Journal of Didactic Mathematics
Vol 3, No 3 (2022): December

Thinking about the equal sign: What do students see about the equal sign?

Lia Ardiansari (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia)
Didi Suryadi (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia)
Dadan Dasari (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Dec 2022

Abstract

The equal sign seems to be interpreted differently by students depending on the learning experiences they have had in the early grades. In fact, the interpretation of the equal sign as a relational symbol does not seem easy or fast for many students to understand. This study aims to explore how students from elementary school to college students describe their understanding of the equal sign. The Qualitative Comparative Analysis can be used to analyze several cases in complex situations so that it fits the purpose of this study. The process of collecting data through the method of written assignments, semi-structured interviews, and documentation was carried out in one time period. This study involved 30 participants in Bandung, Indonesia. The results show that although there are substantial differences in viewing the equal sign, there are similarities in terms of dependence on computational methods in drawing conclusions. This is related to how their experience of number sentences in lower grades places more emphasis on rules than on the meaning of concepts.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

jdm

Publisher

Subject

Education Mathematics

Description

Journal of Didactic Mathematics is published three times a year, in April, August and December. This journal is providing a platform that welcomes and acknowledges high quality empirical original research papers about mathematics education, mathematical didactic, mathematics learning, and school ...