The Assessment of Visual Thinking of the Concept of Mat1hematics

Abstract

The learning of calculus movement emphasizes the use of multiple representations in the presentation of concepts, that concepts should be represented numerically, algebraically, graphically and verbally wherever possible, so that students understand connections between different representations and develop deeper and more robust understanding of the concepts. Visualization is a critical aspect of mathematical thinking, understanding and reasoning. Therefore, it is necessary to consider assessment instrument to support the process of visual thinking. The purpose of this study is to describing assessment characteristics to support student’s visual thinking of mathematics, especially the concept of integral. Data sources of this study are student teachers at the fifth semester. The data are in the form of test and interview result. The finding of this study show that there are three characteristics of assessment that can support visual thinking, which are (1) non-visual (NV) means that the assessment tool should make the student inability solve the problem using algebra and geometry, inability to represent and interpret the problem graphically (2) local-visual (LV) means that the assessment tool should be able to measure the ability of students to learn algebra and geometry as an alternative language, capable of drawing and using diagrams in solving the problem (3) global-visual (GV) means an assessment instrument must contain the student is able to understand the interrelationships between representations of concepts learned by the students.