Lesson 2: Analyzing Student Samples

Return to: Unit 2: How Can I Use the Mathematician's Plan in My Classroom?

Return to: Mini-course: The Mathematician's Plan: Promoting Thinking In Math

Learning Objectives

Participants will analyze student work in order to identify the area of the Mathematician’s Plan in which the student struggled in.

Mini-Lecture

First, let's look at one sample together. Remember that the steps of the Mathematician's Plan allow students to practice the skills necessary for the problem-solving process which are "problem translation, problem integration, solution planning, and solution execution" (Krawec, 2013). We will analyze the work in order to diagnose what part of the Mathematician's plan a student is struggling with. Teachers analyzing work around the Mathematician's Plan can note computational errors but the focus is around the steps of the Mathematician's Plan

Here is a piece of student work

Starting with step 1, there is evidence that the student read and understood the question. It is marked up and there is some evidence of a plan. The student knew they would have to perform two operations to eventually get the money earned walking dogs. However, the student clearly did not understand the actions in the story, as they performed the wrong operations.

Step 2 requires students to use their plan to solve. The student did have a plan, although the wrong one. The student did keep their work organized and labeled some numbers. This student could work on labeling all numbers in their work and dividing their workspace into each individual step from their plan.

Students should check their work by re-reading the question as stated in Step 3. The student did not check their work. Their answer does not appear as an answer choice. This should signal the student that something is incorrect in either their plan or their computations. The student did not re-read the question or re-solve. This student needs reinforcement in this step.

As a teacher of this student, I would focus my next lesson or intervention on Step 1 and Step 3. Both steps would have helped the student to catch their mistakes.

Your Turn

Now it is your turn to analyze student work using the Mathematician's Plan.

Directions:

1. Click HERE
2. Type in the code: B8U9JP
3. Look at the three examples and analyze the student work using all three steps of the Mathematician's Plan

References and Resources

Krawec, J., Huang, J., Montague, M., Kressler, B., & de Alba, A. M. (2013). The Effects of Cognitive Strategy Instruction on Knowledge of Math Problem-Solving Processes of Middle School Students with Learning Disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 36(2), 80–92.