The master's thesis titled Strategies of Solving Mathematical Problems in Year 5 Primary School Students treats the concept of a mathematical problem, the role of knowledge for problem solving, a series of mathematical problems, the process of problem solving and generalizations, mathematical problems in the 2011 curriculum of mathematics and the results of a 2012 TIMSS study in the field of solving mathematical problems.
The empirical parts presents an analysis of the appropriateness and effectiveness of the strategies used to solve two selected procedural problems, the abilities of inductive reasoning of fifth grade pupils and their views on solving mathematical problems. The study involved 56 fifth grade pupils. Data was collected through examination and a questionnaire on their views.
The results have shown that the students used several different strategies to solve problems. Some of these were appropriate while others were not. In solving some problems the majority of students were not the very successful since they encountered several issues. However, it can be noticed that those students who are good at math were better in solving selected problems and vice versa. Only few have been able to form a generalization and substantiate it in a new problem. For our sample, we can assert that boys have performed better than girls.
Research shows that pupils rarely encounter such mathematical problems during class and that they want to have more knowledge to solve them. They also believe that such problems are not appropriate only for good mathematicians.
The obtained results are of great help to teachers to further their teaching and understanding of their pupils' strategies, ways of thinking and abilities to generalize in the fifth grade of primary school.
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