WAJ3105 Numerical Literacy

Topic 1 Problem Solving

1.1 Synopsis

The topic covers the heuristis approach (non-mechanical), understanding the

problem statement, discussion of possible analytic tools or strategies to solve,
assessment of reasonableness of solution until further analysis and real life
examples. Problem solving is one of the main emphases in our current
mathematics curriculum. Mastering the skills in solving problem is important in
determining the well being of an individual because it is a process by which an
individual uses previously acquired knowledge, skills, and understanding to satisfy
the demands of an unfamiliar situation.
.

1.2 Learning Outcomes

1. Define the meaning the of problem solving

2. Define the meaning of heuristics

3. List Polya’s four-step model of problem solving

4. Find ways to guide pupils to identify problem statements

5. Use non-mechanical/non routine ways of solving problems.

6. Develop understanding of heuristics approach in problem solving and

problem statement

7. Discuss the various strategies and tools to solve problems.

8. Develop an understanding of assessment and reasonableness of solution

9. Apply the problem solving in real life.

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1.3 Conceptual Framework

1.4 What is Problem Solving?

Problem solving has important roles to play in the classroom – it can help pupils to
develop an understanding of mathematical concepts and it can allow pupils to
experience some of the processes through which marthematical knowledge has
been developed by others.

“ Solving problems is a practical art, like swimming, or skiing or playing the piano:
you can learn it only by imitation and practice…if you wish to learn swimming you
have to go into the water, and if you wish to become a problem solver you have to
solve the problems. (Polya, 1962, p.v)

The word “problem” may sound common to you. However, it has a specific
meaning in mathematics. A problem is any task in which you are faced with a
situation whereby the path to a solution is not obvious and immediate. You
may need to integrate some of your existing knowledge in order to overcome
obstacles to get the solution. In other words, to solve a problem is to (a) find a way
where no way is known off-hand, or (b) find a way out of difficulty, or (c) find a way
around an obstacle, or (d) attain a desired end, that is not immediately attainable,
by appropriate means. In relation to this, problem solving is the process of
solving a problem.

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It is important to make a distinction between teaching problem solving and using

problem solving as a teaching strategy. Teaching problem solving is exactly that –
teaching pupils how to solve problems. This is something that mathematics and
science teachers do very frequently. On the other hand, problem solving as a
teaching strategy is a technique in which problems are used deliberately as a
means of helping pupils to understand or gain insights into the subject they are
studying.

1.5 Polya’s Model of Problem Solving

Good problem solving encompasses four phases, according to Polya (1957). He

defined the first phase as understanding the problem. Without understanding the
meaning, pupils will not be able to find a correct solution. Once pupils understand
the problem, they device a plan. Polya suggested that the third phase is carrying
out the devised plan. Good problem solvers then, look back at the solution to verify
its correctness.

Step 1 : Understand the problem

Here are some questions you might like to ask yourself to help you to
understand the problem :
 Do you understand all the words?
 Can you restate the problem in your own words?
 What are you trying to find or do?
 What information do you obtain from the problem?
 What are the unknowns?
 What information, if any, is missing or not needed?

Step 2 : Devise a plan

The questions below can guide you in the process of devising a plan
to solve the problem :
 What is the relationship between the data and the unknown?
 Is this problem similar to another problem that you have solved?
 What strategies can you use?

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Step 3 : Carry out the plan

The following instructions are some procedures that you might use to
carry out your plan.
 Use the strategy you have selected and solve the problem.
 Check each step of the plan as you proceed
 Ensure that the steps are correct.
Step 4 : Look back
This step is often overlooked in problem solving. As a mathematics
teacher, you should remind your pupils to always check their answers.
Some guidelines for looking back include the following :
 Reread the question.
 Did you answer the question asked?
 Is your answer correct?
 Does your answer seem reasonable?

The flow chart in Figure 1 summarizes the procedures of Polya’s model.

START

 What information is given? EXPLORE

 What do you need to find?

Planning and identify the strategy PLAN

Solving
SOLVE
No
Does your plan work ?

