Error Analysis of Male and Female Students in Pythagorean Problems Based on Newman’s Error Analysis

Abstract

Mathematics education plays a crucial role in equipping students with logical and analytical thinking skills. One of the topics that often presents difficulties is the Pythagorean theorem. This study aims to analyze the types of errors made by male and female students in solving Pythagorean problems based on the stages of Newman’s Error Analysis. A descriptive qualitative approach was employed at SMP PGRI 6 Malang, involving six selected participants from Class VIII A, consisting of three male students and three female students. Data were collected through written tests, structured interviews, and documentation, and then analyzed based on the five stages of Newman, namely reading, comprehension, transformation, process skills, and encoding. The results indicate that male students tend to make errors across almost all stages, primarily due to a lack of accuracy and a weak understanding of fundamental concepts. In contrast, female students demonstrate a significantly lower level of errors, as they are more accustomed to carefully examining the problem information before responding. Based on the findings, it was concluded that female students demonstrated better performance in solving Pythagorean problems, with only 13.3% making errors, compared to male students, of whom 46.7% made errors. Therefore, teachers are expected to design instructional strategies that are responsive to the learning characteristics of both male and female students. Therefore, teachers are expected to design learning strategies that are responsive to the differences in learning characteristics between male and female students.