Word Problem Complexes and How to Cure Them

January 4, 2020

Sometime during their first year of school, a child is presented with a math word problem.  Having never tried solving one before, he has no reason to think that he can’t get it right.  His innocence helps him embrace the new task with alacrity.  Some of his classmates instantly answer the question correctly, but he gets it wrong.  This hardly fazes him though.  After his teacher reviews the problem, he understands his mistake, and is eager to try again soon.  The next day he’s given another word problem.  This time he gets it right.  For the remainder of kindergarten, first grade, and most of second grade, he does well with problem solving – answering many more word problems correctly than incorrectly.

Towards the end of second grade, he finds himself not liking problem solving as much as he used to.  It’s not uncommon for him to go two or three days without getting a word problem right.  Still, these downswings are usually followed by consecutive days of performing well.  Throughout the end of second and early third grade, this seesaw continues.  Sometimes he gets word problems correct but just as often he gets them wrong.  He’s doesn’t love problem solving, but he doesn’t hate it either.  Word problems are part of school, a routine chore that needs to be done.

Midway through third grade the mathematical content becomes harder and, simultaneously, word problem complexity intensifies.  He encounters more and more multi-step problems and his teacher’s explanations are confusing to him.  Once or twice a week, he answers a word problem correctly, but he finds himself liking it less and less.  Even when he’s successful, he finds problem solving frustrating.  Unlike other mathematical topics, there are no set algorithms to solve word problems.  Because each is its own entity, there is no memorized process to arrive at correct answers.  This reality leaves him feeling insecure.

By the end of third grade, he dislikes problem solving.  Midway through fourth grade, he can’t remember the last time he answered a word problem correctly, and dreads the Problem of the Day portion of math class.  At the start of fifth grade, word problems conjure such unpleasant memories that – upon seeing one – he drops his pencil in exasperation and refuses to even read the problem.

Why try? he reasons.  I’ve been in this situation many times before, and I have no hope of getting it right.

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Precipitous drops from one year to the next are common.  Upswings are rare.  This can be partially attributed to children falling behind grade level in reading and/or math, and age-induced apathy can’t be wholly discounted.  However, the trend is more the product of word problem complexes that have been unnecessarily created.

Teachers are only partially to blame for this reality.  They are not responsible for their students’ learning in previous grades, and can’t make a child concentrate and persevere.  Still, they are the only ones possessing the power to prevent word problem complexes from forming, or reversing them once they exist.

Understanding this, the great math educator engages their students in daily problem solving prior to their lesson.  During this time, they help students create success associations with word problems, while simultaneously building their powers of concentration and perseverance.  In the process, they infuse dynamism into this part of their lesson by changing the way their students experience it.