Students’ Misconceptions On Mathematical Issue: A Study at The Pre-Service Student Teachers Program

Basic mathematics is one of the compulsory courses for the preservice student teachers particularly for those who are prepared to teach science and mathematics for middle and high schools. Based on the test results which were obtained from the students at one of the teachers’ education programs in West Sumatra province, Indonesia, there were still many students who had misconceptions in answering the given mathematical problems. The purpose of this study was to reveal the types and causes of the student misconceptions in solving the mathematical problems. This research is a descriptive study using quantitative data. The subject of this study was a small cohort of students majoring in Biology education department with 30 participants. The instruments were a test consisting of 9 description questions. The data were analyzed quantitatively and the types of their errors were classified. The results of the study showed that the students' misconceptions were found regarding the real number system problems, the inequalities and absolute values, the functions and graphs of functions, the systems of linear and nonlinear equations, the sequences and series which are divided into three, namely conceptual errors and principle errors and operating errors.