THE ACHIEVEMENT GOALS ORIENTATION OF SOUTH AFRICAN FIRST YEAR UNIVERSITY PHYSICS STUDENTS     

Umesh Dewnarain Ramnarain  Sam Ramaila 《International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education》2016,14(1):81-99

This paper is concerned with organizational principles of a pool of familiar problems of expert problem posers and the ways by which they are utilized for creating new problems. The presented case of Leo is part of a multiple-case study with expert problem posers for mathematics competitions. We present and inductively analyze the data collected in a reflective interview and in a clinical task-based interview with Leo. In the first interview, Leo was asked to share with us the stories behind some problems posed by him in the past. In the second interview, he was asked to pose a new competition problem in a thinking-aloud mode. We found that Leo’s pool of familiar problems is organized in classes according to certain nesting ideas. Furthermore, these nesting ideas serve him in posing problems that, ideally, are perceived by Leo as novel and surprising not only to potential solvers, but also to himself. Because of the lack of empirical research on experts in mathematical problem posing, the findings are discussed in light of research on experts in problem solving and on novices in mathematical problem posing.  相似文献   

THE ACHIEVEMENT GOALS ORIENTATION OF SOUTH AFRICAN FIRST YEAR UNIVERSITY PHYSICS STUDENTS     

Ramnarain  Umesh Dewnarain  Ramaila  Sam 《International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education》2014,14(1):81-105

This study investigated the achievement goals orientation of first year physics students at a South African university. The mixed methods design involved a quantitative survey of 291 students using an achievement goals questionnaire and individual interviews of selected participants. Results showed that the students perceived they have a stronger mastery goals orientation than performance goals and performance avoidance goals orientations. Multiple regression analysis in testing the mastery goals model indicated that the participants’ perceptions of teacher and peer goal emphases made the largest unique contribution to their orientation. It is suggested that at the tertiary level such an orientation should be promoted through learning experiences such as inquiry-based learning, which has been associated with this orientation.

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