Authors: Nadya Dewinda Agustin, Mohamad Syarif Sumantri, Arita Marini, Sri Pernia Warakmulty
Abstract
This study investigates the development of primary students’ advanced mathematical thinking (AMT) skills in solving algebra problems using worksheets based on Tall’s three-worlds journey of mathematics. Employing an explanatory sequential design, this research integrated quantitative and qualitative data from 40 fifth-grade students. Instruments and data analyses were validated through expert judgment and triangulation. The findings reveal that students achieved AMT skills, including mathematical representation, creativity, abstraction, and proof. Approximately 40% of students reached the natural phase, 35% progressed to the natural-to-formal phase, and 35% attained the formal-axiomatic phase. These results occurred because Tall’s approach leverages children’s natural tendencies to play, imagine, and explore, fostering deeper reasoning. This study impacts mathematics education by demonstrating that AMT skills can be nurtured at the primary level through structured scaffolding, enhancing students’ cognitive development and problem-solving abilities in algebra. © School of Engineering, Taylor’s University.
Author keywords
Advanced mathematical thinking; Algebra problems; Mathematical proof; Primary schools; Three worlds of mathematics
This article can be accessed at https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105021025512
