Vad står det i uppgiften? – Sex lärares upplevelser av elevers matematiksvårigheter relaterat till läsförståelse.

Abstract

In math class pupils meet different types of tasks. Some of the tasks are word-problems or problem-solving tasks that require that the pupils read and comprehend texts to understand what their assignment involves. The research question and purpose of this thesis aims to shine light on how teachers experience and handle pupils’ math difficulties in relation to reading compre- hension. To fulfil the purpose of this study six semi-structured interviews were conducted with middle school teachers. The transcribed interviews were analyzed through a thematic analysis. The results show that the interviewed teachers experience that word-problems and problem- solving exercises are types of tasks that many pupils struggle with. One part of the struggle is contributed to lack of arithmetic knowledge but understanding the question that is asked and understanding the meaning behind math specific vocabulary are also parts of the difficulties pupils experience. In addition to this the interviewed teachers also experienced that lack of motivation, patience and belief in one’s own ability contributed to the pupils’ difficulties in solving word-problems and math tasks in general. The interviewed teachers handle these difficulties by teaching math-specific vocabulary, teaching the pupils problem-solving strategies and by solving a lot of word-problems and problem-solving tasks together in whole class or small groups.