• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.87-103
• /
• 2013

This study was investigated to examine the effects of writing activities based on Polya's Problem Solving Stages on Learning Accomplishment and Attitudes. A total of 54 students were selected from two Grade 6 classes of P Elementary School in G City to form an experimental group(n=27) and a control group (n=27). The experimental group was applied to a class which was creating writing activities according to Polya's Problem Solving Stages to problem solving and inquiry activities. The control group was taught by the traditional method to the same activities. The five questions for each area were selected as a descriptive assessment of the second semester of Grade 5 in the area of the Academic Achievement pre-test, developed by the G Education and Science Research. The post-test was selected by a descriptive assessment of the content of the first semester in Grade 6. The same questions were posed for both the pre-test and the post-test of the Mathematical Attitudes assessment. We examined the pre-test at the beginning of the school term, then the students were re-examined after one semester, using the same questions as the pre-test. This research showed that there was a meaningful difference in Learning Accomplishment as a result of T-test in the 5% level of significance. Secondly, there was a meaningful difference in the Mathematical Attitudes as a result of T-tests. It shows that writing activities based on Polya's Problem Solving Stages have an influence on improving Learning Accomplishment and Attitudes.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.23-31
• /
• 2002

The purpose of this study is to analyze thinking process in problem solving and to get some teaching materials to improve students' problem solving abilities. For this study, 14 girl and boy students in highschool were tested with 7 testing questions. The whole process of students' problem solving was observed by using 'Thinking aloud', recorded by Audio Tape and finally drawn up to Protocol. On the basis of that Protocol, coding system was set up and characteristics of thinking process in each stage were analyzed. -In the stage of planning, successful problem solvers tried to check the properties of words included in problems(Pr) and made it clear that they were seeking(O) -In the stage of planning, students used abstraction strategy(Ab, making equation(E) or using variable(V)) appropriately could solve more difficult problems. Successful problem solvers turned used unsystematical trial into systematical method and were good at using partial objects, assistant factors. - In the stage of carring out the plan, successful problem solvers to reduce the error, check the purpose, used formula, knowledge and calculation. -In the looking back stage, successful problem solvers generalized the answer and checked the total process.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.303-322
• /
• 2007

This study is to investigate student's processes of problem solving using open-ended Geometric problems to understand student's thinking and behavior. One 8th grader participated in performing her learning in 5 lessons for June in 2006. The result of the study was documented according to Polya's four problem solving stages as follows: First, the student tended to neglect the stage of "understanding" a problem in the beginning. However, the student was observed to make it simplify and relate to what she had teamed previously Second, "devising a plan" was not simply done. She attempted to solve the open-ended problems with more various ways and became to have the metacognitive knowledge, leading her to think back and correct her errors of solving a problem. Third, in process of "carrying out" the plan she controled her solving a problem to become a better solver based on failure of solving a problem. Fourth, she recognized the necessity of "looking back" stage through the open ended problems which led her to apply and generalize mathematical problems to the real life. In conclusion, it was found that the student enjoyed her solving with enthusiasm, building mathematical belief systems with challenging spirit and developing mathematical power.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.329-350
• /
• 2019

Productive struggle is a student's persevering effort to understand mathematical concepts and solve challenging problems that are not easily solved, but the problem can lead to curiosity. Productive struggle is a key component of students' learning mathematics with a conceptual understanding, and supporting it in learning mathematics is one of the most effective mathematics teaching practices. In comparison to research on students' productive struggles, there is little research on preservice mathematics teachers' productive struggles. Thus, this study focused on the productive struggles that preservice mathematics teachers face in solving a non-routine mathematics problem. Polya's four-step problem-solving process was used to analyze the collected data. Examples of preservice teachers' productive struggles were analyzed in terms of each stage of the problem-solving process. The analysis showed that limited prior knowledge of the preservice teachers caused productive struggle in the stages of understanding, planning, and carrying out, and it had a significant influence on the problem-solving process overall. Moreover, preservice teachers' experiences of the pleasure of learning by going through productive struggle in solving problems encouraged them to support the use of productive struggle for effective mathematics learning for students, in the future. Therefore, the study's results are expected to help preservice teachers develop their professional expertise by taking the opportunity to engage in learning mathematics through productive struggle.