Optimization Strategy for Students^ Mathematical Visual Thinking Skills through Graphing Quadratic Worksheets: A Rasch Modeling Approach Ria Noviana Agus (a), Rina Oktaviyanthi (a*), Usep Sholahudin (a)
a) Department of Mathematics Education, Universitas Serang Raya, Serang-Banten 42162, Indonesia
Abstract
This study aims to develop a detection model and an optimization strategy for enhancing students^ mathematical visual thinking skills by using graphing quadratic worksheets through the Rasch Modeling approach. Data were collected from students who completed worksheets that encompass three aspects of visual thinking: Visual Discrimination (VD), Visual Perception (VP), and Visual Analysis of Shapes (VS). The analysis was conducted using the Wright Map to map students^ abilities and item difficulties, along with the Item Characteristic Curve (ICC) and Item Information Function (IIF) to assess the probability of correct responses and the information provided by each item. The Wright Map results indicate that students^ abilities range from 12.5 to 25, with an average of 17.5. The most challenging item is related to VP, followed by VS and VD. The ICC and IIF analyses suggest that each item contributes significant information at different levels of student ability. The optimization strategy focuses on restructuring challenging items to enhance students^ overall mathematical visual thinking skills. These findings provide insights into how quadratic graph-based evaluation tools can be effectively utilized in mathematics education to identify and develop students^ mathematical visual thinking skills.
