An Empirical Study On Modeling Competence Of High School Students In Shanghai

During the mathematics curriculum reform in China, we have paid more attention to mathematics modeling than ever before. We have added mathematics modeling and modeling competence into our national mathematics curriculum standards for high school students since 2003.And the same situations happen in Shanghai mathematics curriculum standards. Mathematics modeling is a process of abstract information originated from situations or problems in our daily life, construct a mathematics model and solve it in mathematics world. Then, verify the solution back into the real world and improve the model if the solution does not fit well. Mathematics modeling is a math learning activity different from regular learning, which requires not only basic knowledge and basic skills, but also analyzes, construct and verify.The research questions I am concerning in this paper is as following:1.What is the current status of high school students'modeling competence in Shanghai, China?2.What is the relationship between students'level of modeling competence and their school mathematics achievement?3.How to carry effective instruction on mathematics modeling in secondary school?There are altogether six parts in this paper:Part one introduces the background, significance of this research and raises the research questions.Part two is a literature review on mathematics modeling both domestic and abroad. Based on the literature review, the author formed the definition of mathematics modeling, modeling competence and modeling competence level.Part three is the introduction of methodology, including the chose of testers, designing test problems, pre-test and test, and the coding criteria.Part four is the main part of this paper focusing of analyses and results of the test. The author carefully analyzed the questionnaire and discussed the current condition of mathematics modeling competence of high school students in Shanghai. Part five is an analysis of a mathematics teacher in high school. Analyzed and discussed her teaching practice on mathematics modeling and her students' performance in the test.Part six includes conclusion of the study and brings forward suggestions mainly toward the several initial mathematics modeling classes in high school and teaching materials.