The action esearch of exploring teaching mathematics to the 4th graders in Taiwan using cooperative learning for enhancing word problem-solving literacy

Year: 2012

Author: Shiao, Yueh-Suey, Li, Li-Hua

Type of paper: Abstract refereed

Abstract:

Teacher/researcher collaborative action research explores the implementation of a cooperative group learning model- "think, write, pair, share" for enhancing problem-solving literacy in a fourth graders' mathematics classroom in Taiwan. The 33 students of the coauthor's class participated in the study and were divided into six groups based on gender and math grades. The research covered the two units, "Fractions" and "Integer Arithmetic-mixed operations involving using order of operations and parentheses ", which were taught in fifteen 40- minute sessions during 4 weeks. The instruction of the two units was designed based on cooperative learning and the constructivist approach, and usually started with solving a math word problem by the students to understand their preconceptions. The study was conducted in four phases. During the first phase, students first worked independently to write down their own solutions and processes of math word problems, and then were paired to share them. After sharing the teacher chose some students to report them to the whole class and discuss with the classmates. During the second phase, after solving the problems, students shared their solutions first with their paired partner and then with other group members, and later a representative from each group shared the solutions with the whole class and answered questions or discrepancies proposed by peers. The third phase differed in that after students shared the solutions with each other in groups, they were asked to mark errors they had found and corrected them. The process of the fourth phase differed in that after the students solved the problems, they had to record their thinking processes of solving them as a type of reflection. A variety of data was collected to understand the students' problem-solving literacy. Students' solutions and their thinking process records of solving the problems, the correct percentage of solving each problem, and pre- and post-tests results of each unit, students' interviews, and the video tapes and transcripts of classroom discussions were used to analyzed the reading and writing ability. The major results are as follows: 1) The correct percentage in the post-tests increased; 2) From the records of solutions and their thinking process, diverse types of writing, and correct percentage of solving the word problems, the ability to read problems and write solution and thinking processed was enhanced; 3) The students' interviews showed the peer support increased while working with group members, especially for slow learners.

Back