An analysis of learner outputs in problem posing as sentence-integration in arithmetic word problems

Abstract

Achieving practical implementation of learning by problem posing faces the issue of inefficiency due to the time needed for assessment and giving feedback to students’ posed problems. As a solution of this problem, we have developed a tablet PC-based software for learning by posing arithmetic word problems named Monsakun. The software is based on Triplet Structure Model of arithmetic word problem. In this research, we investigated problems posed by elementary school students in Monsakun to understand whether Monsakun encourages them to think about the structure of arithmetic word problems. The result shows that students did not pose problems randomly but considered things first. We also found that the frequent errors are actually meaningful errors, and students tried to pose problems satisfying as many constraints as possible, which means they actually think about the structure to pose required problems in the assignments. The process of understanding assignment requirements and relating them to suitable sentence cards is an important point especially for young learners to reach deep understanding of the structure of arithmetic word problems.