PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES

PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES

GUESS AND CHECK MAKE A LIST

LOOK FOR PATTERNS

DRAW A MODEL

WORK BACKWARDS

SIMPLIFY THE PROBLEM

BEFORE AFTER CONCEPT

VIDEOS

LOOK FOR PATTERNS

Finding a Pattern is a strategy in which students look for patterns in the data in order to solve the problem. Students look for items or numbers that are repeated, or a series of events that repeat. www.teachervision.fen.com

SAMPLE QUESTION
The first week of TESL club had 3 students. The second week had five students. The third week had eight students and the fourth had twelve. If this pattern continues, how many students will show up for the eight week?

UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM

The first week of TESL club had 3 students. The second week had five students. The third week had eight students and the fourth had twelve. If this pattern continues, how many students will show up for the eight week?

1st week = 3 students 2nd week = 5 students 3rd week = 8 students 4th week = 12 students 5th week = ? 6th week = ? 7th week = ? 8th week = ?
Week

1 3

2 5

3 8

4 12

Students

Week

1 3

2 5

3 8

4 12

Students

DRAW A MODEL
A problem solver needs to draw a diagram just to understand the meaning of the problem. The diagram represents the problem in a way we can see it, understand it, and think about it while we look for the next step. http://pred.boun.edu.tr

SAMPLE QUESTION
Ros is planting a new rose garden. Her father is going to help her put up a fence around the perimeter of her garden, but he wants to know how many posts he should buy. Her new garden is rectangular in shape and has a width of 6 meters and length of 8 meters. Ros father says the posts need to be placed two metres apart with a post in each corner. How many posts should Ros tell her father to buy?

THE ANSWER
Week

1 3

2 5

3 8

Students

12 17 23 30 38

UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM

Ros is planting a new rose garden. Her father is going to help her put up a fence around the perimeter of her garden, but he wants to know how many posts he should buy. Her new garden is rectangular in shape and has a width of 6 meters and length of 8 meters. Ros father says the posts need to be placed two metres apart with a post in each corner. How many posts should Ros tell her father to buy?

1. 2. 3. 4.

Perimeter of the rectangular shape garden = ? Width = 4 metres Length = 8 metres Post placement = two metres apart = in each corner 4

THE ANSWER

14 posts

WORK BACKWARDS
The strategy of working backwards entails starting with the end results and reversing the steps you need to get those results, in order to figure out the answer to the problem.

SAMPLE QUESTION
Honey forgot to check how much money he began the day with. During the day, she spent $8.00 on breakfast, withdrew $40.00 from the ATM, got her dry cleaning for $12.00, bought 5 shirts for $22.00 a piece (plus 8% sales tax). At the end of the day, she had $100.00, how much did he start the day with?

UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM

Honey forgot to check how much money he began the day with. During the day, she spent $8.00 on breakfast, withdrew $40.00 from the ATM, got her dry cleaning for $12.00, bought 5 shirts for $22.00 a piece (plus 8% sales tax). At the end of the day, she had $100.00, how much did he start the day with? condor.admin.ccny.cuny.edu

SOLUTION
Solution: Rather than letting x = the initial amount and creating a long algebraic equation, if we use the working backwards strategy, the problem is more easily solved. $100 Initial amount + 1.08($22*5) = $218.80 (adding back shirt purchase) + $12 = $230.80 (adding back dry cleaning) - $40 = $190.80 (subtracting ATM withdrawal) +8 = $198.80 (adding back breakfast)

ANSWER
Honey began the day with $198.80.

SIMPLIFY THE PROBLEM

Simplifying a mathematics problem is a strategy that often is used along with other problem-solving strategies. When a problem is too complex to solve in one step, it often helps to divide it into simpler problems and solve each one separately. Creating a simpler problem from a more complex one may involve rewording the problem; using smaller, simpler numbers; or using a more familiar scenario to understand the problem and find the solution. www.teachervision.fen.com

SAMPLE QUESTION
On your way to visit a friend, you leave your house at 2:45 P.M. and travel 1 3/4 miles to the train, 12 1/2 miles on the train, and 3/4 mile to your friend's house from the train station. If you get there at 4:15 P.M., how many miles per hour did you travel?

UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM

On your way to visit a friend, you leave your house at 2:45 P.M. and travel 1 3/4 miles to the train, 12 1/2 miles on the train, and 3/4 mile to your friend's house from the train station. If you get there at 4:15 P.M., how many miles per hour did you travel?

DEVISING A PLAN
For this problem, it might be helpful for students to use simpler numbers to learn the steps they need to follow to solve it. Have students change the problem to: I left the house 1:00, traveled 12 miles, and arrived at 4:00. How many miles per hour did I travel?

CARRYING OUT THE PLAN

First, have students solve the problem using the simpler numbers. I left the house 1:00, travelled 12 miles, and arrived at 4:00. How many miles per hour did I travel? I travelled 12 miles. It took 3 hours. To find the miles per hour, I divide 12 by 3 to get 4 miles per hour. Next, have them write down the steps they used to solve the problem. Find the distance travelled. Find the time spent. Divide to find the miles per hour.

Then, have them use the actual numbers from the problem and follow the same steps. Find the distance travelled. 1 3/4 + 12 1/2 + 3/4 = 15 miles Find the time spent. The time from 2:45 to 4:15 is 1 hour and 30 minutes, or 1 1/2 hours. Divide to find the miles per hour. 15 divided by 1 1/2 = 10 miles per hour

CHECKING
Students should read the problem again to be sure the question was answered. Then, they should check the math to be sure it is correct. 1 3/4 + 12 1/2 + 3/4 = 15 miles 2:45 to 4:15 is 1 hour and 30 minutes 15 divided by 1 1/2 = 10 miles per hour

REFERENCE LINKS
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/math/prob lem-solving/48932.html?page=2 http://www.zhonghuapri.moe.edu.sg/cos/o.x ?c=/wbn/pagetree&func=view&rid=11219

VIDEO LINKS
GUESS AND CHECK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSRCt7TCIo8 LOOK FOR PATTERNS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvvdCVit0a8&feature=c4overview&playnext=1&list=TLxyOHpYM349Q DRAW A MODEL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa8d9p_2Fkc&list=TLxyOHpYM349Q