| High school Algebra I students often have great difficulties solving word problems. Typically, students are taught procedures to solve specific types of word problems rather than given the opportunity to create their own problem solving solutions. A structured student group work approach to problem solving guides student groups through various problem solving tasks using scaffolded worksheets. Twenty-four 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students worked in small groups to complete fifteen scaffolded word problems activities over the course of two months. Both English Learners and Englishproficient students showed improvement between the pre and post word problem tests. However, some of this success was due to students’ increased use of informal solution strategies on the posttest, rather than strategies explicitly modeled in the group activities. Although these results suggest that students can learn how to solve word problems without procedural instructions from a teacher, guidance from an instructor would be beneficial in helping students recognize and develop specific and more formal problem solving strategies. |
