Journal of General Education and Humanities
Vol. 4 No. 4 (2025): November

Exploring Junior High School Students’ External Representations in Solving Solid Geometry Problems: A Descriptive Qualitative Study

Wibowo, Fadhia Aliva (Unknown)
Rohati, Rohati (Unknown)
Nusantara, Duano Sapta (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
24 Nov 2025

Abstract

External representation is essential in mathematics learning because it enables students to express and operationalize abstract ideas. However, many junior high school students still struggle to coordinate visual, mathematical, and verbal representations when solving solid geometry problems. This study aims to explore how students demonstrate external representations in solving solid geometry tasks by analyzing their pretest responses. A descriptive qualitative method was used involving nine students who completed a pretest, from which three were purposively selected to represent high, medium, and low levels of external representation ability. Data were collected using a test instrument based on indicators of visual, mathematical, and verbal representations. The results show that high-performing students can consistently produce accurate visualizations, mathematical expressions, and written explanations, while medium-performing students demonstrate inconsistent and partial representations. Low-performing students encounter major difficulties in generating meaningful representations. The findings suggest that teachers should strengthen geometry instruction by promoting the balanced use of visual, mathematical, and verbal representations to support students’ conceptual understanding.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

gehu

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Mathematics Other

Description

The Journal of General Education and Humanities (GEHU) is a peer-reviewed scholarly online journal. The GEHU is published quarterly in February, May, August, and November. The GEHU is a non-profit journal whose publication is free of charge. The articles should be original, unpublished, and not ...