SME 3023

TRENDS AND ISSUES IN EDUCATION FOR MATHEMATICAL

SCIENCES

NAME NO MATRIKATINA HASANAH BINTI MOHD RAZALI D20121058406NUR SHUHADA SURIA BINTI SHA’ARI D20121058472FATIN AMIRA BINTI YUNUS D20121058529

GROUP : A

LECTURER : Dr. MOHD FAIZAL NIZAM LEE BIN ABDULLAH

INTRODUCTION

It has been widely recognized that to fulfill the future demands of a nation’s growth in the global economy. It is essential to develop human capital in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). It is because of globalization, the need to understand science and mathematics education around the world increasing (Chiu & Duit, 2011). While it is beneficial to examine student academic achievement within a single country. It is also valuable to investigate the educational phenomenon across the scope of multiple countries. Thus, due to the consensus of comparative information on science and mathematics education, some international large-scale assessments (ILSA), such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). It is provide periodic data on comparisons of student science and mathematics performance across nations. Based on the results of these international comparisons, policymakers in several countries have either taken initiatives to enact domestic education reforms or have used the information as a reference (Anderson, Lin, Treagust, Ross & Yore, 2007; Rautalin & Alasuutari, 2009).

TIMSS AND PISA

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is a series of international assessments of the mathematics and science knowledge of students around the world. The participating students come from a diverse set of educational systems in terms of economic development, geographical location and population size. In each of the participating educational systems, a minimum of 4500 to 5000 students are evaluated. TIMSS assesses achievement in mathematics and science of 13-year-old students. Furthermore, for each student, contextual data on the learning conditions in mathematics and science are collected from the participating students, their teachers and their principals via separate questionnaires. TIMSS is one of the studies established by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). IEA aimed at allowing educational systems to compare students’ educational achievement and learn from the experiences of others in designing effective education policy. This study was first conducted in 1995, and has been performed every 4 years thereafter.

Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an international assessment of the reading, science and mathematical literacy of 15-year-old students. PISA assesses students’ performance on real-life tasks that are considered relevant for effective participation in adult society and for life-long learning. PISA is implemented every three years, starting in 2000 and 2015 sees the sixth implementation of the study. The number of countries participating in PISA has increased from 32 in 2000 to about 70 in 2015, making it the largest study of its kind. The subject areas or ‘domains’ assessed by PISA are reading , mathematics and science. In each

cycle of PISA, one of these subjects is the main focus (‘major domain’) of the assessment with less emphasis placed on the remaining subjects (‘minor domains’). Occasionally, additional domains are assessed. For example, creative problem solving was a minor domain in 2012. PISA is gradually transitioning to a computer-based assessment, so that by 2015 most countries are administering PISA entirely by computer. In 2012, as well as completing paper-based assessments of mathematics, reading and science, students in over 40 countries completed computer-based assessments of mathematics, reading and cross-curricular problem solving. Along with assessing the achievements of students, PISA collects detailed contextual information from students, parents and principals through the context questionnaires. PISA is a project of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

THE AIMS OF TIMSS AND PISA

The aim of TIMSS is to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics and science by providing data about students’ achievement in relation to different types of curricula, instructional practices and school environments. The aim of TIMSS places teaching and learning at the forefront, with a special mention of linking achievement to curricula and instructional practices. The aim of PISA seeks to assess how well 15-year-olds are prepared for life challenges on focusing on young people’s ability to use their knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges, rather than merely on the extent to which they have mastered a specific school curriculum.

PISA’s statement of aim indicates that the link between achievement and curricula is not regarded as the main objective of the study. PISA adopts a “literacy” concept about the extent to which students can apply knowledge and skills. An assessment of this literacy in various subject domains will have direct policy relevance for governments. This is not to say that TIMSS does not produce useful information for policy-makers or that PISA results do not inform teaching and learning. Such a division between policy focus and research focus is an oversimplification of the aims of the surveys. Many research objectives in TIMSS were driven by policy considerations, and many policy objectives in PISA result in research themes. However, it is the relative emphases of the two studies that are different.

IMPORTANCE OF TIMSS

Malaysian schools that participate in international studies are making a valuable contribution to the education community both nationally and internationally and show the rest of the world that Malaysia is committed to participating in research that benefits education across all nations. International studies provide schools and students with an opportunity to experience cutting-edge assessments that are designed by international experts, applicable to all participating countries and that meet a high technical standard that is rigorously applied and monitored.

While the varying cultural and curriculum settings of participating countries and students need to be taken into account when interpreting the outcomes, international studies such as TIMSS provide an opportunity to compare the performance of students not only in countries that are similar in language and culture to Malaysia but also in countries that are not similar. For example, the continued success of some Asian countries in mathematics and science has caused some other countries to seek out the possible factors that may have led to their success. In conclusion, the national and international interest in the results of these studies, and the subsequent impacts on policy and curriculum in many countries, makes it even more important that schools and students who have the opportunity to participate in these studies understand the valuable contribution they are making to education, not only in Malaysia but globally.

