My student at Houston Elementary tended to use a direct model approach to almost all of the problems. This really worked for her in solving problems, however I do think that she was able to use other math skills to solve some of the problems.
Problem - Multiplication Equal Groups
Jesses has 3 pockets. He puts 2 pennies in each pocket. How many pennies does Jesse have?
The student used a direct model approach with this problem. She first counted out three "pockets" by using red manipulatives. She then counted out 2 black manipulatives and placed them in the "pockets". She then counted 1 at a time to get to 6.
While her strategy was effective, I think my student could have solved the problem differently in the following ways:
-Instead of counted from 1 to 6, she could have added 2+2+2 to get 6.
-Instead of direct modeling, she could have used math fact knowledge to know that 3x2=6.
I could tell that my student really wanted to show how she was able to solve a question instead of finding the answer. This was great because I got to see how her mind was working, however at times she was confused throughout her showing process and was unable to solve the problem without guidance.
Mandi, I think it is interesting that your student seemed to maybe be confusing herself even more. This reminds me of a lot of us when we are asked to think about our math processes. Most of us are very used to working problems with algorithms and when I am asked to show this process with pictures or manipulatives, it is sometimes more confusing. In this case, I think it is important to recognize that we need to not only be certain not to discriminate against inventive math strategies, but also to appreciate the students who work best with the most efficient way to solve the problem, in some cases, an algorithm.
ReplyDeleteMandi,
ReplyDeleteYour post reminded me of a point that sometimes students need to be shown how to use manipulatives. In this example, it seems like she did well, but I could see how she could get confused if she has never worked with them before.
Jennifer