The purpose of this study was to investigate solution strategies that Thai second
graders used to solve addition and subtraction word problems. Fifty-eight children
participated in this study, 40 children took a written test, and 18 children participated in
an interview. In addition, two classrooms were selected for observation, and six second-grade
teachers completed a questionnaire regarding their understanding of mathematical
problem solving.
The results indicated that Thai children in this study were successful in solving
addition and subtraction word problems. For addition word problems, the compare
problem and the join problem were the easiest problems. The combine problem was
moderately difficult. For subtraction word problems, the compare problem and the
separate problem were easy while the combine problem was difficult. The join problem
was the most difficult subtraction word problem. Since word problems used in this study
contained mostly two-digit numbers, Thai children in this study used knowledge such as
borrowing, carrying and regrouping to solve two-digit addition and subtraction word
problems. Most Thai children in this study used counting strategies with fingers to solve both addition and subtraction word problems. Counting on strategies were most often used for addition word problems and counting up strategies were most often used for subtraction word problems. Counting all strategies were not used by Thai children in this study. Other strategies that were not based on counting strategies were also found. Those strategies were using tallies, using a known number fact, using an invented fingers model, and using a base-ten strategy.
The strategies that Thai children used to solve word problems were not different from those used by children in United States and other countries such as Korea. Most children used three basic strategies to solve word problems: counting strategies; using a known number fact; and using a base-ten strategy. However, the base-ten strategy was not usually used by children in United States. The base-ten strategy was used by Thai children in this study and in Asia countries such as Korea. Moreover, the findings showed that Thai children in this study used mostly fingers to represent counting sequences while children in the United States used other physical objects such as cubes and counters.
In observing Thai classroom instruction and having Thai teachers complete the questionnaire, the results suggested that Thai teachers in this study viewed problems as routine word problems and viewed problem solving as solving routine word problems. Teachers did not emphasize problem solving, reasoning, and thinking skills. As a result, children developed memorizing skills rather than thinking and reasoning skills. Children had never explored different types of word problems and non-routine problems, so when the children were faced with problems that differed from their school mathematics instruction, for the most part, children were unable to solve the problems. / Graduation date: 1999
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/33955 |
| Date | 18 March 1999 |
| Creators | Swangrojn, Porntip |
| Contributors | Erickson, Dianne K. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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