Daniela Căprioară

Bio: Daniela Căprioară is an academic researcher from Ovidius University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Computer science & Romanian. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 7 publications receiving 52 citations.

Empowering Future Citizens in Making Financial Decisions: A Study of Elementary School Mathematics Textbooks from Romania

Abstract: Since the major financial crisis in 2008, Financial Education is getting an international recognition in Education. In Romania, the challenge to financially educate students is particularly important because the country is still adapting to a capitalist economy and most adults grew up under a communist economy. The elementary school national curriculum includes Financial Education embedded into the Mathematics Curriculum. In this book chapter, we present a qualitative study on the Mathematics textbooks approved by the Romanian Ministry of Education and used during the school year 2018–2019. We investigated the learning situations (tasks) proposed in the textbooks whose content had a connection to financial education. Three themes emerged from our analysis: no potential decision, potential decision and decision. In the third theme, decision, we sub-divided it into five categories: four of them related to simple decisions, and one related to complex decisions. Our results show that the tasks having a potential decision and those having a simple decision reflect practices of representational measurement. On the other hand, the complex decisions category, despite being rarer, reflects practices of pragmatic measurement. The tasks under this category are not only richer in regard to the making-decision opportunity, but also in regard to financial education.

Students’ mathematical problem-solving ability based on teaching models intervention and cognitive style

Abstract: The study aimed to analyze the interaction effect teaching models and cognitive style field dependent (FD)-field independent (FI) to students’ mathematical problem-solving ability (MPSA), as well as students' MPSA differences based on teaching models and cognitive styles. Participants in this study were 145 junior high school students, with details of 50 students learning through the Connect, Organize, Reflect, and Extend Realistic Mathematics Education (CORE RME) model, 49 students use the CORE model, and 46 students use the Conventional model. Data collection tools used are the MPSA test, and the group embedded figure test (GEFT). The MPSA test finds out that there are interaction effect teaching models and cognitive styles on students' MPSA, as well as a significant difference in MPSA students who study through the CORE RME model, CORE model, and Conventional model. Based on cognitive style, between students who study through CORE RME model, CORE model, and Conventional model found that there was no significant difference in MPSA between FI students. Furthermore, there were significant differences in MPSA between FD students and also MPSA of FI students better than MPSA FD students. Therefore, teaching models and student cognitive styles are very important to be considered in the learning process, so students are able to solve mathematical problems.

Problem-Based Learning, Its Usability and Critical View as Educational Learning Tools

Abstract: So far the learning process that takes place in several countries, including developed countries, is still dominated by a paradigm which states that knowledge is a set of facts that must be memorized. In addition, the classroom situation is still largely focused on the teacher as the main source of knowledge based on the curriculum. In order to develop a learning system, observation analysis is needed based on the sources of published journal articles. One of the topics we raised in this case was Problem-Based Learning (PBL). The results of the Analysis Review found that Problem-Based Learning is a learning approach that uses real world problems as a context for students to learn about critical thinking and problem solving skills, as well as to obtain essential knowledge and concepts from the subject matter. Problem-based learning is used to stimulate high-level thinking in problem-oriented situations, including learning how to learn.