MATH STRAND II:
PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES
3. Apply appropriate notations and methods for symbolizing the problem statement and solution process.
This outcome emphasizes communicating mathematically and applying mathematics productively. Students need to be able to represent problem-solving situations using appropriate drawings, graphs, tables, number phrases or sentences, mathematical symbols, and/or words. Problem situations or operations are often presented in worded format and may be accompanied by an illustration, table, or chart. The use of notations and methods for symbolizing a problem statement do not include the use of inequalities.
4. Identify needed and given information in a problem situation as well as irrelevant information.
Students will examine problems to determine whether sufficient information has been given, what information has been included that is not needed, and what additional information may be needed. Problems are often in worded format and may be accompanied by an illustration, table, or chart.
5. Validate and/or generalize solutions and problem-solving strategies.
Problems that assess this learning outcome may have students demonstrate their understanding of different problem-solving strategies that require critical thinking and the ability to generalize. These include:
a) finding and extending a pattern and then applying the rule to a problem situation,
b) drawing conclusions about a large set of data by using a sample, or
c) solving a simpler problem (with smaller numbers) and then applying the solution to a more complicated problem.Other problems that assess this learning outcome may involve generalizing, studying the solution process, checking or verifying the correctness of a solution, finding another way to solve the problem, guessing and checking, and making a table. In these cases, the focus of the test item is not on finding the answer to a specific problem, but on reexamining the problem, the solution, or the answer.
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