An investigation of the strategies of fourth graders In solving consistent and inconsistent language problems

• Main Author: Marcelino, Bernice Lhee C.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2006
• Subjects: Word problems (Mathematics); Science and Mathematics Education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/6790
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study investigated the problem solving strategies used by fourth graders in solving word problems constructed using the consistent language (CL) and inconsistent language (IL). A CL problem is a word problem where the unknown set is the grammatical subject of the second sentence and the relational term is consistent with the required arithmetic operation. An IL problem is a problem where the unknown set is the object of the second sentence, and the relational term is in conflict with the required arithmetic operation. One intact class of thirty-six Fourth Graders was randomly selected to answer a diagnostic test made up of 6 items, 3 of which are CL and the other 3 are IL problems. The respondents were asked to show solutions and through an interview, explain their solutions, retell the word problems in their own way and asked whether they utilized the keyword strategy in the said test. The results show that students were more accustomed to CL problems rather than IL problems and the keyword strategy is not a useful tool in solving word problems in particular IL problems. Students who did not rely on the keyword strategy performed better than those who used the said strategy.