HERCOR COLLEGE

Km. 1 Lawaan, Roxas City, Capiz 5800

ACADEMIC YEAR 2020-2021

Department: College of Education Course Code: M115

Name of Instructor: April F. de Leon Schedule: ______________
Course Descrip tive Title: Problem Solving, Mathematical Investigation and Modelling Semester: 1ST Sem/A.Y. 2021-2022

Name of Student: ________________________________________ Year and Section: ________________________

Student ID Number: ______________________________________ Contact Number: _________________________
Email Address: __________________________________________ Alternate Contact Number:
__________________

PROBLEM SOLVING, MATHEMATICAL INVESTIGATION AND MODELLING

Course Description:
This course intends to enhance the students' knowledge and skills I dealing with real-life and/or non-routine
applications of mathematics. Students will have the opportunity to explore the use of problem solving strategies or
heuristics as they engage in mathematical investigations, formulate and justify conjectures, make generalizations,
and communicate mathematical ideas.

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LESSON 1:

NATURE OF PROBLEM AND PROBLEM SOLVING

The most integral part of school mathematics is learning how facts and skills are applied in real situations
rather than rote memorization. We cannot deny the fact that it is easier to teach students to perform routine
computations and memorize facts and formulas. But it is a challenge to us to develop their problem-solving ability.
According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), problem solving should be the central focus
of the mathematics curriculum. As such, it is the primary goal of all mathematics instruction and an integral part of
all mathematics activities. Problem solving is not a distinct topic but a process that should permeate the entire
program and provide the context in which concepts and skills should be learned. Moreover, the National Council of
Teachers in Mathematics recognizes that problem solving plays a prominent role in the mathematics education of
K-12 students.

George Polya, father of problem solving, describes a problem as an "unfamiliar situation, quantitative or
otherwise, for which no immediate path to the answer is apparent." Krulik and Rudnick define problem as a
situation that confronts an individual or group of individuals that requires a solution and for which the individual
sees no apparent or obvious means or path to obtaining the solution. Lester defines a problem as a situation in
which an individual or group is called upon to perform a task for which there is no readily accessible algorithm
which determines completely the method of solution. Blum and Niss define a problem as a situation which has
certain open questions that challenge somebody intellectually who is not in immediate possession of direct
methods/ procedures/ algorithms, etc. sufficient to answer the question. Thus, a problem is relative to the
individuals involved; that is, what is a problem for one person may be an exercise for another. Problem-solving is a
mental process that involves discovering, analyzing and solving problems. Reed posts that the ultimate goal og
problem solving is to overcome obstacles and find a solution that best resolves the issue. Problem solving is the
process of overcoming obstacles to answer a question or to achieve goal.

A problem is a situation in which a person wants something but does not know immediately what series
of action he should perform to get it. Problem solving therefore is very much like "finding an exit out from a
labyrinth."

Based on the given definitions of problem, we can summarize the characteristics of a problem into two:
(1) it requires a solution, and (2) the solution is not immediately obvious.

LESSON EVALUATION
ANSWER BRIEFLY BUT COMPREHENSIVELY.
1. When can we say that a certain situation is a problem?
2. How is solving word problems different from problem solving?
3. Why should problem solving be a focus of the mathematics curriculum?

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LESSON 2:

THE LEARNER AS A PROBLEM SOLVER

LESSON INPUTS

What is a good problem solver?

Problem solving does not come easy for many students. Some factors which could affect
problem solving are the following:
1. Expertise. This is a factor that differentiates people in their ability to solve problems.
2. Knowledge base. Experts and novices differ in their knowledge base.
3. Memory. Experts and novices differ in memory for specific expertise.
4. Representations. Novices use simplistic representation for solving problems compared to
experts.
5. Problem solving strategies. Experts use means-ends heuristics generally to solve problems
compared to novices.
6. Speed and accuracy. Experts are faster and more accurate at solving problems. More parallel
than serial processing.
7. Metacognitive skills. Experts are better at monitoring their metacognitive processes than
novices.

