Behaviours of Students When Solving the Assessment of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Mathematical Problems

Application of mathematical concepts in the real world requires the use of problem solving skill. The skill is also one of the important components in the learning of mathematics at upper secondary schools. In addition, the emphasis on mathematical problem solving skill in Malaysian system of education can result in the improvement in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The success of teaching and learning using problem solving is determined by students' behaviour. Thus, different forms of problem-solving questions allow careful observations to be done on students' behaviour. Consequently, the behaviour of successful and less successful students can be distinguished. Therefore, this study aims to determine how students' behaviour differs when they respond to mathematics questions in PISA. A method of data collection named as thinking aloud was conducted among six Form 2 students. The results of this study showed that successful students emphasised behavioural process of analysing problems and took a lot of time to solve them. Although less successful students behaved quite similar to the successful ones, they did not possess specific domain of knowledge in mathematics. Meanwhile, unsuccessful students showed minor reactions while they were analysing the problems and taking shorter time to answer the questions as compared to the successful ones.