Elementary Students^ Obstacles in Understanding the Concept of Area and Perimeter Trisna Nugraha (a*), Sufyani Prabawanto (b)
(a) Program Studi Magister Pendidikan Dasar, Sekolah Pascasarjana, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl. Dr. Setiabudhi No. 229, Bandung 40154, Indonesia *trisna.nugraha[at]upi.edu
(b) Departemen Pendidikan Matematika, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl. Dr. Setiabudhi No. 229, Bandung 40154, Indonesia
Abstract
Area and perimeter are one of the geometry and measurement concepts that are interconnected and have begun to be studied at the elementary school. A spiral-arranged mathematics curriculum makes area and perimeter as one of the fundamental topics for students to understand. However, in the learning process, students often find difficulties in understanding the concept. This study aims to analyze students ^difficulties in understanding the area and perimeter concept based on a review of students^ conceptual understanding of the definition and its relationship with the quality of problem solving performance. It is hoped that the results of the study can be used as material for teachers to reflect and evaluate improvements in planning and further learning processes which can anticipate these obstacles. The qualitative study was conducted by involving a group of grade 4 students (N = 20). The study found that students often do not understand the area and perimeter concept, causing a decrease in the quality of performance such as difficulty in answering area and perimeter problems in the context of illustrated picture problems or word-problems. In addition, the textbooks used are partial and rigid with formulas and presentation of material that are not in depth.
Keywords: Learning obstacle, Area and perimeter, Mathematics, Elementary school
