Training Module For Summer-Based Special Teacher
Professional Development for Mathematics Teachers
(Grade 9-12)
Unit 1: Problem-solving-based Mathematics
Instruction (4 hrs.)
In this unit, problem-solving-based approach to mathematics teaching is explained
and illustrated with mathematics examples.
Unit Outcomes
After completing this unit, you will be able to:
• Appreciate the need for a shift in thinking about mathematics instruction.
• Understand the key principles of problem-solving-based approach to teaching
mathematics.
• Apply the principles to design and teach effective problem-solving-based
mathematics lessons from the textbook.
Session 1.1: Why and how of problem-solving
approach (1 hr.)
Session Objectives:
Upon completion of this session, you will be
able to:
• Critically reflect on the value of teaching with
problems.
Activity-1: Teacher Reflection (30 minutes)
Reflect on the following questions from your prior knowledge
and experiences.
1. What mathematics teaching methods/approaches do you
know?
2. What are the main characteristics of each method/approach?
Are they different from the methods used in other subjects?
3. What mathematics teaching methods/approaches are often
used in Ethiopia? How effective are they? Why or why not?
4. Write your reflection on your note book?
Activity-2: Solving Linear Inequalities as a Case Study
(30 minutes)
Read through the two case studies on page 11-13 and then answer the
questions that follow. Share your answer to your nearby colleague, and
then to the whole class.
1. Which of these two approaches is most like the way that you
teach?
2. Which of these two approaches do you prefer and why?
3. Which of these two approaches allows for meaningful construction
of ideas?
Explain your answer.
Key Ideas
• The first approach in Case Study 1 involves going straight into
formal mathematics and using 'rules'.
• One advantage of this approach is that it is quick and easy for the
teacher, and some students may be able to answer similar questions
correctly.
• A disadvantage is that it offers little opportunity for learners to do
mathematics.
• Since learners are to follow the rules demonstrated by the teacher,
they may not construct a deep understanding of the content.
• The second approach described in Case Study 2 requires more time,
both in terms of planning outside of class and during in-class
activities.
… Key Ideas
• This approach allows students to construct their own
understanding of new content before formal definitions
and formulas are introduced by the teacher.
• Overall, the second approach emphasizes problem-solving
as a means of enhancing students' comprehension of the
subject matter and problem-solving skills.
Implications to Teaching
• What did you learn from this session and how will you
apply the notion of this session to your real classroom?
• How would you help your students benefit from this?
• Write a short paragraph summarizing the key things you
learned and things that you want to apply.
Session 1.2: Nature of Problem-solving Tasks
(1 hr.)
Session Objectives:
Upon completion of this session, you will be able to:
• Identify key characteristics of problem-solving tasks in
mathematics.
• Select and analyze appropriate tasks and problems for
learning mathematics.
Activity-1: Problem-solving Tasks? (30 minutes)
Discuss on the following questions in small groups of three to five
members.
1. What is problem-solving? What is the difference between problem-
solving and the doing of routine exercises?
2. Based on the temperature change task given on page-15; reflect on
the following questions.
a) Would you use tasks like this in your teaching? Why/Why not?
b) What are the key characteristic of the problem-solving task given
below?
c) Does it provide for learners to explore the concept in different
ways?
Key Ideas
• A mathematics problem-solving task is a task/problem that poses a
question to be answered but students do not have a readily available
memorized rules, or solution methods for answering it (Lester &
Cai, 2016; NCTM, 2000).
• This can be contrasted with the traditional approach to teaching in
which teachers explain a rule, provide an example and then drill the
learners on similar examples.
• It must be stressed that whether something is a problem or not is
dependent on the level of the problem-solver.
… Key Ideas
The temperature change task illustrates a key characteristic of a
problem-solving task:
• It provides for learners to explore the concept in practical
and different ways.
• It also provides a chance to apply and connect previously
constructed mathematical understanding.
• It focuses on equipping learners to tackle non-routine
problems.
Activity-2: Routine or Non-routine? (30 minutes)
Consider a list of six problems found on page 16-17 for
primary school learners to learn area and perimeter of
rectangles.
1. Select the problems that you would consider as routine
for the learners.
2. Select the problems that you would consider as non-
routine.
3. What are your criteria to classify the problems as routine
or non-routine?
Key Ideas
• The nature of problems presented to students is a key
aspect of teaching and learning mathematics.
• It highly influences students’ level of engagement, and,
thus, the learning outcomes achieved.
• However, not all mathematical tasks afford the same
opportunities for the same type of student learning.
• Tasks which are connected to real-life contexts and tasks
which require students to apply multiple solution
approaches provide maximal learning opportunities.
• These types of tasks are called non-routine.
… Key Ideas
• While, tasks which require students only to recall and
apply previously learned facts, rules, procedures,
formulae, or definitions are routine and cannot help them
to do mathematics.
• The focus of these types of tasks is on correct answers
and recall of basic facts rather than understanding.
Implications to Teaching
•What did you learn from this session and how
will you apply the notion of this session to your
real classroom?
•How would you help your students benefit from
this?
•Write a short paragraph summarizing the key
things you learned and things that you want to
apply.
Session 1.3: Lesson Structure (2 hrs.)
Session Objectives:
Upon completion of this session, you will be able to:
• Describe, with insight, the three-phase lesson format for
problem solving referred to as before, during and after.
• Critically describe the teacher’s actions in the before,
during and after phases of a problem-solving lesson.
• Design effective problem-based lesson from the textbook
and other resources.
Activity-1: Lesson Phases– before, during and after
(30 minutes)
Discuss the following questions in small groups of three to five
members. Write a report of your discussion.
1. What must be the teacher’s action BEFORE students start
solving the problems?
2. What is the teacher’s and students’ role DURING problem-
solving?
3. What is the teacher’s and students’ role AFTER problem-
solving?
4. Compare the structure of lessons in the two case studies
found in session 1.1 in terms of the before, during and after
lesson phases.
Key Ideas
•Teaching through problem-solving does not mean
simply providing a problem or task, sitting back
and waiting for something to happen.
•The teacher is responsible for making the
atmosphere and the lesson work.
•Van de Walle (2004) proposed three-phase lesson
structure when teaching through problem-solving:
before, during and after (See the diagram on
Page-10).
Activity-2: More on three-phase Lesson Format (30
minutes)
Discuss the following questions in pairs and share the agreed
upon answer to the whole-class.
1. If you were using the temperature change task shown on
page-6 in your classroom, what would you do during
each of the ‘before, during, and after’ phases of the
lesson? Describe each phase clearly.
2. What do you expect the learners to do during each of the
phases of the lesson?
Activity-3: Lesson Design (as a homework activity) (1 hr.)
Now let us put into practice what we have explored in this unit.
1. Choose a topic which you had planned to teach in a more
traditional way based on past experience but which you realize you
could now use problem-solving for.
2. Redesign and teach the lesson using problem-solving as your main
teaching strategy.
3. Write a comparison between the new lesson and your previous one
and answer the following questions.
a) What can you and the learners do differently?
b) Do learners learn any better or worse when you use this new
approach?
Key Ideas
•Lesson Planning is the most critical part of
teaching through problem-solving.
•The three-phase lesson format described above
provides a basic structure for problem-solving
based lessons.
•That basic structure resulted from the need for
learners to be engaged in problems followed by
discussion and reflection.
Implications to Teaching
•What did you learn from this session and how
will you apply the notion of this session to your
real classroom?
•How would you help your students benefit from
this?
•Write a short paragraph summarizing the key
things you learned and things that you want to
apply.
