Problem Solving

PRIMALS 4-6: Pedagogical Retooling in

Mathematics, Languages, and Science
for Grades 4-6 Teachers
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Objectives:
At the end of the session, teachers should be able to:

1. Differentiate routine from non-routine problems;

2. Apply Polya’s 4-step heuristics of problem-solving;

3. Solve non-routine problems using appropriate problem-solving

strategy/ies; and

4. Construct sample non-routine problems.

 Overview of
session
• Introduction
• Polya’s problem-solving
principles
• Routine and non-routine
problems
• Problem-solving strategies
Activity 1- “Think- Pair- Share Activity”

A Math Club has only one member at the

start of the school year. If each member
recruits two new ones each month, how
many members will the club have at the end
of 10 months?
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Show possible solutions.

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Activity 2 - “Problematic Six”

1. Divide the participants into six (6) groups.

2. Distribute the activity sheets.

3. Group the word problem into two and explain

how the problems are grouped.
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Guide Questions:
1. How did you group the word problems?

2. What was your basis in classifying the word problems?

3. Why did you group the “problems” in such a manner?

4. What label will you give to each of your groups?

- routine and non-routine?
-simple and complex?
-exercises and problems?
5. What appropriate strategies were employed in solving word
problems?
 Activity 2 - “Problematic Six”
1. Mina bought . 2 2/2 kilos of pork and 2 4/5 kilos of
chicken for a party, How many kilos of meat did she buy
in all?

2. Eggs are priced at Php 60 a dozen. How much will Eloy

pay for 4 eggs?

3. Ariel walks 1 ½ km to school while JR walks 2 km to

school. How much farther does JR walk?
4. Mr Cruz has 17 buses and wants to give ½ of it to Ana,
1/3 of it to Bing and 1/6 of it to Carl. How can this be
done?

5. Dar has a 60 meter long fencing material enough for his

vegetable garden. How big is his garden?

6. A meter of cotton material costs Php 25 and a meter of

lace material costs Php 50. How much change will Evie
get from Php 1,000 if she buys 3 ½ m of cotton and 9 m
of lace?
Classification of word problems
Group A Group B
 What is a routine problem?

… a is a translation problem for which you can

write an equation
 What is a non-routine problem?

… a situation that requires a resolution, and for

which no path to the answer is readily known…
(Posementier and Krulik, 2015)
 Problem Solving vs. Algorithms
• Algorithms are task specific, whereas problem
solving requires a more general approach.

• An algorithm guarantees success if applied

correctly and if the proper algorithm has been
selected.
Problem solving emerges as a process

Problem solving is the means by which an individual

uses previously acquired knowledge, skills, and
understanding to satisfy the demands of an
unfamiliar situation.
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“learning to solve problems is the principal reason for

studying mathematics” – NCTM 1977, 2000
 Problem Solving can and should be
taught!

The process has been analyzed and can be represented

as a series of steps, referred to as heuristic plan, or
simply, heuristics.
Polya’s problem-solving steps (1957)

• Understand
• Plan
• Do
• Check back
Flowchart of the Problem Solving Process
Read Explore Select a Find an Reflect &
& Plan Strategy Answer Extend
& Think

5a Check your answer

• Is the computation correct?

• Is the question answered?

1a Identify the facts. 2a Organize the 3a Pattern Recognition 4a Estimate
• Is the answer reasonable?
1b Identify the information 3b Working backwards 4b Use
• How does the answer
question 2b Is there sufficient 3c Guess and test computational
compare to your estimate?
1c Visualize the information? 3d Simulation or skills
5b Find an alternate solution
situation 2c Is there too much experimentation 4c Use algebraic
information? skills 5c What if…?
1d Describe the 3e Reduction or
setting. 2d Draw a diagram or 4d Use geometric 5d Extend to either
expansion
1e Restate the action construct a model. skills • A generalization or
3f Organized listing
2e Make a chart, a 4e Use a • A mathematical concept
3g Logical deduction
table, a graph, or calculator/comput 5e Discuss the solutions
3h Divide and Conquer
a drawing er when 5f Create interesting
3i Write an equation appropriate variations of the original
problem.
 Activity 3 - “ Magic Twelve”

1. Divide the participants into six (6) groups.

2. Distribute the activity sheets with twelve word

problems.

3. Report.
 Magic Twelve Problems
1. Fides bought a doll for 50 pesos and sold it for
60 pesos. The next day, Fides bought the same
doll for 70 pesos and sold it again for 80 pesos.
Did Fides gain or lose? By how much?

How will you show that your answer is correct?

 Karl Friedrich Gauss

2. Find the sum of the first 100 counting

numbers.

