PROBLEM SOLVING IS DIFFICULT... OWS???


"Working separately, Kieffer, Albert and Onofre can accomplish a piece of work in 14, 7 and 6 days  respectively. Albert and Onofre begin working together for 2 days. Then, Kieffer joins them.  In how many days will it take them to complete the work? "

It is one of a sample problems where most students will shook their heads, circled their eyes, cross out their notes, and the like.

The questions of our students could be : is it really difficult? do our teachers taught it? do our teachers can answer this? how can i answer it?... And arriving to the statement "Teacher, why do we answer it orally?"... Without realizing that, the teacher is the one who really answer the problem and not knowing if the student understand how to do it.

Most Filipino students or teachers will answer such type of problems on using let x be the... and so on... and students or teachers only see the equations, the variables, and saying "Haay, algebra, huuh"... Where in fact, many students troubled on the use of variables, simplifying equations, evaluating equations, etc. So the point of using Algebraic Equations in answering problem solving would create another trouble.

Focusing on how other will solve it... Maybe they will use the AREA OF RECTANGLE METHOD in part of analysis and simple calculations... or BLOCK MODELLING in easy visualization of the problem and simple calculations, and many other easy method.

Let us save our students or even our self in solving complicated math problems.
Area of Rectangle Method

Model Method
Method