Students' Learning Obstacles in Solving Early Algebra Problems: A Focus on Functional Thinking.

This study describes students' learning obstacles in solving early algebra problems requiring functional thinking ability. To reach this aim, qualitative research was conducted in this study. Participants of this study were 39 ninth graders and a mathematics teacher at one of the lower secondary schools in Bandung, Indonesia. The data were collected through the written test about early algebra problems, interviews, and document study. The findings revealed that fewer students achieve the correspondence level in their functional thinking ability. Many of them are on covariation or recursive patterns level. The variety of students' functional thinking levels in solving the problem is influenced by their previous learning experiences with early algebra, mainly functions. By exploring students' learning experiences, this study shows that students have some learning obstacles, including ontogenic obstacles due to students' lack of prerequisite knowledge about the concept of variables, didactical obstacles due to the teacher's teaching implementation focusing solely on the operational rather than the structural conception of functions, and epistemological obstacles due to students' limited knowledge in the concept of variables and functions. Therefore, the identified learning obstacles can be one of the references when developing a lesson design about functions for enhancing students' functional thinking ability [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]