My inquiry question at this moment is: How do students’ ability to show their thinking help them to successfully understand and solve word problems?
The learning goal for my students is: That students will be able to read word problems and know what information is necessary in solving the problem. Students are often given word problems that have lots of unnecessary information. I would like them to be able to identify key vocabulary that will help them understand what the word problem is asking them to do.
My indicators for success: Students would correctly identify problems correctly and their ability to solve/show their understanding of a problem would get easier and their drawings would be more descriptive
Focal students: I still haven’t figured out which specific children, but I think I want to look at 3 boys/3 girls and transient vs. non transient
Hi Alberto,
ReplyDeleteI think that you have captured in your question the essential element of being able to understand and solve word problems: students being able to show their thinking.
Further down you talk about drawing out their answer and drawing their interpretation of the question.
These ideas sent me back to the article Carrie found – did she send it to you? I’ll attach it – about the complexity of solving word problems. It is not at all a simple procedure, and I think that article really does a good job of describing it, not only for upper elementary students, but in general.
For me, pages 3 and 4 and then also page 8 give the overview, and then in the other pages of the paper, the author gives very step wise strategies for teaching.
I think it is so great that even before reading this article, you were coming to the same conclusion, about making thinking visible, as you honed your question!
-Claire