Word Problems
Research Articles
When developing lessons and deciding on which strategies to teach my students, I often consult research articles. These scholarly articles are typically written by experts in the field of education and contain many useful strategies and ideas. Here are two articles regarding word problems I thought you may find beneficial. I have incorporated strategies from both of these articles into my teaching.
In the article, "Problem Solving in the Primary School," the authors discuss how young children possess the abilities to solve problems, even if a teacher or parent may not expect them to be able to. The idea is to differentiate problems to the level of students. Young students may not have the skills to solve problems, however those skills are not completely unknown and need to be fostered. One strategy that works really well is to incorporate the use of models. Student could be provided with manipulatives that coincide with the problems. That way, problem solving becomes a goal-driven activity which will motivate students to learn new concepts without realizing it. An additional strategy from the article that assists students with problem solving is the use of "real-life" situations.
Click here for the full article.
Lesh, R., English, L., Riggs, C., & Sevis, S. (2013). Problem Solving in the Primary School (K-2). Montana
Mathematics Enthusiast, 10(1/2), 35-60.
The second article contains a study that determined problem context is an important part of problem difficulty. By increasing familiar context, the motivation for solving the problem goes up as well as the meaningfulness for the student. The study also concluded that the use of a visual representation in word problems assists students with solving the problem correctly. This research correlates with the first article regarding the use of models. Visual imagery provides students with another strategy they can use to solve problems. It is the teacher's role to ensure students are given problems with familiar context and visual representations.
Click here for the full article.
Cankoy, O., & Ozder, H. (July 2011). The Influence of Visual Representations and Context on Mathematical Word
Problem Solving. Pamukkale University Journal of Education, Number 30, pg. 91-100. Retrieved from
http://pauegitimdergi.pau.edu.tr/Makaleler/745832325_91-100.pdf
When developing lessons and deciding on which strategies to teach my students, I often consult research articles. These scholarly articles are typically written by experts in the field of education and contain many useful strategies and ideas. Here are two articles regarding word problems I thought you may find beneficial. I have incorporated strategies from both of these articles into my teaching.
In the article, "Problem Solving in the Primary School," the authors discuss how young children possess the abilities to solve problems, even if a teacher or parent may not expect them to be able to. The idea is to differentiate problems to the level of students. Young students may not have the skills to solve problems, however those skills are not completely unknown and need to be fostered. One strategy that works really well is to incorporate the use of models. Student could be provided with manipulatives that coincide with the problems. That way, problem solving becomes a goal-driven activity which will motivate students to learn new concepts without realizing it. An additional strategy from the article that assists students with problem solving is the use of "real-life" situations.
Click here for the full article.
Lesh, R., English, L., Riggs, C., & Sevis, S. (2013). Problem Solving in the Primary School (K-2). Montana
Mathematics Enthusiast, 10(1/2), 35-60.
The second article contains a study that determined problem context is an important part of problem difficulty. By increasing familiar context, the motivation for solving the problem goes up as well as the meaningfulness for the student. The study also concluded that the use of a visual representation in word problems assists students with solving the problem correctly. This research correlates with the first article regarding the use of models. Visual imagery provides students with another strategy they can use to solve problems. It is the teacher's role to ensure students are given problems with familiar context and visual representations.
Click here for the full article.
Cankoy, O., & Ozder, H. (July 2011). The Influence of Visual Representations and Context on Mathematical Word
Problem Solving. Pamukkale University Journal of Education, Number 30, pg. 91-100. Retrieved from
http://pauegitimdergi.pau.edu.tr/Makaleler/745832325_91-100.pdf
The information on the website is fictious and created as a course requirement for Millersville University.