Students' construction error in translation among mathematical representations

Abstract

This research arises from student failure to construct target representation equivalent to source representation. The purpose of this research was to investigate student construction errors in translation among mathematical representations. Explorative study with a qualitative approach was conducted to 51 students majoring in mathematics. The data collection tools used were the mathematical translation task and interview protocol. Data were collected by think-aloud and task-based interviews. The results showed that student construction errors in translation among mathematical representations occur in various forms, i.e. lost of representational attributes, interference thinking, pseudo-thinking, disconnected connections, implementation error and lack of preservation of representative equivalence. The this research findings have implications for designing scaffolding of learning-oriented reconstruction for students' thinking to make meaningful translations.