Writing about the mathematical problem-solving process to help nontraditional college students solve mathematics problems in a beginning algebra course.

This study was designed to test two promising instructional procedures for helping nontraditional (returning-adult, mostly African-American) college students become more competent problem solvers. The two treatment groups learned to use executive processes and heuristic strategies while problem solving. One group also wrote about the process. Data from pretests, posttests, and homework problems of eighty-five beginning algebra college students were collected during the four-month study. Achievement data were analyzed with analyses of variance and post hoc procedures. The study showed that students tried to use executive processes and heuristic strategies while solving problems, but their use did not significantly improve the problem-solving performances of nontraditional college students taking beginning algebra. However, learning to use executive processes and heuristic strategies, while completing associated writing activities, did effectively improve the problem-solving performances of the students. The writing activities provided support for students and helped them to understand more clearly the problem-solving process. The writing component of the treatment seemed to accelerate the effects of using executive processes and heuristic strategies. Problem-solving performances of the treatment group using writing were greater than those of the treatment group using executive processes and heuristic strategies alone. Writing about the problem-solving process helped students to organize their thought processes when attempting to solve problems, which apparently helped them to learn to use executive processes and heuristic strategies more quickly and more effectively than students who did not complete writing activities.Ph.D.EducationHigher educationMathematics educationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/130865/2/9811219.pd