7/8/2018 Mathematics Problem Solving Strategies

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Mathematics Problem Solving

Strategies
(https://garyhall.org.uk/maths-
problem-solving-strategies.html)
Anyone who has taught maths for any length of time will know how di cult it can be to teach
pupils to solve maths problems out of context. Present pupils with a familiar setting or a sum
that they've tackled before then they're usually ne, but turn it into an unfamiliar problem then
it's a di erent matter. However, in the same ways that we teach strategies for other areas of
maths, we can also teach strategies to solve maths problems.

When solving maths problems, students should be encouraged to follow a general problem
solving procedure. This is summed up as follows:
1. Read the problem carefully. The rst and most important step is to read the problem
carefully to understand what you're asked to nd out and what information you have been
given. Underlining the important information is also useful so you have all the important
numbers/facts to hand.

2. Choose a strategy and make a plan.

3. Carry out the plan and solve the problem.

4. Check the working out and make sure that your solution is actually answering the
question.
There are a number of strategies that can be used to solve maths problems, as follows:

Create a diagram

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7/8/2018 Mathematics Problem Solving Strategies

Creating a diagram can help mathematicians to picture the problem and nd the solution. To
create a diagram, the problem must be read carefully and the information that has been given
to them in the question drawn into the diagram. They can then work out the solution from the
diagram that has been drawn.

Guess and check

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7/8/2018 Mathematics Problem Solving Strategies

The guess and check strategy can be helpful for many types of problems. When students use
this strategy, they will make a reasonable guess, based on the information that they have been
given and then check to see if their guess is correct The guesses should get closer and closer to
the answer, until the correct answer is found.

Use a table or make a list

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7/8/2018 Mathematics Problem Solving Strategies

Using a table is a good way to sort out and organise the information that has been given in the
question. The information that has been set out in the table will hopefully lead students to the
correct solution.

Making a list is a strategy that will help students sort out the information that has been given in
the problem. Once the students can see all of the possibilities for the solution, they can then
attempt to solve the problem more easily.

Logical reasoning

This strategy requires students to use the information they have been given in the question to
eliminate possible solutions to nally discover the correct solution.

Find a pattern

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7/8/2018 Mathematics Problem Solving Strategies

When students use this strategy they look for a pattern from the information that has been
given. Once the pattern has been identi ed, the students can predict what will happen next
and then continue the pattern to nd the correct solution.

Working backwards

Working backwards is an excellent strategy to use when the nal outcome of the problem has
already been given. Students just need to work out what the events were that occurred
previously.

Solve an easier version

Sometimes the problem is too di cult to solve in one step. When this happens the students
will be able to make the problem more simple by dividing it into smaller and easiest steps, such
as rewording the problem using smaller numbers.

These strategies are really useful in helping to solve maths problems. I have used them with
the classes that I've worked with in KS2 to great e ect. Giving children the experience of using
these maths problem solving strategies will provide themv with a really useful toolkit for their
maths arsenal as well as making them more con dent when presented with a maths problem.

 Sun 22 May 2016 Category Maths (https://garyhall.org.uk/category/maths.html) 

Date
Tags maths (https://garyhall.org.uk/tag/maths.html) / problem solving
(https://garyhall.org.uk/tag/problem-solving.html)

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Article by Gary Hall (https://garyhall.org.uk)

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Shaddai Bonse • 4 months ago

Could you explain more of the logical reasoning strategy becuase i am having trouble
understanding it
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