Effects of problem based learning on mathematics performance and affective attributes in learning statistics at form four level

Abstract

To realise Malaysia's vision of a developed nation by 2020, it is essential to have skilled human resources who are able to utilise digital technology and are productive in contributing to the development of a scientific, moral and progressive society. A student who is trained to solve real life problems critically and creatively in the classroom will in future contribute significantly to the nation's human capital. This could be done through the introduction of efficient pedagogical strategies to ensure effective learning of mathematics in Malaysian schools and also train students to develop critical thinking, be adaptable to change, able to work independently, demonstrate effective communication skills and become continual learners. In this particular study, a PBL instructional strategy in teaching Form Four mathematics was proposed to ascertain the effects of this alternative instructional format as compared to conventional teaching. The main purpose of this study is to determine the effects of PBL on mathematics performance and instructional efficiency when Form Four students learn the topic statistics. If the proposed strategy shows favorable results in terms of mathematics performance and instructional efficiency then perhaps an employment of the proposed method could be considered as an alternative teaching strategy in Malaysian mathematics classroom.