Word Problems Increases Mathematical Communications

It is only recently I realized that word problems serve a purpose other than driving students crazy.  I admit some of the problems are very hard to relate to when you live in the middle of a village of under 900 people with no traffic lights, no buses, a few stop signs, and no roads that go anywhere other than the dump or the river.

So I figured out a reason to work word problems other than they are part of life.  Word problems present the perfect opportunity to help students increase their mathematical communications.  Often times, student struggle to understand the written problem which makes it more difficult to turn the language into symbols in a mathematical equation.

There are several factors contributing to this problem.  Students often see there is only one type of word problem rather than understanding there are multiple types.  They are also generally taught specific methods to solve word problems which does not work if the word problem is not written to match one of those methods, and many students are not good at their number fluency.  In addition, its been found that many students are unable to write the answer to a word problem using correct mathematical terminology.

The process of solving word problems involves a lot of communication.They need to have a good grasp of mathematical language so they can properly communicate their thoughts, the method they used to solve the problem, and their final solution.  This all has to utilize proper syntax and grammar within the language of mathematics.

One of the best ways to increase mathematical communication is through the use of writing, because writing requires formal use of language.  Unfortunately, most teachers assume since students take English, they know how to write but with the specialized language in math, teachers need to take time to teach students how to write their way through the process.

Solving word problems involve two steps, the problem representation and the search for solutions.  The problem representation can be further subdivided into three parts, comprehension, extraction, and  construction of the equation or equations.  This boils down to understand the problem, figure out what they have to find and what information is needed, and creating the equation needed to solve it.

It is important for the student to represent the information in a way that is meaningful to them thus making the problem more accessible to them.  It doesn't matter whether they use diagrams, notes, or drawings to represent the information, because this step helps them organize their thoughts.  This step requires the student have a good basis in mathematical language.  It is strongly recommended students read the problem several times before they reword the information to show their understanding. The better they comprehend mathematical language, the easier it is for them to create the problem.

The second part, the search for solutions, involves solving the actual equation.  Once the answer is found, it is important for the student to identify if the answer is reasonable and double check their calculations.  Once the answer is verified, the student needs to write out the correct solution while using proper syntax and language to communicate what they found.

So as a math teacher it is important we take time to discuss writing our answers correctly using mathematical language in addition to giving students guided practice in learning to do that properly.  This involves more than just going over the steps used to solve the equations, it also involves language used in writing word problems and in explaining our answers.

Let me now what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.