Yes
Examine your answer carefully
EXAMINE
No
Does it fit the facts
given?
Yes
END

Figure 1. Polya’s Four-Step Problem Solving Model

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As a mathematics teacher, you need to teach your pupils how to solve

mathematical problems. Learning to use Polya’s Model is a first step towards
becoming a good problem solver. In Step 2 of Polya’s Model, you need to know
various strategies to enable you to solve problems. In the next section you will learn
about several strategies that you can use.

1.6 What is Heuristic Approach?

Heuristics encompasses all areas of problem solving both technical and non-
technical problems. Heuristics are the non-algorithmic tools, techniques and tricks
that are used in problem solving. However, unlike algorithms, they do not solve
problems. Instead they give pause to look problems in different ways to find new
insights. Problem solvers use heuristics to “seed” their subsconcious during the
search for new concepts. Many of the heuristics commonly used do not have
names and may not be recognized as heuristics. They are recalled as simple rules;
i.e , phrases indicating a possible thought process. Consequently, problem solvers
often are unaware how dependent they are on the use of heuristics.

Some heuristics used in Mathematics provide a familiar introduction to heuristic:

1. Formulate an equivalent problem

2. Modify the problem
3. Choose effective notation
4. Exploit symmetry
5. Divide into cases
6. Argue by contradiction
7. Check for parity
8. Consider extreme case
9. Generalize

1.7 What Makes A Good Problem?

A good problem both challenges pupils and kindles their interest. Within a given
discipline, teachers look for problems that are not so advanced that pupils become

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bogged down in frustration but that are complex enough to elicit a number of
potential solutions. “Make the original statement constructively ambiguous!” says
mathematics teacher Mary Lou Derwent who believes ambiguity is a key to
creativity. A good problem must be relevant both to the topic at hand and, in the
view of the problem solvers, to their own lives. Given a good problem, pupils will
throw themselves into the process of finding the solution. “If you want people to
learn,” says Thayer School’s John Collier, “have them work on something that
interests them, something that they can become totally immersed in.”

1.7.1 The Problem Statement: Starting A Problem Solution.

As problems become more involved the problem statement itself is the primary
cause of novice pupils' difficulty in solving word problems.

The pupils can become so involved with, and confused by, the various ifs, ands,
buts, assume thats, given thats and so forth that there is no hope of solving the
problem. The reason for this is quite simple. The human working memory is too
small to handle more than a few chunks without strain. When the working memory
is overloaded, confusion might occur. The solution to this induced confusion is
simply to ignore any phrases that start with words like if when reading a problem
statement. The item being sought is what the problem asks for quite independent of
the constraints contained in the ifs.

The problem statement is simply a source of information. There is no need to

unravel, dissect, understand, sort, list, rearrange, reword, interpret, simplify,
analyze or take any other action on the problem statement. The initial, and only,
action in starting a solution is identifying what is asked for. This is what is meant by
understanding the problem.

1.7.2 Ways of Helping Pupils Who are Struggling

There are no easy solution – teachers always need to tread a fine line between
‘helping’ pupils too much and letting them flounder until they become so frustrated
that they disengage from the task.

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One strategy teachers can use is to attempt to reduce anxiety by encouraging

communication and cooperation among pupils. Secondly is to simplify the problem
(or to be more careful in the original choice of problem). The strategy that we would
like to discuss in detail is the third strategy: to intervene. The decision on how,
whether or when to intervene will depend partly on your aims for the class – you
would probably intervene more quickly (and differently) if your aim was to teach
pupils an arithmetical skill such as regrouping in addition, than if your aim was to
foster independence in problem solving. We believe the teacher needs to be ready
to ‘help’ when required, but that the long-term aim is to help pupils to develop
strategies for helping themselves.

Teachers should attempt to intervene in such a way that pupils retain ownership of
the problem – teachers should avoid, in all but the most extreme cases, providing
pupils with the solutions. Teachers should, whenever possible, listen to what the
pupils have already discovered and attempt to build on their ideas. Very often,
pupils who are ‘stuck’ can quickly become ‘unstuck’ when they are simply asked to
explain what they have discovered so far – the act of reflecting on their work to date
often leads them to see things they had not noticed before or suggests new ideas to
explore.