1+2+3+…=n
 Mathsticks
3. Get 12 matchsticks and form 4
congruent squares with it.
• Remove 4 sticks to form two
congruent squares.
• Remove 2 sticks to form 2
squares.
• Remove 4 sticks to form a
square.
• Remove 2 sticks to form 2
rectangles.
• Remove 2 sticks to form 3
congruent squares.
4. An 16-foot piece of log. How many cuts are
needed to have pieces that are 2 ft each?
5. Old McDonald had a farm and in this farm, he had
37 animals (chickens and pigs). Altogether, the
animals had 98 legs. How many chickens and how
many pigs are there?
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6. Place the numbers

1- 6 in each shape
such that the sum in any
direction is the same.
What is the sum?
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Brad went to store A and spent ½ of his

money. He then went to store B and
spent ½ of his money. He went to
store C and spent ½ of his money.
Now he had Php1 left. How much
money did he have at the start?
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Ten people in a room.

Each one shakes the hand
of every other person in the
room once. How many
handshakes are there in
all?
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Eight antique coins,

one of which is fake
and weighs less.
How can you find the
fake coin in:
1. three weighings
2. two weighings
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Ted spent 10 more

minutes asleep in class
than he spent awake.
The class is one hour
long. How long was he
asleep?
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Draw 4 lines that will pass through all the

nine dots.

. . .
. . .
. . .
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Paul, Sam, and Tom differ in height. Their last

names are Santos, Javier, and Cruz but not
necessarily in that order. Paul is taller than Tom
but shorter than Sam. Santos is the tallest of the
three and Cruz is the shortest. What are Paul’s
and Tom’s last names?
 Problem solving strategies

• Act it out
• Find and use a pattern
• Use a model
• Make a diagram
Problem solving strategies

• Make a table/graph
• Trial and error
• Work backward
• Solve a simpler problem
Problem solving strategies

• Logical reasoning
• Write an equation
• Change point of view
• Account for all possibilities
Some instructional considerations:

• Problems with no data

• Problems with missing data
• Problems with extra data
• Problems with no question
Some instructional considerations:

• Equation – write a problem

• What ifs…
• Change a condition in the problem…
• Use of technology
 No data

Woodworks Co makes cabinets in

two lengths.

If one of each length of cabinet

were placed end to end, would
they fit against a wall?
 No data
Woodworks Co makes cabinets
in two lengths: ____ inches and
____ inches.

If one of each length of cabinet

were placed end to end, would
they fit against a ____ - inch
wall?
 Missing data

Woodworks Co finishes the

sides of a bookcase by gluing a
strip of narra 5 7/8 in wide
beside another strip of narra.
What is the total width of the
side?
 Extra data

Mon bought 2 1/3 kilos of bananas, ¼ kilo of flour,

and ½ kilo of sugar to bake a cake. He spent P145
in all. How many kilos of ingredients did he buy?
 Missing question

A rectangular vegetable garden is 8 ½ ft long and 3 ¼ ft wide.

Given a question – write a problem

12 ¼ - 6 ½ = n
Change a condition in the problem

Zen is trimming a picture to fit in a frame.

The picture is 8 ¼ in wide while the frame is
7 ½ in wide. How much does Zen need to
trim from the picture?
 What if ….

Menu
Any sandwich P 14.50
Any drink 5.00
Any dessert 8.00
--- combo?
Use of technology
Making non-routine problems a part of the curriculum

• Problem of the week

• At the start
• At the end
• No written homework
• For motivation
• For home-school collaboration
 Activity 4 – “ Problem Shift ”
Construct a non-routine problem.

Cheska bought 5 ½ m of cotton for curtains. She finds that she

needs 8 1/4 m to put curtains in all the windows. How much
cotton does she still need to buy?

a. To a problem with missing data

b. To a problem with extra data
I had an hour to solve a
problem I'd spend 55
minutes thinking about
the problem and 5
minutes thinking about
solutions.”
― Albert Einstein
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Thank you!
References
• Cathcart, G et. al. (2011). Developing Mathematical
Thinking and Problem-Solving Ability in Learning
Mathematics. pp 39-59. Allyn and Bacon. Pearson
Education: Boston, MA
• Long, Calvin T and deTemple, Duane W (2006)
Thinking Critically in. Mathematical Reasoning for
Elementary Teachers. pp3-51. Pearson
Education:Boston, MA
• Posamentier,, Alfred and Krulik, Stephen
(2015).Problem-Solving Strategies in Mathematics.
World Scientific Pub Co Pte Ltd Singapore.
References
• Sonnabend, Thomas (2010). in Mathematics for
Teachers. pp. 258-303. Brooks/Cole Cengage
Learning:Canada.
• Sullivan, Peter and Lilburn, Pat (2002). Good
Questions for Math Teaching. Math solutions:
Sausalito, CA.
• Tipps, Steve, Johnson, Art, and Kennedy, Leonard
(2011). Developing Problem-Solving Strategies in
Guiding Children’s Learning of Mathematics.
pp133-156. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning:
Belmont, CA.