1. Problem solving strategies
Janine Davis-Smith, IRT

2. Problem Solving:
“…refers to mathematical tasks that have the potential to provide intellectual challenges for enhancing students' mathematical understanding and development.”
clips/Problem-Solving/

3. Problem Solving – Then & Now
Teaching Problem Solving
Focused on teaching certain strategies – Guess/Check, working backward, etc..
Prescribed – I show, you do
Teaching through problem solving
the goal is for students to learn precisely the mathematical idea that the curriculum calls for them to learn next.
Teacher – facilitator

4. Can you solve it??
James had 11 cookies. Robin gave him 13 more cookies. How many cookies does James have now?

5. Three main strategy levels
Direct Modeling
Counting strategy
Flexible/Base – Ten Strategy

6. Direct modeling
Student - requires manipulatives or drawn models that show both quantities of the problem.
Quantity representation: manipulatives, fingers, tally marks, or pictures.
Student will count all from start, count on from first quantity, and count on from largest quantity.

7. Counting Strategy
Student - recognizes that he/she does not need to physically construct and count the two quantities.
Student – figures out the answer through the use of the counting sequence itself.
Use of fingers, tallies, number line, or hundred chart to keep track of second quantity.

8. Flexible/base – ten strategy
Student - combines tens & ones first before adding numbers together.
Student – compensating by using nearby landmark numbers or incrementing by groups of 10.

9. Questions??