The Teacher’s Role in Problem-solving: A Study of Elementary Mathematics Programs from Teachers’ Perspectives

With an increasing need in Canada to create a labour market that can help to sustain the growing knowledge-based economy, Canadian teachers are being pushed to introduce skills that are needed for students to succeed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related disciplines (Mishagina, 2012; Orpwood, Schmidt & Jun, 2012). Mathematical problem-solving is one of the fundamental STEM skills introduced to students in the elementary grades. With that in mind, this study examines the role of elementary teachers in implementing problem-solving in the context of their math programs. Using a qualitative research approach, two elementary teachers were interviewed and asked to share their experiences teaching problem-solving in their classrooms. Teachers discussed and revealed practical strategies they used to implement problem-solving tasks. The findings indicated that teachers’ actions before, during and after a problem-solving task greatly influenced the quality of the task. In addition, teachers addressed the importance of creating a classroom environment that encourages students to engage in problem-solving. These findings provide practical ideas that teachers can implement to improve their own problem-solving instruction