The effect of differentiated case-based learning on students' mathematical problem-solving ability: The role of learning readiness

Abstract

This study examined whether differentiated learning using the Case-Based Learning (CBL) model was associated with higher mathematical problem-solving performance than Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and investigated differences across students’ learning-readiness levels. The study employed a quasi-experimental nonequivalent control-group design involving Grade VIII students at SMP Negeri 1 Rancah, Indonesia, who studied straight-line equations. The analysis included 49 students with complete data: 24 in the experimental class and 25 in the control class. Data were collected using a mathematical problem-solving test and a learning-readiness questionnaire. Based on the reported group means, standard deviations, and sample sizes, the experimental class achieved a significantly higher posttest mean than the control class, t(47) = 3.49, p = .001, with a large effect size (d = 1.00). A one-way ANOVA within the experimental class also showed significant posttest differences among the high-, medium-, and low-readiness groups, F(2, 21) = 57.81, p < .001, η² = .846. Students with high readiness achieved the highest score on understanding the problem (98%), whereas re-examining the solution remained the weakest indicator across the readiness groups. These findings suggest that differentiated CBL can support mathematical problem solving; however, the effects of CBL and differentiation cannot be separated because the comparison class received a different instructional model.