Browsing by Author "Nurminen, Heli"

Mathematical problem-solving skills have become increasingly important in our technology-driven, rapidly evolving modern society. The OECD (2017) has identified mathematical problem-solving skills as a key skill for the future. Mathematical problem-solving skills are considered a key competency in everyday life as well as in educational and academic progress. In everyday and work life the mathematical questions are mostly described in verbal format. Therefore, teaching to solve mathematical word problem-solving (WPS) tasks is one of the most relevant ways to train higher-order-thinking skills in elementary school mathematics. The connection of word problem-solving tasks to everyday life has led to their prominent place in mathematics and science curriculums (Jaffe & Bolger, 2023; Seel, 2017). Research findings consistently demonstrate the effectiveness of problem-based teaching approaches (Hoffmann, ym., 2006; Pineda, 2019; Salmivirta, 2020). However, gaps in students' mathematical problem-solving skills have been identified in Finland (Kupari 1983; Kyllönen & Nissinen 2014) and internationally (Dewolf et al., 2014; PISA 2003; PISA 2015). Especially for students with mathematical learning difficulties, mathematical word problem-solving is challenging (Arsenault & Powell, 2022). This thesis aimed to develop a digital word problem solving assessment tool using quantitative analysis. The thesis was carried out as part of the Future Problem Solvers! project in cooperation with the University of Helsinki, Åbo Akademii University, the Aalto University, and the Turku Research Institute for Learning Analytics. The research material was collected during the autumn of 2023 on the digital ViLLE learning platform from 3-6 grade pupils in primary schools with 104 word problem-solving tasks. The tasks used to collect the data were created at the beginning of 2022, and the data consisted of 70 886 responses. The data was analyzed using Excel 2022 (version 18) spreadsheet software and IBM SPSS Statistics 28 statistical software during the academic year 2023-2024. In the process of finding suitable tasks for the assessment tool word problem solving the schemas (Marshall, 1995) of the task instruction were used. The main result is 30 items suitable for a digital assessment tool to map arithmetic word problem-solving skills. The suitable tasks have been divided according to their level of difficulty for grades 3-4 and 5-6, as the difficulty of the tasks changed with the grade level. The study found that when developing a verbal problem-solving assessment tool, it is important to consider whether a wide range of mathematical content areas is practical to assess, as the verbal problem-solving task is relatively time-consuming. The development of assessment tools is important for the development of an evidence-based approach to teaching and learning support. This thesis is a first step forward in the development of digital assessment and further teaching of arithmetic word problem-solving.