Influence of teachers’ pedagogical knowledge on their classroom practice when solving arithmetic word problems with their students. An exploratory study / Influencia del conocimiento pedagógico del profesorado en su práctica de aula cuando resuelve problemas aritméticos verbales con su alumnado. Un estudio exploratorio

Abstract

When primary school teachers solve arithmetic word problems with their students, they usually do so in a superficial manner, even when their semantic-mathematical structures are challenging and contain problem-solving aids. This could be due to the pedagogical knowledge that teachers have about teaching how to solve this type of problem. The aim of this study was to explore whether teachers with different levels of this knowledge solved standard problems (nonchallenging and without aids) and rewritten problems (challenging and with aids to reasoning) in different ways. A sample of eight teachers (four with high knowledge, four with low knowledge) were recorded and analysed solving two standard and two rewritten problems. The results showed that the teachers with high knowledge used more interaction cycles (mainly dedicated to reasoning) to solve the standard problems and especially the rewritten ones. This study is an initial approach to understanding teachers’ problem-solving behaviour and highlights the importance of developing their knowledge in how to teach problem-solving.