As a teacher, you should try to use probing questions such as:

 ‘I wonder what would happen if….?’

 ‘Do you suppose that….?’
 ‘How could you find out?’

1.7.3 Routine and Non Routine Problems

Generally, problems can be classified as routine and non-routine problems. A

routine problem is one that merely requires you to apply some known
procedures, usually involving arithmetic operations to get the solution. An
example of a routine problem is as follows:

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“What is the area of a 100 metres by 1000 metres parking lot?”

On the other hand, when you encounter an unusual problem situation in which you
do not know of any standard procedure for solving it, then you are facing a non-
routine problem. In such situations, you need to create a new procedure to solve
the problem. An example of a non-routine problem is given below:

“Approximately how many hairs are there on your head?”

Now take a break before you move the next session!

Meanwhile reflect on whether you have encountered the above

problems before.

1.8 Problem Solving Strategies

General strategies are procedures which help you to choose what knowledge and
skills to use at each stage when solving a problem. The strategies you select have
to be versatile so that they could be applied to a wide variety of problems. Here are
some strategies that you can use.

Strategy 1 : Guess and Check

The guess and check strategy is useful for solving many types of problems. This is
sometimes called “trial and error “. You are encouraged to make a reasonable
guess, check the guess, and revise the guess if necessary. By repeating this
process you can arrive at a correct answer that has been checked. To use the
guess and check strategy, follow these steps:

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 Make a guess at the answer.

 Check your guess. Does it satisfy the problem?
 Use the information obtained in checking to help you make a new guess.
 Continue the procedure until you get the correct answer.

Example 1:

sun and fun represent two three-digit numbers and swim is their four-digit sum.
Using all of the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 9, in place of the alphabets where each
alphabet represents one digit, find the value of each alphabet.

s u n
+ f u n
S w i m

Solution :

Step 1 : Understand the problem

Each of the letters in sun, fun and swim must be replaced with the digits 0, 1, 2, 3,
6, 7 and 9 to get the correct sum. The last two digits of sun and fun are the same.

Step 2 : Devise a plan

Use the Guess and Check strategy. When the alphabet n is replaced by one of the
digits, then n + n must be m or 10 + m.
Since 1 + 1 = 2, 3 + 3 = 6 and 6 + 6 = 12, there are three possible values for n,
namely 1, 3 or 6.

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Step 3 : Carry out the plan.

If n = 1, then n + n = 1 + 1 = 2. That is, m = 2

If n = 3, then n + n = 3 + 3 = 6. That is, m = 6
If n = 6, then n + n = 6 + 6 = 12. That is, 10 + m = 12, then m = 2.

Observe that sun and fun are three-digit numbers and swim is a four-digit number.
Therefore you have to carry to the thousands place when you add s and f. Thus the
value for s in swim is 1. This gives only two choices for n, that is 3 or 6.
Since s + f gives a two-digit number and s = 1, then f must be 9. There are two
possibilities :

(a) 1 u 3 (b) 1 u 6
+ 9 u 3 + 9 u 6
1 w i 6 1 w i 2

In (a), if u = 0, 2 or 7, there is no value possible for i among the remaining digits.

In (b), if u = 3, then u + u plus the carry from 6 + 6 gives i = 7. This leaves w = 0.
Therefore the solution is : s = 1, u = 3, n = 6, f = 9, i = 7 and w = 0.

Step 4 : Look back

Check the sum using the values you obtained to see if you have solved the problem
correctly.

s u n 1 3 6
+ f u n  + 9 3 6
s w i m 1 0 7 2

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Activity 1

In the figure below, the number that appears in the square is the sum
of the numbers in the circles on each side of it. Find the numbers in
each circle. Use guess and check strategy.

41 49

36

Strategy 2 : Organize Information in a Chart, Table or Graph

This strategy helps you to organize and present information in a chart, table or
graph so that it can be read quickly and easily.

