On 11/06/09, L wrote:
>
>
> This class is terrible at problem solving! I've been
> trying to work with them on reading and understanding a
> problem and then coming up with a suitable answer. We talk
> a lot about HOW we solved problems.
>
Keep in mind that a lot of difficulty with problem-solving is a
question of the words, not the numbers. I remember hating
"story problems" because I thought they were written on purpose
to confuse me (partly because they sounded more like very
unfunny riddles than anything else). The truth is that even
though I was pretty good at calculations *and* pretty good at
reading, I had never been taught HOW to make sense of a story
problem. I got so I could do it eventually, but it was a very
head-battering-against-wall process, and I have to think that
there must be more obvious ways to teach the appropriate
techniques.

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