LESSON EVALUATION
ANSWER BRIEFLY BUT COMPREHENSIVELY.
1. What factors can affect success in the problem solving process?
2. What learning situations in the classroom can develop skills in problem solving?

LESSON 3:

TYPES OF PROBLEMS
LESSON STARTER

Arrange the situations given situation below from the simplest to the most complex problem. How are the
situations different in terms of thinking skills?
How many meters of Fifteen people met for Susan buys 5 notebooks
steel wire is needed to the first time and shake at 23 each and a ream
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make a million paper hands with each other. of bond paper at
clips? How many handshakes ₱ 158 . How much
took place? change did she get from
 Draw four straight line
Felix has 11 tennis
segments to pass
balls. Joseph has 4
through all 9 dots in a 3
500 ÷7 more tennis balls. How
by 3 array without lifting
many tennis balls does
a pen.
... Joseph have?
...
...

Many elementary-school math problems fit into one of the following categories:

1. One-step Translation Problem. This can be solved with a single arithmetic operation. It illustrates common
applications of arithmetic and helps reinforce arithmetic skills.

2. Multi-step Translation problem. This can be solved with two or more arithmetic steps. It illustrates common
applications of arithmetic and reinforces arithmetic skills, but they require higher-level thinking than one-step
problems.

3. Puzzle problem. This is often solved with some unusual approach or insight. This is a non-routine problem that
develops flexible thinking.

In general, problems can be categorized as routine and non-routine. Routine problem requires direct
applications of sets of known or prescribed procedures to solve problems.

Example: Brieven's mom gave him ₱ 25.00 . His father gave him ₱ 50.00 . His grandmother gave him ₱ 75.00 .
How much money does Brieven have now?

On the other hand, non-routine problem is more abstract or subjective and requires a strategy to solve. It
requires the use of heuristics and often requires little to no use of algorithms. Heuristics are procedures that do not
guarantee a solution to a problem but provide a more highly probable method for discovering the solution to a
problem.

Example: You bought a chocolate cake worth ₱ 645.0 0. You handed the cashier ₱ 700.00 . What bills and coins
will the cashier possibly hand in you as your change?

There are two types of non-routine problem solving situations, static and active. Static non-routine
problems have a fixed known goal and fixed known elements which are used to resolve the problem. Solving a
jigsaw puzzle is an example of a static non-routine problem. Active non-routine problem solving may have a fixed
goal with changing elements; a changing goal or alternative goals with fixed elements; or changing or alternative
goals with changing elements.

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 Charles and Lester identified six potential types of problems which can be placed on a continuum of routine
to creative problems.

1. Exercises. These involve drill and practice to reinforce a previously learned skill or algorithm.

Examples: a. 504 ÷ 7
b. In x +2=5 , what is the value of x ?

2. Simple Translation Problems. These require the appropriate mathematical concept to be identified and the
problem is translated into a single number sentence.

Examples: a. Eleanor has 20 oranges. She gave Marvin 11. How many oranges were left?
b. Felix has 11 tennis balls. Joseph has 4 more tennis balls. How many tennis balls does Joseph have?

3. Complex Translation Problems. These provide the same experience as simple translation problem but involve
more than one translation and procedure.

Examples: a. Nadine makes quilts. She can make 7 quilts with 21 yards of material. How many yards of material
would be required to make 12 quilts?
b. Susan buys 5 notebooks at ₱ 23 each and a ream of bond paper at ₱ 300 ?

4. Applications. These are problems that can be applied in real world which uses mathematical skills, facts,
concepts and procedures in deriving solution to a problem.

Examples: a. A water tank is 5 meters long and 3 meters wide. What is the capacity of the tank in liters if the height
of the tank is 1 meter?
b. How many meters of steel wire is needed to make a million paper clips?