A graph is a drawing that shows relationships between two or more sets of facts or
information. Facts or information can usually be organized into pictographs, bar
charts or line graphs.

You must first learn how to read charts, tables, or graphs for information and then
learn how to construct them to report information. Reading and constructing graphs
are skills that you must have before interpreting, analyzing and using the
information. This problem-solving strategy allows you to discover relationships and
patterns among data.

Example 2:
A rectangle has an area of 120 sq. cm. Its length and breadth are whole numbers.
What are the two possible values for the length and breadth? Which values give
the smallest perimeter?

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Solution :

Step 1 : Understand the problem

Information given is area = 120 sq. cm. You know that area = length x breadth.

Step 2 : Devise a plan

To solve the problem, try to find all the possible values of length and breadth where
the product gives 120.

Step 3 : Carry out the plan

Construct a table of the values of length and breadth as follows :

Breadth 2 3 4 5 6 8 10

Length 60 40 30 24 20 15 12

Perimeter 124 86 68 58 52 46 44

From the above table, you can see that the smallest perimeter is 44 cm.

Step 4 : Look back

Check your answer to see if you have solved the problem correctly.

Length = 12, Breadth = 10 Therefore Area = 12 x 10 = 120

Perimeter = 2 (12 + 10) = 44.

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Activity 2

Find the number of ways to get a total of 21 from the numbers 1;

4, 8 and 16.

Were you able to do Activity 1 and 2? Good. Well Done! You can take a break
before you proceed to Strategy 3.

Strategy 3 : Look for a Pattern

When you use this problem-solving strategy, you are required to look for patterns in
the data or information given. Then make predictions and generalizations based on
your analysis. A pattern is a regular, systematic repetition. A pattern may be
numerical, visual or behavioral. By identifying the pattern, you can predict what will
come next and what will happen again and again in the same way. Looking for
patterns is a very important strategy for problem solving, and is used to solve many
different kinds of problems. Sometimes you can solve a problem just by recognizing
a pattern, but often you will have to extend a pattern to find a solution. Making a
number table often reveals patterns, and for this reason it is frequently used
together with this strategy.

Example 3:

Find the next two numbers in the sequence below:

7 10 14 19 25

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Solution:
Look at the numbers given in the sequence. Try to find the relationship between
consecutive numbers. Look for a pattern to find the missing numbers.

7 10 14 19 25 32 40

+3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8

Therefore, the next two numbers are 32 and 40.

Activity 3

Laura was given ten 50-sen coins by her grandparents for her 5th
birthday. If the number of 50-sen coins in her coin box is 30 a
week after her birthday and the number of 50-sen coins the week
after that was 90, in how many days will she have collected
RM135? Use the “Look for a pattern” strategy to find the answer.

Strategy 4 : Simplify the problem

The strategy of simplifying is most often used with other strategies. Writing a
simpler problem is one way of simplifying the problem-solving process. Rewording
the problem, using smaller numbers, or using a more familiar problem setting may
lead to an understanding of the solution strategy to be used. Many problems may
be divided into simpler problems to be combined to get a solution. Some problems
can be made simpler by working backwards. Sometimes a problem is too complex
to solve in one step. When this happens, it is often useful to simplify the problem by
dividing it into cases and solving each one separately.

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Example 4:

How many squares are there in the 7 by 7 grid?

Solution :
You can solve this problem by counting the number of squares. However, this is a
tedious process. Simplifying the problem into smaller number of squares and
looking for a pattern will help you to solve this problem quickly.

1 by 1 1 square

2 by 2 1+4 5

3 by 3 1+4+9 14 squares

4 by 4 1 + 4 + 9 + 16 30 squares

You can see that if the size of the grid is n by n, then the total number of squares is
obtained by adding the squared numbers from 12 to n2.

