An Empirical Study On The Correlation Between Mathematical Modeling Ability And Cognitive Load Of High School Students

Since the 21 st century,mathematics education reform has been carried out all over the world.All countries and regions attach great importance to the cultivation of students’ mathematical modeling ability.Focusing on the cognitive load theory,this study aims to improve the research system of mathematical modeling teaching by exploring the relationship between mathematical modeling ability and cognitive load of senior high school students.With the help of mathematical modeling test paper and cognitive load scale,this study selects 129 senior high school students in Nanjing,Jiangsu Province for testing,and analyzes the collected data by using SPSS and Mplus software.Then the paper studies the development of mathematical modeling ability and cognitive load of senior high school students and discusses the relationship between them,and further analyzes whether there is gender difference.Finally,it puts forward some teaching suggestions on how to cultivate students’ mathematical modeling ability and how to improve teachers’ mathematical modeling ability by means of cognitive load regulation.The main conclusions of this study are as follows:(1)On the whole,the average scores of mathematical modeling ability and three subabilities of Grade One students are below the medium level,and the development of mathematical modeling ability is poor on the whole.In terms of the development status of mathematical model building ability,Grade One students have a relatively balanced development in the sub-ability F1 of understanding tasks,simplification/structuring and mathematization,while the development level in the sub-ability F2 of mathematical solution is at the middle level,while the development level in the sub-ability F3 of explanation,translation and inspection is low.(2)There is no significant gender difference in mathematical modeling ability and sub-ability of Grade One students,but boys are better than girls in mathematical modeling ability and sub-ability.(3)The mathematical modeling ability of senior high school students can be divided into four types: low level and low mathematical solving ability type,medium level and high level and high mathematical solving ability type.(4)Through correlation analysis,regression analysis and impact analysis,it can be seen that,on the whole,students’ mathematical modeling ability can be improved by regulating ways of reducing students’ intrinsic cognitive load and enhancing related cognitive load.From each stage,in the first stage,we can take the way to enhance students’ related cognitive load to improve students’ mathematical modeling ability F1;In stage two,students’ mathematical modeling ability F2 can be improved by enhancing their related cognitive load.In stage three,students’ mathematical modeling ability F3 can be improved by reducing their external cognitive load.(5)No matter in which type of cognitive load,there is no significant difference in mathematical modeling ability and sub-ability on gender,and the interaction between gender and cognitive load has no significant impact on mathematical modeling ability and sub-ability.