A Problem-solving Approach to Teaching Second-Year Algebra

1990 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 432-435
Author(s):  
Vera Kerekes
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
Mathematical Methods ◽  
School Year ◽  
Problem Solving Strategies ◽  
Approach To Teaching ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Systematic List

Problem-solving strategies are important parts of our middle school curriculum. Teaching strategies is an excellent way to help students attack mathematical, as well as other, problems. Such strategies include guessing and checking, simplifying the problem, building a model, developing a systematic list or a chart, working backward, drawing a picture, and looking for a pattern. Our students spend an entire school year in the eighth grade to learn to use these problem- solving strategies to solve problems that would otherwise require sophisticated mathematical tools if they could be solved at all by mathematical methods. This experience promotes the development of intuition and number sense in young students.

Calculators and Instruction in Problem Solving in Grade 7

1987 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-229
Author(s):  
Walter Szetela ◽  
Doug Super
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
The Other ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Seventh Grade ◽  
Special Training ◽  
School Year ◽  
Degree Of Satisfaction ◽  
Problem Solving Strategies ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Better Than

For an entire school year 24 seventh-grade classes were taught problem-solving strategies by teachers with special training. In 14 of the classes the instruction was supplemented by calculators. Each problem-solving group performed significantly (p<.05) better than a control group of 18 classes on two of five problem-solving tests. The calculator group scored significantly higher than the control group on attitude toward problem solving and as well as the other two groups on paper-and-pencil computation. Responses to a teacher questionnaire indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the program.

scholarly journals Preservice mathematics teachers’ ways of using problem solving strategies while solving mathematical word problems

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 1180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neslihan Bulut ◽  
Gözdegül Karamık
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Word Problems ◽  
Spring Semester ◽  
School Students ◽  
Problem Solving Strategies ◽  
Preservice Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Mathematical Word Problems

<p>The aim of this study is to investigate the variety of problem solving strategies used by preservice mathematics teachers while solving different mathematical word problems which require representation standards and to identify which strategy is functional for pre-service teachers to apply with middle-school students.</p><p>The study was a case study and conducted during the 2009 spring semester. For this study, 150 senior class pre-service teachers of elementary mathematics education were chosen from a public university in Turkey by convenient sampling. Data were collected through an open-ended test developed by researchers. The test was consist of ten mathematical word problems selected from the five sub-learning areas. The test was given to the pre-service teachers and they were asked to solve each problem in different ways. It took 60 minutes for preservice teachers to complete the test. Strategies that pre-service teachers used for solving word problems were categorized by using content analyze. Also interviews were conducted with pre-service teachers in order to identify their opinions about the usability of strategies in middle-school classrooms.</p><p>Findings revealed that participants are lack of using different strategies while solving word problems. In general the participants did not apply more than one strategy and they used traditional solving strategies instead of extreme ones. Findings of this study will be a guiding spirit to teacher educators for the enhancement of preservice teacher education programs.</p>

An Experiment in Using Portfolios in the Middle School Classroom

2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 404-409
Author(s):  
Vicki L. Maxwell ◽  
Marshall B. Lassak
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
Mathematical Connections ◽  
School Classroom ◽  
Subject Areas ◽  
Over Time

Standard classroom tests tend to showcase what students know at that point in time and do not usually reflect real-life mathematics. They are not always accurate indicators of what students understand and how they understand it. I wanted to use an assessment tool that would allow students a better opportunity to exhibit mathematical growth in understanding and attitude over time. This tool should also give students the chance to show that they could communicate in a mathematical context, exhibit problem-solving techniques, and make mathematical connections to other subject areas. From these ideas and my review of the research on assessment, I decided to use portfolios as an assessment tool in one of my eighth-grade prealgebra classes.

scholarly journals Integrating Horticulture Biology and Environmental Coastal Issues into the Middle School Science Curriculum

2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 813-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Karsh ◽  
Edward Bush ◽  
Janice Hinson ◽  
Pamela Blanchard
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
School Science ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Science Content ◽  
Stewardship Program ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Second Year ◽  
And Control

