Cognitive Processes of High Mathematics Anxiety Student in Solving Area Conservation Problem

Abstract

Area conservation is a concept to modify the shape or position of a geometrical figure without changing its area. Skipping the concept of area conservation in learning area measurement causes students’ difficulties in this topic. One of students’ activity in math class is problem solving which is a cognitive process of the brain to search a solution for a given problem. Cognitive process is an activity that consist of receiving, processing, and using information. Cognitive process may affected by mathematics anxiety. Mathematics anxiety is a condition in which students experience unexplained anxiety during learning mathematics. This study is qualitative descriptive research which aimed at describing the cognitive processes of high mathematics anxiety student in solving area conservation problem. The data were collected by using mathematics anxiety test, area conservation problem test, and interview. The result showed that at the stage of receiving information, high mathematics anxiety students read the given problem and observe the given figures. At the stage of processing the information, the students devising plan by linked the received information with their knowledge, solving the problem, and evaluating the obtained solution. Student with high mathematics anxiety use the concept of area conservation to modify some figures. Moreover, high mathematics anxiety student did a simple estimation to determine the area of the given figures. At the stage of using information, student with high mathematics anxiety re-explain the given problem, the idea to solve the problem, every single steps in solving problem, and the obtained solution.