This newsletter being the last for the 1988/89 school year, I would like to wish you the very best for the summer season. I really hope you have a rest and a good time. After all, you have earned it. I hope the school year has been one that you can look back on with joy and satisfaction.
I also hope that you have found the newsletter, along with the other MCATA publications, to be worthwhile. I would appreciate any materials or ideas you may have for making the newsletter more meaningful for you.
We are still looking for an outstanding educator for the 1989 Mathematics Educator of the Year Award. How about helping us out? I am sure many of you would qualify. A nomination form was included in the last newsletter.
Problem solving has in the 1980s received some attention. Teacher training programs, inservice projects and many publications relating to mathematics education have put significant emphasis on this important area. Unfortunately, many teachers do not make problem solving an integral part of their lessons. Possibly they are just not comfortable with this important area.
The following article by Florence Fisher, taken from the Illinois Mathematics Teacher, vol. 40, no. 2, April 1989, has some excellent and stimulating ideas for making problem solving more exciting and meaningful.
- Involve students–as much as possible
- Challenge students–always
- Amaze students–just a little
- Frustrate students–just enough
- Tell students–as little as possible
- Encourage students–for every step forward, no matter how small
- Accept students’ ideas–even crazy ones
- Have fun–enjoy the problems yourself
1. Involve students
Present problems to which the students can relate. Use ideas and situations that are familiar. Get every student to try the problem. Problems that can be solved by trying lots of examples are useful; every child can be working on a different example. Problems that use manipulative materials also invite all to take part.
2. Challenge students
Problems that are too easy can become boring. The students should have a sense of accomplishment when the problem is solved. This does not happen if there is no challenge. However, what challenges one child may not challenge another. Some may be challenged by a list making problem, others by geometrically oriented ones and others by complicated calculations. The teacher must choose problems appropriate for each child.
3. Amaze students
Using a “trick” to solve a question can be amazing to the students. The problem then is to figure out what the trick is or how it works.
4. Frustrate students
This is probably the easiest thing for a teacher to do. The difficult part is to frustrate just enough to make the student take one step beyond the familiar. Small frustrations can stretch the mind; large ones can destroy it.
5. Tell students
Again, this is an area where teachers excel. Teachers by nature seem to be people who like to tell someone else how to do it. It is difficult to keep the mouth shut and let the student do most of the talking and thinking. Problems that are obvious to teachers are not so obvious to children. Keep quiet and let the child think and work.
6. Encourage students
Children need to feel good about themselves. Teachers can create these good feelings by encouraging even the smallest progress. A child does not have to solve the problem to learn about problem solving. Remember that the thinking skills developed are more important than the answer to the problem.
7. Accept students` ideas
Brainstorming is a viable technique to use in problem solving. Sometimes the wildest ideas can lead to solutions.
8. Have fun
If the teacher does not enjoy working on problems, there is little chance the students will. Let the children know that the fun is in the process to arrive at a solution, not in the solution itself.
Art Jorgensen
From the Editor
Art Jorgensen
Winners of the 1988-89 Alberta High School Mathematics Competition
University of Lethbridge Summer Courses
Elementary Mathematics Needs Assessment Survey
Summary of Key Findings
Conference Update
Digit Shuffle
The Four-Square Puzzle
The Right Angle
MCATA Executive 1988/89
FOOTHILLS EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
WINNING WAYS
A COMPLETE PROGRAM FOR FOSTERING POSITNE ATTITUDES AND SELF-ESTEEM IN CHILDREN
PENNSYLVANIA COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF MATHEMATICS
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