2019 Volume 15 Issue 1 Pages 149-167
This study examines the processes of thinking about and solving fill-in-the-blank problems using the think-aloud method. We asked 17 high school students to solve two problems in the subject of mathematics, which were questions that had been set in past tests of the National Center for University Entrance Examinations. Here, we found 14 students who solved the problems in their numerical order. Only two students noticed an efficient way of solving the problems based on their insight into the relationship between the items in the problems. Thus, few students were aware of how each problem was composed of a number of items or how the items related to each other. Five students tried to adjust their answers to fit the blank, the two out of which changed their answer with no justification. This was the case even with high scorers. These results suggest the following features of the mathematics tests of the National Center University Entrance Examinations: (1) the path of the items mapped out by the questioner led the student to show appropriate but fragmented knowledge and skills with little insight into the problem, and (2) time pressure made students skimp on efforts to follow the path as led by the items to seek solutions taking in the entire problem. The findings contribute to the discussion about the purpose of the examinations and problem solving processes induced by them.
