Article reviews on Current research
Word problem solving: a schema approach in year three
By Eduarda Van Klinken
This article provides an overview of a study that was done in an independent school in Australia. The third year students in the school were taught a new unit in mathematics using a schematic approach to teaching for 8 weeks. A schematic approach simply means that the students are working to uncover the underlying structure of a word problem, rather than being distracted by superficial details. Good problem solvers can do this automatically, but weak problem solvers need strategies to help them uncover word problem schemas. In the study, the teachers taught the students how to use schematic diagrams like in the picture above. The students were essentially asked to draw a picture of the problem using only the most important information. There are a variety of models used for the different types of word problems. There are the result unknown, change unknown and start unknown models for addition. There is also a change model and a combine model for subtraction. By teaching the students how to isolate the important schematic information in the word problem, the students were able to correctly solve the problems with less difficulty. The students took a pretest before the unit and a post test after the unit. The post test scores show a significant change in student performance, as see in the graph below. Recommendations: You can try using the schematic strategy at home. Ask your child to draw models for how to solve a word problem. Read the article at the link below to get more information. You'll need to use my password to log in to ERIC (email me if you are interested) Read the article HERE Reference: Van Klinken, E. (n.d.). Word problem solving: a schema approach in year 3. (2012). Australia primary mathematics classroom, 17(1), 3-7. |
20 ways to teach mathematics: strategies to reach all students
By Joseph M. Furner, Noorchaya Yahya, and Mary Lou Duffy
This article focuses on giving tips to teachers on how to instruct students in math. There are 20 ideas on effective math instruction. The following are the tips that relate to word problems. #2: Relate math problems and vocabulary to prior knowledge and background #3: Apply problems to daily life situations #5: Encourage drawings to translate and visualize word problems #7: Encourage children to think aloud when solving word problems, and have students give oral explanations of their thinking, leading to solutions #8: Have students write original word problems to exchange with classmates #10: Encourage students to follow the four step problem solving process • Read and understand the problem. They may write the problem in simpler terms. • Develop a student-generated strategy for solving the problem, and discuss how they arrived at this strategy. • Carry out their strategy/plan, and show all work justifying their answer. • Look back and check to see that their solution appears to be reasonable. #15: Rewrite word problems in simpler terms Recommendations: If you are looking for ways to help your child at home, try using some of the strategies listed above. To get more information, read the article by clicking the link below. Read the article_ HERE Reference: Duffy, M. L., Furner, J. M., & Yahya, N. (n.d.). 20 ways to teach mathematics: strategies to reach all students. (2005). Intervention in School and Clinic, 41(1), 16-23. |