Word Problems in My Own Teaching

 Although I’ve come to appreciate the value of word problems in a historic context, I can’t help but feel that much of their original purpose is obsolete in the modern age, particularly with the normalization of algebra. In our age, I feel the main value these problems offer is the translation of stories to algebra. This type of modelling is a ‘real-world’ skill, even if the quantities described are unrealistic. However, because these word problems have the opportunity to tell stories, I believe the types of word problems we choose to implement should focus more heavily on student engagement. Although we might hope for students to let their imaginations run wild (as suggested in the comic on the blog), the truth is many students will scan questions, extract the needed information, and ignore the story. I believe the story could serve a much higher purpose.

In my classroom, I hope to have students engage with word problems by offering them choice. I see this idea reflected in ‘fair share’ questions – here, the student first chooses and/or motivates the question and model. This element of choice shows them how they might apply math in the real world – particularly, how they may need to translate their own ideas into an algebraic model. It is in this way that I hope to use word problems.

As a final note, I don’t see how I will make direct use of more classic word problems. Perhaps they will serve as source material as I look to develop my own, choice-oriented questions. Perhaps I will incorporate them as a historic novelty while trying to give context for problems. Regardless, I do not expect that classic word problems, out of context, will have a place in my classroom.