Newmans Error Analysis

Newmans error analysis arose from research into language issues in maths in the 1970s.

The teacher follows a series of interview questions to probe the student as they solve a word problem. Each
question relates directly to one of the five stages of the basic structure. The interview can expose why a student
has made an error in a word problem.

Teachers interview questions

1. Please read the question to me. If you dont know a word, leave it out.
2. Tell me what the question is asking you to do.
3. Tell me how you are going to find the answer.
4. Show me what to do to get the answer. Talk aloud as you do it, so that I can understand how you
are thinking.
5. Now, write down your answer to the question. (Newman, 1983)

Basic structure: five stages

Reading and decoding

Read the problem, decode symbols etc
Comprehending
Make sense of what they have read
Transforming
Mathematise the problem: work out what maths needs to be done
Processing
Do the maths
Encoding
Record their final result appropriately

Diagnosing error types

Error type Likely indicators Suggested strategies for students

Reading and Responses that show little or no engagement with Refer to, or create, a glossary of new words and
decoding the task their meaning in maths
Responses that are consistent with an obvious
misreading
Responses consistent with unfamiliarity with
technical terms
Comprehending Responses showing only a superficial engagement Ask yourself what do I have to find out or show?
with the task Draw a diagram
Responses consistent with a different (but related) Restate the problem in your own words
question from the one being asked
Transforming Responses consistent with a different (but related) Guess and check
question from the one being asked Make a list or table
Responses consistent with the right numbers being Look for a pattern
used but with the wrong operations (or in the wrong
Make the numbers simpler
order)
Experiment or act it out
Be patient: most problems are not solved quickly
nor on the first attempt
Processing Arithmetic errors If one approach isnt working try a different one
Procedural errors
Incomplete solutions
Encoding Incomplete solutions Does the answer make sense?
Responses that require some mathematical skill but Have I answered the question fully?
which dont answer the question asked

NSW Department of Education. Newmans prompts: Finding out why students make mistakes.
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/secondary/mathematics/numeracy/newman/index.htm
PAT Resources Centre 2014 Australian Council for Educational Research