5. Process Problems. These require the use of processes and strategies to think through and represent the
problem. They require learners to choose or develop a plan on how they can solve the problem.

Examples: a. If you buy two pairs of pants, four shirts, and two pairs of shoes, how many new outfits consisting of a
new pair of pants, one shirt, and one pair of shoes would you have?
b. Fifteen people met for the first time and shake hands with each other. How many handshakes took
place?

6. Puzzle Problems. These require people to think in unusual or original ways. They often have no apparent use of
mathematical concepts and procedures.

Examples: a. You have three bags, each containing two marbles. Bag A contains two white marbles, Bag B contains
two black marbles, and Bag C contains one white marble and one black marble. You pick a random bag
and take out one marble. It is a white marble. What is the probability that the remaining marble the
same
bag is also white?
b. Draw four straight line segments to pass through all 9 dots in a 3 by 3 array without lifting a pen.

...
...
...

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LESSON EVALUATION
1. Classify the following as one-step translation, multi-step translation or puzzle problem:
a. A classroom has 4 rows with 5 desks in each row. How many desks are there in all?
b. There are 10 boys and 12 girls going on the field trip. Each car will hold 5 children and 1 parent.
How many cars are needed?

2. Classify the following problem as routine or non-routine:

a. Find three numbers whose sum is 10 and whose product is as large as possible.
b. A T-shirt costs ₱ 150 . A pair of socks costs ₱ 85 . Malachi bought 3 pairs of socks and 2 T-shirts.
How much did he pay?

LESSON 4:

APPROACHES TO PROBLEM SOLVING

LESSON STARTER

Differentiate the three situations which correspond to approaches in problem solving.

APPROACH 1
The teacher is having a lesson on areas of rectangles. After giving a motivation activity, the teacher gives
several examples of how to get areas of rectangles, after the learning activities, the teacher gave word problems or
word situations where the skill in getting areas of rectangles were applied.

APPROACH 2
The teacher is having a lesson on areas of rectangles. At the start of the lesson proper before his activity,
he showed an illustration of a person having a dilemma on what will be the biggest piece of his backyard that will
be fenced out of his 30 m fencing material. After soliciting ideas on the problem situation, the teacher proceeded
with teaching about the concept of area.

APPROACH 3
The teacher gave a problem situation on areas of rectangles. The students were asked to solve the
problem in as many ways as they can, the teacher trying to figure out the students who can solve the problem
using the best strategy.

LESSON INPUTS

Instruction in problem solving can be undertaken using three approaches.

1. Teaching for problem solving

In teaching for problem solving, the focus is on the acquisition of concepts and skills useful for problem
solving. Consequently, pupils are given instruction on mathematical concepts and structures and opportunities to
apply them in solving problems. In this approach, the teacher is concerned about the students' ability to apply
what they have learned in problem context.

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2. Teaching through problem solving

In teaching through problem solving, the teacher emphasizes the value of problem solving as a means of
learning mathematics. This complements the aspects of teaching for and about problem solving. Problems are
valued not only as a goal but also a primary means of learning mathematics. In teaching through problem solving,
the teacher presents a mathematical concept or skill through the following steps:
a. presentation of a word problem
b. analysis of the word problem
c. introduction of the mathematical concept/skill tto solve the problem
d. discuss how the mathematical concept/skill introduced could solve the problem
e. give enough exercises to understand the concept or master the skill
f. give problems requiring application of the concept or skills developed

3. Teaching about problem solving

In teaching about problem solving, the focus is on the learning strategies and processes of problem
solving. The teacher who teaches about problem solving also teaches the heuristics or strategies which students
can use in solving problems.

LESSON EVALUATION
1. Go back to lesson activity. Identify which of the approaches was used in every situation.
2. Which approach do you think should be used in teaching mathematics?
3. Choose a math problem. Discuss the problem using the three approaches.

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