Problem solving framework

Himanshi Agarwal

Well-known member
Here are six sections in the Problem Solving Framework as well as some thoughts about each one:
  • What problem are you trying to figure out?
  • What guesses do you have?
  • What do you already know from the problem?
  • What do you need to know to solve the problem?
  • What is your conclusion?
  • Your work.
 

poornima lagadapati

Active member
1. What problem are you trying to figure out?
This is where students write down the main task or question. If you discuss several potential questions during class, you might want to have students peek at their classmates’ paper to make sure that everyone has roughly the same question.
2. What guesses do you have?
Asking students to take a guess helps them engage with the problem solving process. The act of taking a guess makes you reflect on a possible strategy for solving the problem, and leads into the next row beautifully. Note that guesses could be “best guess”, “a guess you know is too low and a guess you know is too high”, or even “a guess you know is definitely wrong”. All of these will get them thinking.
3. What do you already know from the problem?
This is where students will start to inventory the information the already know from the problem. Sometimes it may have all the students need. Other times it may be nearly empty.
4. What do you need to know to solve the problem?
Students may have trouble with this section because many commonly used problems give students all the information they need. As a result, the ability to think about what information they need to acquire may be underdeveloped.
5. What is your conclusion? How did you reach that conclusion?
Even though this section is on the bottom of the first page, it is the last one completed. I put it on the front so it is easier to scan as a student work sample. It is filled in after students have solved the problem and recorded their work in the “Your work section”. This is where students marry the math content with the context from the problem. I tell kids that “this is where you get to show off” and how I want them to explain how they solved the problem. If two students got the same answer but using different methods, I would certainly expect that to be obvious in this section because the description of how they solved it should match the method they used.
6. Your work
This is the large section on the back of the double-sided sheet where students do the majority of their problem-solving and calculations.
 

poornima lagadapati

Active member
1. What problem are you trying to figure out?
This is where students write down the main task or question. If you discuss several potential questions during class, you might want to have students peek at their classmates’ paper to make sure that everyone has roughly the same question.
2. What guesses do you have?
Asking students to take a guess helps them engage with the problem solving process. The act of taking a guess makes you reflect on a possible strategy for solving the problem, and leads into the next row beautifully. Note that guesses could be “best guess”, “a guess you know is too low and a guess you know is too high”, or even “a guess you know is definitely wrong”. All of these will get them thinking.
3. What do you already know from the problem?
This is where students will start to inventory the information the already know from the problem. Sometimes it may have all the students need. Other times it may be nearly empty.
4. What do you need to know to solve the problem?
Students may have trouble with this section because many commonly used problems give students all the information they need. As a result, the ability to think about what information they need to acquire may be underdeveloped.
5. What is your conclusion? How did you reach that conclusion?
Even though this section is on the bottom of the first page, it is the last one completed. I put it on the front so it is easier to scan as a student work sample. It is filled in after students have solved the problem and recorded their work in the “Your work section”. This is where students marry the math content with the context from the problem. I tell kids that “this is where you get to show off” and how I want them to explain how they solved the problem. If two students got the same answer but using different methods, I would certainly expect that to be obvious in this section because the description of how they solved it should match the method they used.
6. Your work
This is the large section on the back of the double-sided sheet where students do the majority of their problem-solving and calculations.
 
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