Investigation of the problem solving process of secondary students according to Newman's error analysis steps

Examining students' problem solving processes has become an important issue in mathematics education. When problem solving processes are controlled, it is observed that students have difficulties in certain parts. Therefore, knowing where the mistakes are in problem solving allows us to identify the places where students need help. This research was conducted to determine the sources of errors by examining the errors made by 7th grade students while solving mathematical problems according to Newman's Error Analysis steps. For this purpose, a verbal math test consisting of 5 problems was prepared. While preparing the problem test, different sources and studies were used. In the 2021-2022 academic year, 60 7th grade students studying in a secondary school affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in the central district of Antalya province participated in the research. Then, individual interviews were conducted with 10 students who made the most mistakes out of 60 students. By examining the solutions made, students' incorrect answers were analyzed by Wijaya, Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, Doorman and Robitzsch based on the error categories developed by Newman (1977, 1983). (2014) used the error analysis inventory. This research is a qualitative research and descriptive survey method was used in the research. As a result of the research, it was concluded that according to the Newman error analysis inventory, he made the most mistakes (52.89%) at the comprehension level. According to the inventory developed by Wijaya, which is based on Newman's error analysis inventory, it was seen that the most errors (28,98%) were caused by not being able to choose the information out of 138 wrongly answered problems. It is seen that the second most common type of error is caused by not understanding the instruction (20.28%).