A sequential error pattern in mathematical creative thinking: From concept to representation

Source abstract

This study analyzes the types and patterns of mathematical errors made by low-achieving students in solving mathematical creative thinking ability tasks. A qualitative descriptive approach with an error analysis method was employed. From 54 eighth-grade students at two public junior high schools in Jambi, who were randomly sampled for the MCTA test, 44 students were purposively selected as low-achieving. Data were collected through written tests, semi-structured interviews, and documentation. Only three of six error types were observed, namely Conceptual Error, Strategic Error, and Representation Error. CE was the most frequent type on every item, observed in 61.4% to 90.9% of the students, and SE and RE occurred mostly together with CE. Procedural, Symbolic, and Computational Errors were not observed. This pattern suggests that the work of low-achieving students stalled at the conceptual stage before procedural work began. The study offers a frequency-based account of how error types co-occur on creative tasks, which indicates that conceptual understanding is a foundational prerequisite for MCTA.