Processes involved in solving mathematical problems

Abstract

This study examines one of the instructional practices features utilized within the Year 8 mathematics lessons in Brunei Darussalam. The codes from the TIMSS 1999 Video Study were applied and strictly followed, and from the 183 mathematics problems recorded, there were 95 problems with a solution presented during the public segments of the video-recorded lesson sequences of the four sampled teachers. The analyses involved firstly, identifying the processes related to mathematical problem statements, and secondly, examining the different processes used in solving the mathematical problems for each problem publicly completed during the lessons. The findings revealed that for three of the teachers, their problem statements coded as ‘using procedures’ ranged from 64% to 83%, while the remaining teacher had 40% of his problem statements coded as ‘making connections.’ The processes used when solving the problems were mainly ‘using procedures’, and none of the problems were coded as ‘giving results only’. Furthermore, all four teachers made use of making the relevant connections in solving the problems given to their respective students.