Do students’ ways of solving linear equations influence their later mathematical learning? Evidence from a study of Swedish upper secondary students
Résumé
In this paper, by means of a mixed methods approach to data collection and analysis, we examine the impact of linear-equations-related competence on Swedish upper secondary students’ later mathematics achievement. Quantitative data were 307 student solutions to an equations-related word problem posed at the start of their programme and the same students’ terminal grades to the first compulsory general mathematics course. Qualitative data were the written solutions to the word problem and interviews undertaken with purposively selected students. The results showed that students who solved the problem algebraically were not only confident in their solutions but significantly more successful on the terminal assessment than those who solved it by other means. Moreover, students who approached the word problem algebraically but solved it incorrectly, were no less successful than those who solved it successfully by other means.
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