The effect of learning environments based on problem solving on students’ achievements of problem solving

Abstract

Problem solving is recognized as an important life skill involving a range of processes including analyzing, interpreting, reasoning, predicting, evaluating and reflecting. For that reason educating students as efficient problem solvers is an important role of mathematics education. Problem solving skill is the centre of mathematics curriculum. Students’ gaining of that skill in school mathematics is closely related with the learning environment to be formed and the roles given to the students. The aim of this study is to create a problem solving based learning environment to enhance the students’ problem solving skill. Within this scope, students’ practiced activities and problems that provide them to proceed in Polya (1945)’s problem solving phases and throughout the study, students’ success in problem solving have been evaluated. While experimental group students received problem solving based learning environment performed, control group students have continued their present program in this quise-experimental study. Eleven problem solving activities were given to the students at the beginning, middle and end of the study and the students’ performances were analyzed based on problem solving phases. The findings illustrated that the experimental group students’ success in problem solving activities has increased while the control group students’ success has not changed significantly.

Keywords

• Mathematics Education
• Problem Solving
• Polya’s Problem Solving Phases