Therefore, a 7 by 7 grid consists of 1+4+9+16+25+36+49 = 140 squares

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Activity 4

The Tower of Hanoi

One of the three towers shown above has 10 discs of increasing size.
What is the least number of moves to transfer these 10 discs from
one tower to a different tower if only one disc can be moved at a time
and a disc cannot be placed on top of a smaller one.
Use the “Simplify the problem” strategy.

(Source : Benner, A.B. Jr. and Nelson, L.T. (2001). Mathematics for
elementary
th

Did you manage to solve the problems correctly?

Good! Take a break before you go on to Strategy 5.

Strategy 5 : Simulation/acting out

There are times when you experience difficulty in visualizing a problem or the
procedure necessary for its solution. You may find it helpful to physically act out the
problem situation. You might use people or objects exactly as described in the
problem, or you can use items that represent the people or objects. Acting out the
problem may itself lead you to the answer, or it may lead you to find another
strategy that will help you find the answer. Acting out the problem is a strategy that
is very effective for young children.

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Example 5:

There are five people in a room and each person shakes every other person's hand
exactly one time. How many handshakes will there be?

Solution :

Get four friends to help you to solve this problem. Get two friends to shake hands.
This is counted as 1 handshake. Next you get three friends to shake hands. Note
how many handshakes will occur when 3 people shake hands. Repeat the same
process for four people. Note the number of handshakes.

After acting the problem out, you will note that there is 1 handshake for 2 persons, 3
handshakes for 3 persons and 6 handshakes for 4 persons. If you are the fifth
person, then you will shake hands with each of your 4 friends, accounting for 4
more handshakes. Therefore the total number of handshakes is 6 + 4 = 10.

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Activity 5

A family of four wants to cross a river by boat. The family consists of

the father, mother, brother and sister. The boat can only carry one
adult or one or two children at a time. Find the minimum number of
ways in which the family can get across.
Use the “Simulation/Acting Out” strategy.

Source : Fisher, R. & Vince, A. (1998). Investigating maths Book 1.

Oxford : Blackwell Education.

Strategy 6 : Draw a picture

One of the most helpful strategies for solving problems is to draw sketches and
diagrams. Language used to state problems can be clarified by drawing a suitable
diagram or picture. A drawing represents the intermediate stage between the
concrete and the abstract. You should make you diagrams neat, accurate and
properly scaled.

Example 6:

The membership fee of a club for men and women is in the ratio of 4:3. A group of 2
men and 5 women paid RM4600 as the total membership fee. How much is the
membership fee for a man?

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Solution

You can solve this problem by using algebra. However it is easier if you use a
drawing to solve this problem.

2 Men 5 Women

Men = 8 parts Women = 15 parts

Total number of parts = 8 + 15 = 23

Total membership fee = RM4600

RM 4600
Therefore each part =  RM 200
23

Thus, a man’s membership fee = RM200 X 4 = RM800

Activity 6

If an eight cm square cake serves four people, how many twelve

cm square cakes are needed to provide equal servings to
eighteen people?

Use “Draw a picture” strategy.

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Strategy 7 : Work Backward

For some problems, it is often easier to work backward from the end result to see
how the process would have to start to get the answer. The example below
illustrates this.

Example 7:

Amira took a collection of coloured tiles from a box. Grace took 13 tiles from
Amira’s collection. Kiko took half of those remaining. Amira had 11 left. How many
tiles did Amira start with?

Solution :

This problem is best solved by starting with the end result and working backward to
get the answer. Since you are doing the reverse process, all the tiles taken from
Amira have to be added back to get the number of tiles Amira has in the beginning.

Remaining tiles Amira has = 11

Adding back what Kiko took = 11 + 11 = 22
Adding back what Grace took = 22 + 13 = 35

Therefore in the beginning Amira has 35 coloured tiles.

Activity 7

Tom competed in a game show and got into a losing streak.

First, he bet half of his money on one question and lost it. Then
he lost half of his remaining money on another question. Then he
lost RM300 on another question. Then he lost half of his
remaining money on another question. Finally he got a question
right and won RM200. At this point the show ended, and he had
RM1200 left. How much did he have before his losing streak
began?

