Relationship between scientific reasoning skills and mathematics achievement among Malaysian students
Authors
Nor’ain Mohd. Tajudin
Mathematics Department, Faculty of Science & Mathematics, Sultan Idris Education University, Tanjong Malim, Perak, Malaysia
Mohan Chinnappan
School of Education, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
Abstract
The role of reasoning in mathematical performance is a continuing topic of interest for researchers in mathematicseducation. This present study explored the link between scientific reasoning skills and mathematics performance asmeasured by students’ responses to a series of novel problems. Results indicated the existence of a moderatepositive correlation between the two variables. All participating students exhibited low levels of scientific reasoning.Despite this, students in the high-achievement group performed significantly better than their peers in the lowachievementgroup in the mathematics test. The results suggest that while scientific reasoning is necessary, these setof skills may not fully explain the kind of reasoning that underpins mathematical problem solving amongMalaysian secondary students. We draw implications for instructions to support the development and use ofreasoning in mathematical learning in Malaysian classrooms.Keywords: gender, knowledge transfer, Malaysian classrooms, mathematics problem solving, scientific reasoningskills, secondary mathematics