IMPORTANCE OF PISA

PISA provides information about education systems, and it allows us to compare students across a large number of countries. PISA important because it can assesses students’ real-life knowledge and skills and preparedness for future adult participation in society. It also provides internationally comparable measures of student achievement. It can examine the relationship between student achievement and factors such as school and student characteristics. PISA also can examine the changes in achievement and other factors over time. Lastly, it can help to focus educational policy.

COMPARISON OF PISA AND TIMSS MATHEMATICS FRAMEWORKS AND TESTS

Comparisons of PISA and TIMSS mathematics frameworks can be found in a number of publications. These comparisons tend to produce a descriptive list of similarities and differences between the two published frameworks, such as the classifications of the content domains and cognitive domains. However, few published comparisons critically examined the differences. At a first glance, most would conclude that both PISA and TIMSS mathematics frameworks are comprehensive. It does not appear that one framework is necessarily a subset of other or that something is glaringly missing from either framework. However, the PISA mathematics framework suggests its more inclusive approach, with the following line at the beginning of the framework document. Rather than being limited to the curriculum content students have learned, the assessments focus on determining if students can use what they have learned in the situations they are likely to encounter in their daily lives.

The word “limited” suggests that PISA is attempting to be more inclusive in terms of coverage of the mathematics domain. It also suggests that the school curriculum, whether intended, implemented or attained does not focus on whether students can use what they have learned. The TIMSS mathematics framework states while the assessment of abilities such as solving non-routine problems and reasoning with mathematics will be of special interest, the factual, procedural and conceptual knowledge that form the initial base for the development and implementation of these skills will also be assessed. Problem solving and communications are key outcomes of mathematics education that are associated with many of the topics I the content domains. They are regarded as valid behaviors to be elicited by test items in most topic areas.

It would appear that TIMSS does not preclude problem solving in the framework but there may be loss emphasis on this than in PISA, where the mathematic framework is almost entirely built on the application of mathematics competencies that may reasonably be expected of students. In short, one may expect a different balance in the two tests in terms of problem solving items and fact/procedural items but one might not necessarily expect a complete absence of one type of item. However, a close examination of the test items in the two surveys reveals that there is one class of items in TIMSS that does not appear in PISA. One might label this class of items as “content rich”, “formal mathematics”, or “naked mathematics”. Some of these items are illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1 : Examples of TIMSS Items Not Appropriate for the PISA Test

If one checks the PISA framework, items shown in Figure 1 may come under the classification of competency list number 8. It is using symbolic, formal, and technical language and operations. While these items could fit the PISA framework at a theoretical level, they are not tasks that “students are likely to encounter in their daily lives outside the classroom context”. These may be items that an adult working in a specific field may encounter in his or her daily life but not 15-year-old students studying at school. Consequently, items focusing on technical language and formal mathematics are typically not in the PISA test. This is not because that PISA framework does not cover such competencies but because the operationalisation of the PISA framework as applied to 15-year-old students precludes these kind of items. So at one level of the construction of test items, a set of typical school mathematics items are excluded.

In contrast, when PISA items are examined against the TIMSS framework, no group of items appears to be misfitting the TIMSS framework to the extent that such items could not be included in the TIMSS test. However, there are more PISA items than TIMSS items where within an item the competencies tested cover multiple content domains. It is because formal mathematics items are not included in the PISA test, one may ask if and how, country results may be affected, particularly in the context of differential performance of countries in PISA and TIMSS. This paper attempts to answer the question by examining the differential performance of countries on the set of TIMSS items that do not fit with PISA test.

COMPARISON OF MALAYSIA’S PISA 2009+ RANKING AGAINST OTHER COUNTRIES

CONCLUSION

Generally, the findings from this paper not only help us identify the reasons for differential performance of countries in PISA and TIMSS, they also throw some light on important issues on in test construction, particularly in the context of international studies. The presence of differential item functioning gives an interesting insight into the mathematical thinking of students and cultural/linguistic characteristics in different countries, yet it threatens the validity of the studies at the same time. Steps must be taken to ensure a fair assessment, both for the countries involved and for mathematics education.

REFERANCES

Preliminary Report Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025. (2012). Malaysia

Wu, M. (2010), “Comparing the Similarities and Differences of PISA 2003 and TIMSS”, OECD

Education Working Papers, No. 32, OECD Publishing.

Lee Peng Yee. (2000). What are PISA and TIMSS? What do they tell us? Retrieved November

26 2014, from the World Wide Web:

http://www.icm2006.org/proceedings/Vol_III/contents/ICM_Vol_3_80.pdf

Anderson, J. O., Lin, H.-S., Treagust, D. F., Ross, S. P. & Yore, L. D. (2007). Using large-scale

assessment datasets for research in science and mathematics education: Programme for

International Student Assessment (PISA). International Journal of Science and

Mathematics Education, 5, 591–614.