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An investigation of U.S. and Chinese students’ mathematical problem posing and problem solving

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Abstract

This study explored the mathematical problem posing and problem solving of 181 U.S. and 223 Chinese sixth-grade students. It is part of a continuing effort to examine U.S. and Chinese students’ performance by conducting a cognitive analysis of student responses to mathematical problem-posing and problem-solving tasks. The findings of this study provide further evidence that, while Chinese students outperform U.S. students on computational tasks, there are many similarities and differences between U.S. and Chinese students in performing relatively novel tasks. Moreover, the findings of this study suggest that a direct link between mathematical problem posing and problem solving found in earlier studies for U.S. students is true for Chinese students as well.

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Cai, J. An investigation of U.S. and Chinese students’ mathematical problem posing and problem solving. Math Ed Res J 10, 37–50 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03217121

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