Mathematical competence is a knowledge, skill, and ability to use math to solve problems in the context of mathematics as well as outside the mathematical context [1]. Turner [5] stated that mathematical competence is the basis for developing mathematical literacy. Turner formulated a set of mathematical competencies that must be possessed by the students in learning namely communication, mathematising, representation, reasoning, devising strategies, and using symbolic, formal and technical language and operations.

 

The results of PISA 2012 [3] and TIMSS 2011 [4] showed that the ability of Indonesian Junior High School students in math test is lower than other countries. The report shows that the mathematical competencies of Indonesian students' is still low. It is also an indicator of the low quality of mathematics learning in Indonesia. The most important factor that influencing the student achievement is the teacher [2]. The teacher's strategy in teaching influences students' understanding of the subject-matter.

 

In the paper, the formulation of the problem is how the teacher's strategies in learning mathematics to develop student competence. Thus the paper aims to describe the strategies of grade VII teachers in learning mathematics to develop students' mathematical competence on Algebra.

 

The subjects were two mathematics teachers who taught grade VII students at two different state junior high schools in Sukoharjo, Central Java. Both teachers have more than 10 years teaching experience and the same educational background. Each teacher are observed four times in the classroom on the topic of Algebra. During the observation, the researcher noted the important things that teachers do to promote the mathematical competence of students and recorded the teacher activities in the classroom by using handycam. Then, the researcher conducted the interview with the teachers to further understand the strategies used. The data of the teacher activities from observation and interview then categorized and interpreted based on the mathematical competence aspects.

 

Based on the observation, the teacher strategies to promote students' mathematical competence are:

1. Provide problem-solving questions
2. Provide questions about the reasons of the problem solving procedur
3. Provide examples of math problem solving systematically
4. Provide examples of various problem solving strategies
5. Connect the topic to be learned with the previous topics

 

Furthermore, the results of the interview stated that the students who have difficulty understanding mathematics need to be given repeated explanations and use the real world illustrations in order to understand the topic in Algebra.

Based on the result of the research, it can be concluded that there are various teacher strategies to promote the students' mathematical competence. The teacher strategies are depend on the students' ability to understand math. The next study needs to be deepened to find out the teacher's strategy in developing the mathematics competence of the students who teach on the students with high, medium, and low math abilities.