Mathematical Modeling and the Development of Mathematical Problem Solving of Secondary School Students

Abstract

The purposes of this research were (1) to compare the mathematical problem-solving ability of students before and after being taught to use the mathematical modeling process, (2) to compare their mathematical problem-solving ability to the criteria score of 65%, and (3) to study the development of the mathematical problem-solving ability of students before, during, and after learning mathematical modeling. The subjects of this study were 31 ninth-grade students from a school in Roi-et. The experiment instruments consisted of lesson plans, and the collection instruments included a mathematical problem-solving test and an interview form. The data were analyzed using arithmetic mean, standard deviation, and t-test. the results of this study were as follows: (1) the mean score of the students’ post-test mathematical problem-solving ability was higher than their pre-test ability at the 0.05 level of significance, (2) the mean score of students’ post-test mathematical problem-solving ability was higher than the criteria of 65% of the total score at the 0.05 level of significance, and (3) the students’ mathematical problem-solving abilities were developed in a positive direction.