<em>This study aims to determine the improvement of problem-solving skills and student activity in grade 3 by using the guided inquiry model. This research is a classroom action research with 22 students as the research subjects. This study consisted of 2 cycles that each cycle has 2 times of meetings. </em><em>The utilized instruments were test sheet, interview sheet, and observation sheet. The data analysis technique uses descriptive qualitative. The results of the analysis show that: 1) the guided inquiry model can improve problem solving skills and student activity that achieved a good category; 2) The average value of students' problem solving skills in the first cycle was 52,49 with completeness of 40,90% while in the second cycle of 81,81 with completeness of 93,17%; 3) The average activity score of students in the first cycle was 23,16 while in the second cycle was 33,06.</em>
This article looks at writing tasks as a methodology to support learners’ mathematical problemsolving strategies in the South African Foundation Phase context. It is a qualitative case study and explores the relation between the use of writing in mathematics and development of learners’ problem-solving strategies and conceptual understanding. The research was conducted in a suburban Foundation Phase school in Cape Town with a class of Grade 3 learners involved in a writing and mathematics intervention. Writing tasks were modelled to learners and implemented by them while they were engaged in mathematical problem solving. Data were gathered from a sample of eight learners of different abilities and included written work, interviews, field notes and audio recordings of ability group discussions. The results revealed an improvement in the strategies and explanations learners used when solving mathematical problems compared to before the writing tasks were implemented. Learners were able to reflect critically on their thinking through their written strategies and explanations. The writing tasks appeared to support learners in providing opportunities to construct and apply mathematical knowledge and skills in their development of problem-solving strategies.
Pentominoes, a name coined by Solomon W. Golomb in 1954, lend an opportunity for students from grade 3 on to examine many interesting patterns and relationships while solving problems. This article uses pentominoes to examine the concepts of congruence, similarity, transformations (flips, turns, and slides), tessellations (tiling), networks, perimeter, area, and volume in a problem-solving, cooperative learning environment.
Fingers offer a practical tool to represent and manipulate numbers during the acquisition of arithmetic knowledge, usually with a greater involvement in addition and subtraction than in multiplication. In adults, brain-imaging studies show that mental arithmetic increases activity in areas known for their contribution to finger movements. It is unclear, however, if this truly reflects functional interactions between the processes and/or representations controlling finger movements and those involved in mental arithmetic, or a mere anatomical proximity. In this study we assessed whether finger movements interfere with basic arithmetic problem solving, and whether this interference is specific for the operations that benefit the most from finger-based calculation strategies in childhood. In Experiment 1, we asked participants to solve addition, subtraction, and multiplication problems either with their hands at rest or while moving their right-hand fingers sequentially. The results showed that finger movements induced a selective time cost in solving addition and subtraction but not multiplication problems. In Experiment 2, we asked participants to solve the same problems while performing a sequence of foot movements. The results showed that foot movements produced a nonspecific interference with all three operations. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the specific role of finger-related processes in solving addition and subtraction problems, suggesting that finger movements and mental arithmetic are functionally related.
Having experienced success in increasing EQAO literacy scores through differentiated instruction initiatives for literacy, five mathematics teachers in a small, inner-city JK to Grade 3 school joined together in an action research project to investigate differentiation techniques to improve their math instruction. Together, they developed a series of lessons to teach problem-solving to Grades 1, 2, and 3 students, and selected specific differentiation strategies to incorporate across the classes. Findings revealed that students demonstrated an increased repertoire of math strategies, improved organization of student work, increased ability to justify their thinking in written and oral form, and a new enthusiasm for problem solving.
Implementation of Guided Inquiry Model in Improving Problem Solving Skills and Student Activity at SD Negeri 01 Bulusari