Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/10497/14428
Title: | Authors: | Issue Date: | 2008 |
Citation: | Wong, K. Y. (2008). Success and consistency in the use of heuristics to solve mathematics problems. In G. Merrilyn, B. Ray & M. Katie (Eds.), Navigating currents and charting directions: Proceedings of the 31st annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, University of Queensland, Brisbane 28th June-1st July 2008 (pp 589-595). Adelaide, S.A.: Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia. |
Abstract: | The ability to solve mathematics problems is the main goal of mathematics education in many countries. This ability depends on coordinating several types of knowledge and mathematical processes, especially heuristics. Commonly used heuristics include guess and check, draw a diagram, logical argument, and simplifying the problem. This paper describes the heuristics used by a sample of Primary 5 (n = 221) and Secondary 1 (n = 64) Singapore pupils to solve problems like this one: “There are 100 buns to be shared by 100 monks. The senior monks get 3 buns each and 3 junior monks share 1 bun. How many senior monks are there?” The pupils solved two sets of problems; the second set consisted of parallel problems to the first set but was administered a few months later. The pupils’ written solutions were analysed according to the heuristics used. A comparison of the heuristics used between the two parallel tests shows that some pupils did not use similar heuristics to solve parallel problems. This issue of consistency in heuristic use should be further researched to unravel its implications for the teaching of heuristics. |
Description: | This paper was published in the 2008 proceedings of the 31st Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia Incorporated (MERGA 2008) on "Navigating Currents and Charting Directions", held in Brisbane, Australia from 28 Jun to 1 Jul 2008 |
URI: | ISBN: | 9781920846163 9781920846176 |
Website: | File Permission: | Open |
File Availability: | With file |
Appears in Collections: | Conference Papers |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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MERGA-2008-589-WongKY_a.pdf | 396.9 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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