Encouraging students to become better stewards of the environment and to be more educated in science content knowledge is an important goal of today's educational leaders. Eight lessons were created to aid an established stewardship program (Coastal Roots) in introducing hands-on activities to middle school children in southern Louisiana. Students were tested on science content in the lessons using a pre-test, eight multiple choice quizzes (each focusing on a particular lesson), and a post-test. The “children's attitudes toward the environment scale” test was administered to evaluate environmental awareness changes in the treatment and control group students. Students who received the horticulture lessons improved their post-test scores by 11.4 points (P ≤ 0.05) in the first year and 25.07 points (P ≤ 0.0001) in the second year of the study. Significant increases in individual lessons were found both years. In the second year, students who received the lessons were more aware of their role in the environment than those who did not receive the additional lessons (P ≤ 0.01). The addition of horticulture lessons to the middle school curriculum enhanced student knowledge and stewardship of the environment.

The Calculator Is a Problem-solving Concept Developer

1987 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 48-51
Author(s):  
Margaret Comstock ◽  
Franklin Demana
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Mathematical Concept ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Numerical Problem ◽  
Middle School Curriculum ◽  
Pencil And Paper

The hand-held calculator is a powerful problem-solving tool. It can be used to develop concepts and explore mathematical topics. The speed and power of the calculator make more realistic and interesting problems accessible and allow students to work many more problems than possible with pencil and paper. The calculator focuses tudents' attention on mathematical processes. Numerical problem solving form the foundation from which algebraic ideas grow. This art icle give examples of calculator tablebuilding activities suitable for the middle school curriculum that develop problem-solving skills and mathematical concept and span the gap from arithmetic to algebra.

A Program In Middle School: Problem Solving

1990 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 6-11
Author(s):  
William B. Moody
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Mathematical Methods ◽  
School Grades ◽  
School Problem ◽  
Mathematics Curricula ◽  
Nonroutine Problems ◽  
Elementary And Middle School

Recent literature concerned with the mathematics curricula for the elementary and middle school grades has st ressed the need for inclusion of more acti vitie involving problem solving and meaningful computational instruction. The authors of Curriculum and Elvaluarion Srandards for School Marhemarics (Srandards) (NCTM 1989) encourage the development of “an individual's abilities to explore. conjecture. and reason logically. as well a the ability to use a variety of mathematical methods to solve nonroutine problems.” (p. 5) They plea for intuitive approache to solving problem in the middle chool years as a foundation for solving problems in algebra. Mathematic competitions can be one way to create opportunities for developing interest and skill in problem olving and dealing with nonroutinc problems.

Engaging Contexts for the Game of Nim

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 251-255
Author(s):  
Charles A. (andy) Reeves ◽  
Rosemarie Reeves Gleichowski
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Middle School Teachers ◽  
Algebraic Reasoning ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Spatial Sense ◽  
Problem Solving Strategies

Middle school teachers realize the value of students playing games in mathematics classes if those games emphasize problem-solving strategies, algebraic reasoning, or spatial sense.

scholarly journals Effects of Robotics Instructional Methods on Computational Thinking Skills of Middle School Students

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Patrick Cook
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Instructional Methods ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Peer Collaboration ◽  
School Students ◽  
Problem Solving Strategies ◽  
K 12

As a tangible and motivating medium for students to engage in computational thinking, robotics has drawn interest from educators and researchers as K-12 schools continue to integrate STEM into curriculum. Through this mixed methods study, the researcher sought to explore the effects of robotics instructional methods (task-based and project-based) on the computational thinking skills of middle school students, including the problem-solving strategies used and the role of peer collaboration. The quantitative results of this study indicated no significant difference in the computational thinking skills of students participating in task-based or project-based robotics instruction. Interviews consisted of open-ended questions in which problem-solving and collaboration in robotics were explored from the perspectives of the participants. In both groups, problem-solving strategies encompassed all aspects of computational thinking as students took an iterative approach to problem-solving in both tasks and projects. Peer collaboration was naturally occurring and frequent among both groups. In task-based robotics instruction, peer collaboration and problem-solving strategies were primarily focused on the programming of the robot. In project-based robotics, peer collaboration and problem-solving strategies were applied throughout the entire design process, including the building and the programming of the robot. Through this study, the researcher hoped to provide a roadmap for the implementation of robotics in schools for K-8 students. As schools are increasingly seeking ways to integrate robotics into school curriculum, further research in this area on a larger scale is recommended.

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