A Survey On The Current Status Of Algebraic Thinking Among Eighth Grade Student

Algebra is one of the important components of mathematics.In the newly issued Mathematics Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education(2022 Edition),the Ministry of Education raises the teaching requirements of mathematics and algebra,and emphasizes the cultivation of students’ algebraic reasoning ability in junior middle school curriculum teaching.Reasoning is one of the basic forms of thinking.In algebraic reasoning,it will reflect the process of algebraic thinking.Therefore,it is of great significance to investigate and analyze the current situation of students’ algebraic thinking.Junior middle school is an important stage to cultivate students’ algebraic thinking.Students generally complete the transition from arithmetic thinking to algebraic thinking in grade 7.After completing this stage of learning,it is necessary to understand the development level of students’ algebraic thinking in grade 8.Therefore,in order to explore the development status of eighth grade students’ algebraic thinking,this study based on Kaput’s algebraic thinking theory,from the three content elements of generalized arithmetic,functional thinking and modeling language,combined with the algebra knowledge content of the eighth grade mathematics textbook of Beijing Normal University edition to build an assessment framework and compile a test paper.According to the score of the test paper and the problem solving situation,analyze the level of students in each content element.The division of algebra thinking level of eighth grade students is constructed based on the SOLO classification model and Bao Jiansheng’s three basic activities of mathematical thinking,namely : symbol operation and formal representation(Level 1),reasoning and generalization(Level 2)and modeling and application(Level 3).The specific content of the research is as follows:(1)How is the overall algebra thinking development of eighth grade students?(2)What is the development level of Grade 8 students in the three content elements of algebraic thinking?(3)Are there gender differences in algebra thinking development among eighth grade students ?The results prove that :(1)The overall performance of algebra thinking development status of eighth grade students is better.(2)In generalized arithmetic,80% of the students can reach the level of reasoning and generalization and about 20% can reach level 1;In functional thinking,In61.4% of the students can reach level 2,27.1% of the students can reach Level 1,and 11.4% of the students can’t reach Level 1;In modeling language,about 24.3% of the students can reach level 3,about 48.6% can reach level 2,about 7% can reach level 1,and the rest about 20% can’t reach level 1.(3)There was no gender difference in algebra thinking development among eighth grade students.In conclusion,the following suggestions are put forward according to the research results:(1)Attach importance to students’ learning and understanding of basic algebra knowledge;(2)Cultivate students’ general way of thinking;(3)Cultivate students’ mathematical modeling and application ability;(4)Cultivate students’ math reading ability;(5)Teach students according to their aptitude and pay attention to individual differences.