PROCEEDINGS OF THE 17TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2014
Denver, Colorado
The Value of Systematic Listing in Correctly Solving Counting Problems
Page: 836
Although counting problems are easy to state and provide rich, accessible problem solving situations, there is much evidence that students struggle with solving counting problems correctly. With combinatorics (and the study of counting problems) becoming increasingly prevalent in K-12 and undergraduate curricula, there is a need for researchers to identify potentially effective instructional interventions that might give students greater success as they solve counting problems. In this study, we tested one such intervention – having students engage in systematic listing of what they were trying to count. We found that even creating partial lists of the set of outcomes was a significant factor in students’ success on problems. Our findings suggest that more needs to be done to refine instructional interventions that will facilitate listing. We discuss these findings, suggest follow-up studies, and request feedback from the audience.