Analysis of internal and external mathematical representation ability to senior high school students in Indonesia

Abstract

This article discusses the students' ability to solve mathematical representation problems based on the student's initial ability level. The goal is to know the ability of internal representation that is how the students think in solving mathematical problems and external representation, how to construct new ideas in poured by students in the form of solving the problem description obtained from internal representation. This study used descriptive qualitative research, by giving three problems of mathematical representation to three students with female gender in Senior High School 1 Cibadak Sukabumi class X based on different Mathematical Preliminary Ability, with age about 15 years. The data in this research is test and interview to each student. The results of interviews with students are described in descriptive form or words to describe the facts, definition or answers questions that are then taken its essence alone. The results obtained that the ability of the external representation is influenced by internal representation, students whose initial ability is high, have a good external mathematical representation and the ability of internal mathematical representation is positive. Students who have the moderate ability, the result of external representations is sufficient and internal representations are positive. While students with low ability, external representation ability are less and their internal representation is negative. So the internal representation in this case of student's thinking habits influences the student's success in solving mathematical problems in his own way from the abilities he possesses in his mind. But not all of the students' thoughts can be expressed in their external representations since the limitation of the students in expressing the results of thought in the form of writing is still less than optimal. This is due to the thinking habits of students who still have to be developed in the learning process. So in need of intervention from teachers to solve it, one of them by applying an effective learning model to be able to improve the ability of representation.