Strategies used by Grade 6 learners when solving mathematics story problems

Abstract

The study reported in this article sought to investigate factors that affect learners' academic achievement in Grade 6 mathematics word problems. Furthermore, the article discusses errors made by the learners when they solve word problems. The study used document analysis in a form of learners' written work (or test) in order to collect quantitative data. The results obtained from a test consisting of six word problem tasks showed that learners struggled with realistic considerations of problem statement as well as with making meaning of situations embedded in the task. In brief, reading instructions aloud repeatedly and explaining key mathematical concepts have emerged as key strategies in understanding and solving word problems in mathematics. The study therefore argues that it does not matter how complex or easy a word problem appears to be; what is important is the ability of the brain to connect the mathematics embedded in a problem statement with real-life situations in order to make meaning of the world.