Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

An overview of the Mathematical Problem Solving Project, MPSP, is given. The goals, organization, and history of the project are described and the progress toward those goals is discussed. The outcomes of the project are stated, a brief diary of activities given, and a listing of technical reports made. (MP)

An overview of the Mathematical Problem Solving Project, MPSP, is given. The goals, organization, and history of the project are described and the progress toward those goals is discussed. The outcomes of the project are stated, a brief diary of activities given, and a listing of technical reports made. (MP)

Improving problem solving abilities among students remain to be a challenge among teachers and students. This study aimed to identify problem solving ability of first year students as affected by cognitive development levels and teaching strategies of first year high school students in Mathematics I. The study utilized descriptive and experimental methods. A total of 150 students from three classes in a public secondary school in Central Luzon, Philippines were included. Tools were validated questionnaires to measure problem solving abilities and cognitive development levels. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, Mean, Standard Deviation, T-Test, ANOVA, and Regression Analysis. Results showed that the cognitive level of development of the students are satisfactory across all domains (X=2.81). Discovery, Exposition, and Traditional Methods of Teaching were found to significantly improve the problem solving ability of the students with a p-value of 0.000 in each group. All groups have no significant difference in performance which may imply that no teaching method is better than the other. Lastly, cognitive domains of the students in knowledge, comprehension, application and evaluation were found to be significant determinants of students' problem solving ability. The study results can be a springboard to improve problem solving abilities of high school students. Cognitive development could be considered as a basis for grouping high school students in all curriculum levels and can be evaluated by future researchers for effectiveness.

Improving problem solving abilities among students remain to be a challenge among teachers and students. This study aimed to identify problem solving ability of first year students as affected by cognitive development levels and teaching strategies of first year high school students in Mathematics I. The study utilized descriptive and experimental methods. A total of 150 students from three classes in a public secondary school in Central Luzon, Philippines were included. Tools were validated questionnaires to measure problem solving abilities and cognitive development levels. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, Mean, Standard Deviation, T-Test, ANOVA, and Regression Analysis. Results showed that the cognitive level of development of the students are satisfactory across all domains (X=2.81). Discovery, Exposition, and Traditional Methods of Teaching were found to significantly improve the problem solving ability of the students with a p-value of 0.000 in each group. All groups have no significant difference in performance which may imply that no teaching method is better than the other. Lastly, cognitive domains of the students in knowledge, comprehension, application and evaluation were found to be significant determinants of students' problem solving ability. The study results can be a springboard to improve problem solving abilities of high school students. Cognitive development could be considered as a basis for grouping high school students in all curriculum levels and can be evaluated by future researchers for effectiveness.

The purpose of this study was to describe and compare kindergarten and first-grade children's performance on addition and subtraction problems presented in two contexts: verbal (in which problem data were linked to physical referents such as objects or people and their actions), and abstract (in which no such links to physical situations occurred). Fifty kindergarteners and 54 first-graders were individually interviewed in mid-year to observe their solution strategies and errors on 12 abstract and 12 verbal addition and subtraction problems. The kindegarten problems contained sums and minuends less than 10. For first-graders, the sums and minuends ranged from 6 through 15. All problems were based on the open sentences a+b=?, a-b=?, and a+?=c. Upon completion of the problems, subjects in each grade were clustered according to the solution strategies they employed and according to the types of problems they could solve. Results indicated that verbal and abstract problems were of equal difficulty for subjects in both grades. Although kindergarteners used essentially the same strategies to solve verbal and abstract problems, first-graders exhibited less frequent use of concrete representation strategies on abstract than on verbal problems. Subjects in the two grades committed essentially the same types of errors, although the frequency of occurrence of most errors was lower at the first-grade level. At both grade levels a variety of individual differences were evident in the types of strategies subjects used and the types of problems they could solve. (Author/MP)

Problem solving strategies of eight pre-service secondary school mathematics teachers (PSSMTs) were examined in this study. A case study research design was employed and clinical interview technique was used to collect the data. Materials collected for analysis consisted of audiotapes and videotapes of clinical interviews, subjects' notes and drawings, and researchers' notes during the interview. Strategies used by PSSMTs to solve a problem called "the fencing problem" were identified. Findings of the study suggest that the subjects used combinations of different strategies to solve problems. The implications of the finding were also discussed.

Problem solving strategies of eight pre-service secondary school mathematics teachers (PSSMTs) were examined in this study. A case study research design was employed and clinical interview technique was used to collect the data. Materials collected for analysis consisted of audiotapes and videotapes of clinical interviews, subjects' notes and drawings, and researchers' notes during the interview. Strategies used by PSSMTs to solve a problem called "the fencing problem" were identified. Findings of the study suggest that the subjects used combinations of different strategies to solve problems. The implications of the finding were also discussed.