Children Making Sense During Word Problem Solving

This article reports a study of the difficulties that primary school children experience whilst tackling school mathematical word-problems. A case study of four Year 5 children was conducted; this involved interviews which probed the children's views of their own difficulties and discussions with the children as they tackled word problems. The data were qualitatively analysed using a thematic analysis approach based on categories of difficulty identified from existing literature. Examples of transcripts and responses which show the children experiencing difficulties are included, as well as the children's opinions on their difficulties. My interpretation of these findings, including proposed subcategories of difficulty, is also given. The report concludes with suggestions of methods – subject to further research – that teachers may use to help children overcome their difficulties with school mathematical word problems.

2011

This paper describes the systematic approach used by a sample of 30 Primary 2 pupils from one primary school to solve two non-routine problems. The study focused on (a) the relationship between pupils' academic mathematics achievement and problem solving abilities, (b) the differences in problem solving abilities among the pupils for each problem item, and (c) the different heuristics they used to solve these two non-routine problems. This study found a very low correlation between achievement in academic mathematics and success in solving problems. From this we can deduce that even if a pupil performs well in academic mathematics, the pupil may not be proficient at solving non-routine problems.

Mathematics Education Trends and Research, 2016

This paper focuses on two approaches for facilitating the process of word problems solving. The first approach distinguishes different kinds of occurred errors and the second one recognizes various required and underlying knowledge. The first approach applies Kinfong and Holtan's framework of occurred errors and the second approach applies Mayer's theory (1992) of underlying knowledge for solving word problems. The main aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between different kinds of occurred errors and various required knowledge in solving Arithmetic word problems. The research methodology is a semi experimental method. The subjects include 89 eight grade students (male and female). The research tools are a descriptive math test regarding six word problems and a directed interview. The results indicate that in solving the arithmetic word problems, increasing students' errors result from lack of linguistic, semantic, structural and communicational knowledge. This study explored that the possible connection between the two approaches for facilitating solving word problems is very important. That is because clarity of this relationship may increase math teachers' insight about the nature of different kinds of occurred errors and the different aspects of knowledge necessary for solving word problems.

2016

This article repots a study of the difficulties that primary school children experience whilst tackling school mathematical word problems. A case study of fifteen second grade children who were part of a broader doctoral study was conducted; this involved interviews which probed the children’s views of their own difficulties and discussions with children as they tackled word problems. The data were qualitatively analyzed using a thematic analysis approach based on categories of difficulty identified from existing literature. Exemplars of transcripts and responses which show the children experiencing difficulties are included, as well as the children’s opinions on their difficulties. Our interpretation of these findings, including proposed subcategories of difficulty, is also given. The report concluded with suggestions of methods-subject to further researchthat teachers may use to help children overcome their difficulties with school mathematical word problems.

Azim Premji University, 2016

Word problems become a stumbling block for many children, including those who are adept at operational and procedural skills. Many children develop an approach to tackling word problems based on looking for cue words such as altogether, difference, sum and so on; but this has a very limited value. Too often, such children resort to guesswork while figuring out an operation. These children experience significantly greater math anxiety when they are confronted by word problems. Why is this? Primary reasons Here are some reasons which lie behind such math anxiety: 1. Lack of exposure to problem situations and problem contexts during the introductory and teaching phase. 2. Lacunae in the usage of concrete materials as an aid in the visualisation of the problem. 3. Insufficient training in representation of problems through drawings and other means of reconstruction. 4. Difficulty in following multiple statements and instructions at the same time. 5. Inadequate stress on vocabulary and weak linkages or connections between concepts and associated words. 6. Absence of discussion and conversation around the questions (whether in English or in the mother tongue). 7. Lack of recording of the solution by the children in their own words. Most teachers follow rigid ways of writing statements for word problems. Writing in the initial years must come from the child s own experience and understanding. It need not be structured according to any norms; on the contrary, it needs to be personal. All of these reasons point to poor teaching practices. In conjunction with this is the fact that many textbooks are not particularly child-friendly. By the time the child reaches class 4 or 5, he or she would have basic literacy skills. Yet very few children read the textual material for the following reasons: 1. The language used is not close to the child s experience. 2. The word problems are not based on real life and familiar situations. 3. They are not phrased in a sufficiently interesting way, and do not draw the child into the problem. 4. They are not accompanied by drawings (this is crucial for non-English-speaking learners). 5. They are often limited in variety and repetitive, and thus hold no challenge. Often the problems are not posed in a properly graded sequence.

