This week we've been dissecting word problems. We've been using the SRSD approach to pay attention to specific math vocabulary, the models/pictures the problem words make in our minds or on paper, and the purpose of the problem. We've also identified what it is the project prompts us to do, the important details that inform that action, and ultimately the evaluation and explanation. In some ways this step-by-step dissection is tedious, laborious, and challenging. It's not most students nature to slow down to pay attention to every little detail, but I know that making the time to do this changes the way students see and respond to problems later on. Until you make the time to slow it down, dissect, and complete a problem step-by-step, students don't really understand how to tackle the complexity of the problem no matter where it comes from.
