The study reported here investigates these justifications using story problems on linear functions. A situated cognition theoretical framework is used to interpret student behavior in the complex, social system of "school mathematics." In a series of interviews, students from a low-performing school were presented with algebra problems, some of which were personalized to the ways in which they described using mathematics in their everyday lives. Results showed that students rarely explicitly used situational knowledge when solving story problems, had consistent issues with verbal interpretation, and engaged in non-coordinative reasoning where they bypassed the intermediate step of understanding the given situation before trying to solve the problem. Problems with the same mathematical structure with different amounts of verbal and symbolic support elicited different strategies from students, with personalized problems having high response rates and high use of informal strategies. This suggests that students can use sophisticated, situation-based reasoning on contextualized problems, and that different problem framings may scaffold learning. However, results also demonstrated that the culture of schooling, and story problems as an artifact of this culture, undermines many of the justifications for contextualizing mathematics. -Dr. Petrosino
PlayingThe Game
Picture: Hoboken's own Cake Boss (Buddy Valastro) created a special cake to celebrate Hoboken High School's 50th Anniversary. Pictured from (L-R) are: Hoboken teacher and 50th Anniversary Coordinator Mr. Chris Munoz, Board of Education Trustee Carmelo Garcia, and Ms. Nina Delia.