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Did you manage to solve all the problems in the exercises given? Congratulations!
Take a break before you proceed to the next section.

1.9 Assessment and Reasonableness of Solution

In problem solving, it is important to assess the questions being asked and to find
the ways of how to tackle the problem. We encourage the teachers to elicit the
ideas from their pupils by conducting brainstorming session in the class as well as
letting the pupils be in cooperative group to have some discussion. Questioning and
answering session might help a lot in acquiring the desired solution. Enquiries,
investigation, exploration, experimentation are some of the techniques that involve
active participation of our pupils, not just teachers lead the whole things. We rarely
give the opportunity for the pupils to have their own stands and to reason out
towards progressing themselves to be an independent problem solvers. By
information processing they can acquire the skills of sorting, classifying, comparing,
contrasting and analyzing from the problems given to them. Let us consider the
situation below,

“Someone once told me that there are 204 squares on a chessboard, was she
right?”

Read the problem carefully, decide on a method to solve the problem, solve the
problem. Then, check your work and make sure that your answer makes sense and
that you have used the same terms and or units in your answer.

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This is the kind of question that makes you think. Thinking things out can be fun.
Now think for a few moments about how many squares there really are on a
chessboard.

Did you count 8 rows of the 8 squares? That is 8 x 8 or 64 squares. Did you spot
the big square round the edge of the board? That makes 65 squares.

And there are many more squares like this

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And like this,

And like this,

There are a LOT of squares on a chessboard. Finding them all will take you some
time – it is a BIG problem. Have another go at the problem for a few minutes. How
many squares can you find?

Working on a problem is like painting a picture or writing a story

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You have to put a lot of thought into a picture or a story to make something good to
look at or good to read. It is the same with a problem. You have to think a lot and
you will enjoy doing it. How do you get ready to paint a picture? First of all you
THINK about what you are going to paint. If you are wanting to paint a house, you
look at it as hard as you can, NOTICING EVERYTHING that you want to paint. It is
the same with a problem. To get ready you must

READ IT – REALLY UNDERSTAND IT

We will show you what I mean. In the chessboard problem it says there are 204
squares on a chessboard. Did you think it said there are 204 small squares on a
chessboard? It is very easy to think a problem says something it does not say, so
read it carefully. When you have read the problem carefully

MAKE A START – WRITE OR DRAW SOMETHING

Even if you cannot see what to do straight away, consider what you KNOW about
the problem and what you WANT to do. Then make sure you write it down.

DO THIS NOW IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY

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Perhaps you have written something like this:

“WHAT I KNOW”

64 little squares

2 by 2 one around the outside

Squares of other
4 by 4 sizes (2 by 2, 3 by 3,
4 by 4 etc.)

“WHAT I WANT”
To count all the squares.
To find the number of squares of each size.
To complete this table:

Sizes of
squares 1 by 1 2 by 2 3 by 3 4 by 4 5 by 5 6 by 6 7 by 7 8 by 8
Number
of 64 ? ? ? ? ? ? 1
squares

This makes it clear what has to be done. The first step is to find how many 2 x 2
squares there are. Good luck!

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Spend about half an hour working on the following problems.

Handshakes
There are 12 people in a small tutorial group. At the start of the semester they
shake hands to introduce themselves. How many handshakes altogether?

What if there were 50 people in a lecture theatre?

Spend about half an hour working on the “Ducks and Cows” problem.

Ducks and Cows

Farmers McDonald raises ducks and cows. The animals have a total of 9 heads
and 26 feet.
How many ducks and how many cows does Farmer McDonald have?

