Part of the challenge this year has been that my students are very capable of solving word problems when they are scaffolded, and I guide them through the steps.
What I need for them to be able to do is to independently identify what procedures they need to complete in order to successfully solve the word problems.
I decided it was necessary to provide my students with a guide book; a set of slides which would support them in determining what kind of word problem they have been given. This guide supports students to read questions, to categorise them, and then to apply the correct strategy.
Once they have categorised the question they will be able to apply their strategies. I found this more effective than my previous iteration of this;
The reason being, if I simply give them the key words in the question they are constantly searching just for the words that they need, rather than comprehending the scenario/story. By understanding the scenario and the context in which the problem occurs they are able to apply strategies like visualisation that can help them to make sense of the question itself, and in turn, make it easier to solve the problem.
By consolidating the reading, visualisation and application of strategy my students have shown an improved understanding and confidence when it comes to independently solving problems.
I am going to ensure they have access to these slides so they are able to rewind it and use it when they need it. The next steps are going to be to continue reinforcing the specific terminology and vocabulary used in each concept.
