to achieve a high pass rate mandated by many institutions.

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Author's biography Dr. William Guo is a professor in mathematics education with Central Queensland University, Australia. He is specialized in teaching applied mathematics for both engineering and education students. His research interests include mathematics education, applied computing, data analysis and numerical modelling. He is a member of IEEE and Australian Mathematical Society

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