Problem Solving Readiness of the Teacher Education Students

Carmela J. Go Silk

Abstract: The study determined the status and relationship of students problem solving readiness, conceptual understanding and mathematics anxiety. A 10-item teacher-made open-ended word problem and a scale were used to assessed students problem-solving skills, conceptual understanding and mathematics anxiety. The study revealed that students have low level of problem solving readiness, weak conceptual understanding and high level of mathematics anxiety. There was no significant correlation between students problem solving readiness and conceptual understanding. However, negative low correlations were found to be significant between students problem solving readiness and mathematics anxiety, and between conceptual understanding and mathematics anxiety. Thus, students need an intervention that would address the weakness of their problem solving ability and improve their conceptual understanding.

Keywords: problem solving readiness, conceptual understanding, mathematics anxiety