Supporting teachers in supporting students’ mathematical problem solving

Abstract

The purpose of this intervention study was to develop and evaluate a support model for teachers, designed to assist them in diagnosing students’ (age 16–19 years) difficulties and providing feedback to support students’ mathematical problem solving. Reporting on an iteration in a design research project, the results showed that the support helped the teachers to provide less procedural information and instead help students construct solutions for themselves. Constraints in achieving this included the nature of some tasks, difficulties in making reasonable diagnoses, and students’ inability to communicate their difficulties.