Students Difficulties in Solving Word Problems in Mathematics
Background of the Study
Many students view mathematics as a very difficult subject since it does not only focusses on numbers but also in letters. Mathematics does not only require the students to come up with an answer but it also requires them to show the solutions on how they arrived at the answer. While in elementary, students were already taught on how to solve problems in a step-by-step procedure starting with what is asked in the problem, what are the given, make a number sentence or formulate an equation and solve the problem. These procedures are called problem-solving which cannot only apply in mathematics but also in other areas such as in Science, businesses and most
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Problem-solving help the students to create their own representation or illustration (De Corte, Vrerschaffel, De Win 1985; Hegarty, Mayer, Monk, 1995; Pape, 2003) based on how they interpret or understand the given problem (Pape, 2003; Van der Schoot, Bakker Arkema, Horsley, Van Lieshout, 2009). Problem-solving also tests their critical thinking skills on how they look for another strategy or ways to solve the problem easier. Problem-solving helps the problem solver to develop characteristics of a good problem solver which includes open-mindedness, optimistic, persistent, not afraid to commit mistakes and systematic person since he is following a certain step in solving the …show more content…
What part of the Schoenfeld problem-solving steps do the students commit difficulties?
3. What are the possible factors that contribute to the difficulty of the student in solving word problem?
Significance of the study
This study "Students Difficulties in Solving Word Problems in Mathematics" is determined necessary for the teachers, students, and future researchers.
To the teachers, this study can be used to help them identify the errors of the students where they failed or succeeded in solving a word problem and upgrade their professional competencies to attain quality education, especially in mathematics.
To the future researchers, using this study it would be helpful for them to formulate new actions and information and make it as one of their sources with regard to solving a word problem.
To the students, the result of this study can help them be aware of their own difficulties and serve as their guide to have a better result in solving mathematical problems.
Scope and
When a teacher from Tryhard high school decides to voice her/he’s distaste about the success of the students from the previous year in mathematics, a few students decide to take matters into their own hand. Using the scores of the previous years they started to analyses the documents and see if the teacher was wrong.
picture the problem in their mind. After that, the author give the example of how
This assignment will show both the student and I if the understand the math teems. It will measure how well the student understands the math terms. This information will help me to determine if I need to go back over certain words, or if I can continue on with my lesson plan without overwhelming or losing students. The assignment will consist of the student’s defining the vocabulary word and drawing a picture for some questions and on other questions, using the meaning to determine a word and draw a picture of the
Problem solving is the process of following a series of steps to obtain the solution
From two studies in mathematics, a total of four relationships between teachers' content knowledge and student learning were examined. In three instances, a positive relationship was found, for two cohorts of elementary grades students over a three year period and for grade 3 students' learning of advanced concepts. In one instance, grade 3 students learning of basic concepts, no relationship was found. In science, a total of three relationships between teacher content knowledge and student learning were examined. In two instances, a relationship was documented between teachers' content knowledge, both correct and incorrect, and their grade 8 students' development of correct and incorrect understandings, respectively. In the third instance, high school biology teachers' knowledge of the nature of science was not found to relate to their students' learning about the nature of
All children learn differently and teachers, especially those who teach mathematics, have to accommodate for all children’s different capacities for learning information. When teaching mathematics, a teacher has to be able to use various methods of presenting the information in order to help the students understand the concepts they are being taught.
Over the course of these past few weeks we have learned all sorts of math that we will utilize in our everyday lives. They have all been very interesting; my favorite subjects were learning about how voting works and how to calculate owning a home. For our final math project in our math modeling class, we had to choose a topic that interested us yet had something to do with mathematics. For this presentation, I decided to research the history of math and art and how the two have been used together to create amazing artwork.
During baseline, the student attempted to solve four word problems, resulting in two word problems solved correctly and two word problems solved incorrectly. The student applied one step out of five possible steps when solving. Word problem sessions (1-4) for the baseline are as follows: 0%, 0%, 20%, and 20%. The baseline data showed a range of 0% to 20% with a median of 10%.
Mathematical dialogue within the classroom has been argued to be effective and a ‘necessary’ tool for children’s development in terms of errors and misconceptions. It has been mentioned how dialogue can broaden the children’s perception of the topic, provides useful opportunities to develop meaningful understandings and proves a good assessment tool. The NNS (1999) states that better numeracy standards occur when children are expected to use correct mathematical vocabulary and explain mathematical ideas. In addition to this, teachers are expected
...nd make similar problem situations, and then, they provided the students with a little bit of practice because practice makes perfect! After that, teachers may put the students on the situation given just now.
Wu, Y. (2008). Experimental Study on Effect of Different Mathematical Teaching Methodologies on Students’ Performance. Journal of Mathematics Studies. Vol 1(1) 164-171.
Solving problems is a particular art, like swimming, or skiing, or playing the piano: you can learn it only by imitation and practice…if you wish to learn swimming you have to go in the water, and if you wish to become a problem solver you have to solve problems. -Mathematical Discovery
Problem solving is defined as cognitive processing directed toward achieving a goal, including problem representation.
The most significant feature of an investigative study is the precision and simplicity of the investigative problem. For a brief assertion, it definitely has a great deal of influence on the study. The statement of the problem is the central position of the study. The problem statement should affirm what will be studied, whether the study will be completed by means of experimental or non-experimental analysis, and what the reason and function of the results will bring. As an element of the opening, profound problem declarations satisfies the query of why the study should to be performed. The reason of this essay is to discuss the features of an investigative problem; in addition, the essay will center on what constitutes a researchable problem; the components of a well formed Statement of Research Problem; and, what constitutes a reasonable theoretical framework for the need of a study.
A somewhat underused strategy for teaching mathematics is that of guided discovery. With this strategy, the student arrives at an understanding of a new mathematical concept on his or her own. An activity is given in which "students sequentially uncover layers of mathematical information one step at a time and learn new mathematics" (Gerver & Sgroi, 2003). This way, instead of simply being told the procedure for solving a problem, the student can develop the steps mainly on his own with only a little guidance from the teacher.