Mathematical Problem-Solving in Action: Teachers' Strategies and Approaches in the Classroom

The development of students' mathematical problem-solving skills is contingent upon the approaches and methods employed by primary school teachers. This research endeavors to scrutinize the effectiveness of primary school teachers in their roles within the problem-solving process, with particular attention directed toward their inquiry techniques, instructional approaches, and responses to student errors. Employing as a explanatory mixed-design research, firstly quantitative data were obtained from the primary school teachers (N=116) and analyzed by applying the questionnaire form developed by the researchers; additionally, qualitative data were obtained by conducting focus group interviews with a subset of participants (N=6) based on the information obtained from these data. Thereby, teachers get the opportunity to share their ideas in the process. Second phase of the research aimed to develop the active roles of the participants in the problem-solving process. The research outcomes underscore that teachers frequently gravitate toward questioning techniques and teaching methods that promote a nuanced comprehension of the problem. There also appears to be an underutilization of inquiries pertaining to prediction, generalization, and collaborative group work. Furthermore, the research unveils an array of strategies employed by teachers to rectify student errors. These encompass commonly employed techniques such as question-answer, exemplification, and lecture responses, irrespective of the specific type of question posed. [This paper was published in: "EJER Congress 2023 International Eurasian Educational Research Congress Conference Proceedings," Ani Publishing, 2023, pp. 476-492.]