High School Math Problem Solving, Emotional Characteristics And Related Factors

Showing concern for the students about their development of emotion and attitude is a basic goal of the new-round curriculum of mathematics. To realize this objection, the development of mathematics learning affect of senior high school students should be explored deeply. The students' affect in mathematical problem solving (hereafter AMPS) is an important issue that has not been paid enough attention. To compensate for the shortcomings of present research, we studied the affect from another perspective that the affect in mathematical problem solving. We aimed to understand the affect deeply and comprehensively.This study is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the development of affect in mathematical problem solving. By means of documental analysis, we have defined what is AMPS. On the basis of theoretical analysis, the author designed a questionnaire for AMPS of high school students. By the questionnaire, the author has investigated and analyzed the current situation of the AMPS in different schools. The main conclusions are:1. Generally, the development level of AMPS of secondary school students is not high enough. In the concrete, high school students, at present, have developed moderate leaning interests and good cognition to the importance of mathematics. They do not experience mathematics learning very well;2. The students are seriously lack of mathematical confidence;3. There are distinctive variations between boys and girls in mathematic anxiety, interest and confidence. Besides the mathematic beliefs, the boys' affect level is higher than girls'.4. The students with higher level of affect behave better than the ones with lower in solving problem.From the case study, the second part of the study observed students' affective behaviors when they were solving a mathematic problem. We want to explore the relation between mathematical affects and behaviors. The main conclusions are:1. The students have experienced various emotions in problem solving. The origin of these emotions was cognitive obstacles.2. Students' affects may change their behaviors in problem solving. Students with different affective levels have distinct difference in selecting problem solving strategies and other behaviors.3. Meta-affect plays an important role in mathematics problem solving.