EXTENSIONS
What if there were
 9 heads and 20 feet
 10 heads and 24 feet
 8 heads and 24 feet
 9 heads and 50 feet
 6 heads and 17 feet; or
 10 heads and 18 feet?
What if farmer McDonald sees some of each kind of animal and altogether
sees 24 feet (not including his own), how many ducks and cows does he
see? Show all the possible answers
(Lane County Mathematics Project 1981, p. 259)

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1.9.1 Different Aspects of Problem Solving

As mentioned earlier, problem solving can mean many things.there are three quite
distinct aspects, with different people placing different emphases on them. These
different aspects are sometimes referred to as:
 Teaching for problem solving
 Teaching about problem solving
 Teaching through problem solving

The first of these usually refers to providing learners with the experience of solving
non-routine problems (or at least of attempting to solve them!). In a classroom
entirely based on an expository approach there are usually very few opportunities
for pupils to engage in genuine problem solving in the sense of tackling problems
for which they have not been supplied with an obvious way of finding a solution. For
some teachers, just including opportunities for such experience is a radical
departure from their usual teaching style.

The second aspect refers to attempts to teach problem solving strategies and skills
explicitly. (This is often referred to as concentrating on the process aspects of
mathematics).

We do not believe that these two aspects can be separated successfully. Instead,
we believe that for successful problem solving to occur in the classroom, it is
important to concentrate simultaneously on the experience of solving problems and
the strategies and skills involved. The rationale for this is that, although it is often
said that we learn from experience, this is not quite true. In order to learn from
experience, we need to reflect on that experience and attempt to structure it in
some meaningful way. So attempting to solve problems is not enough. Similarly, the
strategies and skills cannot be learned in isolation – they need to be firmly based on
the experience. The third aspect refers to attempting to teach ‘standard
mathematical content’ using a problem solving approach.

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1.10 The Real Life Problems

By real life problems we do not mean textbook exercises such as ‘Jenny had nine
apples, she ate four’. The realistic solution to this problem is probably a stomach-
ache rather than ‘five left’. We mean inquires which actually enable pupils to add to
their knowledge and understanding of the life they lead.

Most data gathering exercises can be used as a basis for this type of problem
solving: for instance, comparing the proportion (or type) of advertising per half hour
on prime-time TV with off-peak; comparing the cost of keeping different pets or
engaging in different kinds of hobbies; analyzing surveys (e.g. of pupils’ favourite
TV shows) to see whether boys and girls, or sports players and non-players, have
different tastes.

What makes these tasks ‘problems’ is the little bit of further thinking required when
you ask ‘What can I find out from this data? Ideally, we begin with the question
‘What do I want to find out?’ and then choose the kind of data to collect. Exploring
data using such an investigational approach is now seen as important in the
teaching of chance and data at all levels of schooling.

Similarly, any budgeting or planning tasks which come up in class – for example
planning an excursion or a camp – can be excellent for involving pupils in real life
problem solving.

Things to do:

Sub-topics 1.4 until 1.6 ( 2 hours )

1. Refer to your ‘Resource Materials’ and read Burwood State College,
Beginning to Tackle Real Problem – 2nd Pilot Version: pp. 1 – 60 and Deakin
University, Problem Solving and Mathematical Modelling – Study Guide: pp.
1 - 44, 73 – 95.

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2. Find additional materials on the above from various resources. You are
encouraged to visit some relevant websites on ’Problem Solving’.
3. Make short notes.

Sub-topic 1.7 until 1.10 ( 4 hours )

1. Refer to your ‘Resource Materials’ and read Excellence and Enjoyment:
Teaching and Learning in Primary Years – Primary National Strategy: pp. 8 –
21; Heinemann, Word Problems 4: pp 5 – 48 and Alfred S. Posamentier,
Stephen Krulik (1998). Problem Solving Strategies for Efficient and Elegant
Solutions : A Resource for the Mathematics Teacher.
2. Do all the activity (Activity 1 to 7) on problem solving.

Reminder: Keep your notes and printed materials including your solutions in
your portfolio.

References

Valsa Koshy and Jean Murray (2002). Unlocking numeracy. London.

David Fulton Publishers.

David Coles and Tim Copeland (2002). Numeracy and Mathematics

Across the Primary Curriculum. London. David Fulton Publishers

Useful websites

1. Problem Solving in Mathematics:

http://library.thinkquest.org/25459/learning/problem/

2. Problem Solving in Elementary School:

http://www.indiana.edu/~reading/ieo/bibs/probele.html

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