Browsing by Author "Kojo, Aura"

Problem solving is a process in which we have to utilize our knowledge in a new way. The teacher can greatly influence how students' mathematical problem solving process progresses. Usually teachers guide students by asking questions. There are several types of questions and ways of guiding. The purpose of this study is to find out, how teachers guide students during a mathematics problem solving lessons, what kind of questions they ask, and what kind of solutions their students get. The analysis follows the qualitative research methodology. The dataset used in this study contained videotaped fourth grade math lessons where the students solved a mathematical problem. The lessons were a part of a broader study in which the teachers had been giving problem solving lessons to the pupils during three years. The data analysis was based on a theoretical framework in which the teachers' questions and guidance are categorized. I also studied the structure of the lessons and categorized the answers of the students according to the applied solutions strategies and the obtained results. The research reveals that teachers can guide students in different ways. It is possible that the teacher reveals too much about the problem, preventing the students from searching for their own solution strategies. This is the reason why we need more than merely problem-solving exercises - we need to study, how teachers should guide students during problem-solving lessons. According to this study, the guidance appears to affect the students' solutions. Motivation and introduction to the problem, especially how the teachers explained the relevant concepts, seemed to influence the students' work. There was also a connection between the teachers' questions and their guiding-levels. The teacher asking many probing and guiding questions was guiding in an activating way, while the teacher with fewer questions guided in an inactivating way. As a conclusion, I discuss what kind of questions would help the teacher to guide in an activating way, which should be the goal according to the constructive learning theory.