A Survey On Reading Comprehension Ability Of Geometric Proof In Junior Middle School Students

Geometry proof is the key content of mathematic teaching in junior middle school,which plays an important role in cultivating students' ability of argumentation and logical reasoning.However,the analysis of students' performance in geometry proof reports that many students struggle in mastering geometry proof.Most of the existing researches on geometry proof focus on learning disabilities and learning strategies of geometry proof.Few studies have developed a set of tests based on reading comprehension of geometry proof to analyze students' understanding on geometry proof.Based on the Reading Comprehension Model of Geometry Proof developed by Professor Kailin Yang,researcher made the reading comprehension test of geometry proof to investigate students' performance across the five dimensions: basic knowledge,logical status,summarization,generality and application.In addition,this study also developed a test of geometry proof ability,which can be used to investigate students' performance on conventional geometry proof problems,and further analyzed the influence of students' geometric proof understanding on their performance in constructing proof.The above two tests were used to investigate 181 grade 8 students in H Middle School in Shandong Province.The research conclusions are as follows:At first,most students are at the level of comprehension of chaining elements,that is,most students can understand the relationship between elements in the geometric proof process and the structure of the whole proof process,but they are easily affected by the mindset when the proof process is applied to similar problems.Most students need further training to reach the level on comprehension of encapsulation.Secondly,the problems and learning difficulties of junior high school students in reading comprehension of geometric proof are as follows: logical loop errors,unclear judgment of properties and theorems used in the process of proof,etc.In general,from the performance of students in reading comprehension test and geometric proof test,students' understanding of the proof process will significantly affect their performance in geometric proof.Besides,from the results of regression analysis,it can be concluded that whether students' understanding of the proof process can reach the application level is affected by their understanding of logical relations in the proof process and generalization ability.Based on the above research results,this study puts forward three suggestions about geometry proof teaching.(1)Strengthen students' understanding of concepts and theorems;(2)The process of geometry proof should be refined,highlighting the reasoning basis of each step.(3)Emphasis should be placed on the reading training of geometry proof.Reading training lists of geometry proof can be compiled based on the above reading understanding framework of geometry proof to strengthen students' understanding.