Students in 1^st grade are still having difficulties. The difficulty is solving problems related to mathematical equality, so it takes a thing that is used to transfer the thinking from concrete to abstract. The addition and subtraction operation of natural numbers is a basic operation that must been implanted correctly. Because in this case the students are confronted with an abstract symbol. It takes something that is used to transfer from concrete to abstract thinking. Concreteness fading can be said to provide benefits in learning by enabling the real-world knowledge, encourage students to act with real, and allows students to build their knowledge of abstract concepts. This study investigates and describe students’ concreteness fading processes in solving mathematical equality. This study involved the 1^st grade of elementary students, consists of 8 girls and 14 boys. All students were given mathematics test to know students’ mathematics ability (high, medium, and low) and the problem solving task of mathematical equality. Students are learning first and then given instrument. The instrument used is problem solving task that focuses on the concept of addition and mathematics equality and given an interview based on semi-structured task-based interviews. Six volunteer students were selected as research subjects and were individually interviewed based on problem solving task of mathematical equality at natural numbers. The election of mathematical ability and sex differences. Based on learning, problem solving task and interview based on task results are analyzed based on concreteness fading process that is enactive, iconic and symbolic. Here are the results and interviews of selected students.

 

Figure 1. Instruction problems progression of materials used during instruction in the concreteness fading condition

Concreteness Fading Processes of Highest Mathematical Ability with Female and Male Sexs Student

Figure 2. The results of problem solving task from highest mathematical ability with female and male sexs student.

 

Concreteness Fading Processes of Middle Mathematical Ability with Female and Male Sexs Student

 

Figure 3. The results of problem solving task from middle mathematical ability with female and male sexs student.

 

Concreteness Fading Processes of Lowest Mathematical Ability with Female and Male Sexs Student

 

Figure 6. The results of problem solving task from lowest mathematical ability with female and male sexs student.

 

Based on the results, we conclude that students with high mathematical ability during the concreteness fading process have been able to solve the problem at the symbolic stage, but still can’t solve the concept of summation on mathematics equality. In other words, students with high ability have almost reached the symbolic stage. While students with middle and lowest math ability generally still can’t solve the problem when a concrete object is changed to image form, or in other words only until the iconic stage. other than that based on sex differences, male students can directly solve problems by rote mathematical equality but can’t use concrete objects appropriately. While in female students, they still need some examples of learning that use concrete objects to get to understand the right solution. We offer this finding as tool for mathematics teachers to inform that concreteness fading can also be called by the technique of learning which is used to know the concreteness fading process of students in understanding a concept which can be known through stages of Bruner's theory.