Suggests that, although questions are often used to help students or stimulate student thinking, questions can also be used to help evaluate student thinking and attitudes about problem solving. Sample problems and questions are given. (PK)

The author discusses mathematics problems given to a group of primary teachers studying properties of numbers. Using a milk crate and bottles as a problem, the teachers diverted to exploring extrapolations. (MP)

How children give meaning to problems solved by multiplying or dividing is considered. After showing two cases of children's understanding of multiplication problems, six recommendations for classroom practice are presented. (YP)

For individuals to cooperate they must develop certain skills and understandings. Unless schools engage in specific activities that teach cooperation, students may lack the skills they need to function in an adult society. Cooperative learning has much to offer for the mathematics class. Students enjoy discussing mathematics with other students.…

This study attempted to identify the things that help elementary school students solve verbal problems. Among the types of things included for examination were: the attributes of problems, the tools used, and the problem transformations that were possible. The summary of findings is comprised of 29 diverse types of statements grouped under four…

Examines whether verbal problem-solving skills in a group of fourth graders would improve if they were specifically taught how to generate their own diagrams when solving word problems. Classifies textbook word problems into three general types and describes them: (1) tabular; (2) geometric; and (3) contingency diagraming. (YP)

The focus here is on the students' uses for numbers in both school and home settings. The included activities emphasize a growth and development theme involving various aspects of data collection, data interpretation, probability, and statistics. Also included are parent-child extended activity worksheets. (JJK)

This handbook, developed by teachers in Manitoba, has been structured to provide teachers in grades 3 through 6 with a resource for teaching problem solving in mathematics. It consists of four sections. The first section establishes the background and states the purposes of the handbook. The second section provides a general overview of problem…

Presented are activities which give practice in making estimates, gathering data, and checking the reasonableness of results. (TG)

Explored are responses of students aged 9 to 13 to linear generalizing problems from both a technical and strategic point of view. The methods commonly used were the same in all age groups and across all three questions, although some students choosing each model varied. (YP)

The purpose of this booklet is to help teachers design and select appropriate mathematical problems for the early childhood years. Organizing the classroom for problem-solving sessions is its secondary focus. The material was gathered in early 1970s and first appeared in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Thirty-Seventh Yearbook,…

This guide is designed to assist inservice providers in conducting successful workshops for teachers, administrators, and others associated with Chapter 1 mathematics programs. It contains step-by-step procedures for preparing, organizing, and presenting the workshop. Included in this guide are: (1) an advanced planner, which includes a detailed…

The purpose of this manual is to present a series of lessons on solving word problems, each focusing on a specific concept. The solving of story problems should be incorporated into the daily mathematics lesson so that children can maintain and increase their skills. The lessons are sequenced according to their complexity. Lessons one through…

The effect of special instruction in certain reading skills involved in solving verbal problems was compared with the effect of supervised practice in solving verbal problems on the improvement of verbal problem-solving ability of 179 fourth graders. The sample from six classes in three public elementary schools in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, was…

Describes an exploratory investigation of how children reacted to problems with missing, surplus or contradictory data. It was found that the majority of children gave unsatisfactory answers to such problems. (PK)