Education Sciences

This paper focuses on difficulties that primary school students have in facing mathematical word problems. In particular, we are interested in exploring how they develop in the transition from grade 2 to grade 5. The research basis of the hypothesis is that some difficulties detected in grade 5 are already predictable in grade 2. Starting from the data collected in grade 5 by the National Standardized Assessment, we carry out a quantitative analysis looking for word problems in which students experience difficulties. Subsequently, we conduct a backward analysis of the grade 2 test of the same cohort of students in order to identify a set of word problems linked with those selected in grade 5 test. The analysis shows the presence of many common difficulties in the two grades. We design and carry out specific educational activities concerning word problem-solving in grade 2. These activities produce positive changes in the experimental class compared to the control class. This could s...

2014

This study investigated the development of children's solutions of four types of non-standard arithmetic word problem, with a view to gather indirect evidence of the following beliefs about word problems that they develop through their immersion in the culture of traditional school mathematics: every word problem is solvable, there is only one numerical correct answer, it is always necessary to do calculations, and all numbers must be used in order to calculate the solution. Children from Grade 1 to 6 solved four word problems that violated these four beliefs. General results revealed, first, that only 37.9% of children's responses were correct. Second, the difficulty was increasing, starting with the unsolvable problem (18.3%), and followed by the multiple solutions (30.3%), the given solution (45.7%) and the irrelevant data problem (57.3%). Third, children's correct responses increased from Grade 1 (15.5%) to Grade 6 (56%), but not within the three lower and the three upper grades. The article ends with a discussion of the theoretical, methodological, and educational implications.

International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications (IJSRP)

The study was conducted to determine the difficulties encountered in mathematical word problem solving in Butuan Central Elementary School. Descriptive type of research through survey questionnaire was used in the study. The researchers used quota sampling with a random selection in order to limit researcher's choice of sample. Each selection of Grade 6 class had the number of respondents that were randomly selected with the help of corresponding teachers. The researchers had 100 respondents as a sample size. The difficulties encountered by the pupils were categorized into children's attitude towards problem solving in Mathematics, teaching skills among teachers and instructional materials used by the teacher. Based on the data gathered, the overall mean for the children's attitude towards word problem solving is 3.44 showed that the children should develop a positive attitude in dealing word problem solving. The overall mean of the level of teaching skills among teachers was 2.41and it was found out that the teacher executed teaching skills in teaching word problem solving. For the instructional materials, it obtained the mean of 3.03 which showed that the most instructional materials used by the teachers were the textbooks, worksheets, chalk, and board. In answering word problem solving, the pupils got the correct answer when it was already given in the problem but most of them got the wrong answer when they had to translate word problem into mathematical symbol. Furthermore, it implied that the problem was not with the teaching skills and the instructional materials used, but with the attitude of the pupils towards mathematical word problem solving.

Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 2005

This paper attempts to provide some insights on students' various approaches towards solving words problems in Mathematics. 15 students were randomly selected from SSIII students of Demonstration Secondary School, Azare Bauchi State. Three (3) visits were scheduled to the school for interview, questions administration on words problem and discussions, the findings revealed that the students lack necessary knowledge and skills to solve word problems. It is recommended that teachers should employ various heuristics when teaching words problem to enable the students develop necessary skills needed to solve words problems.