Article info.

ABSTRACT

Received 12 Dec 2017
Revised 16 Mar 2018

Accepted 30 Nov 2018

Problem solving helps students to consolidate their knowledge, skills and develop their thinking. In particular, solving a mathematical problem in different ways promotes more of this meaning because to do this, students must mobilize a lot of knowledge, skills and various kinds of thinking. Therefore, in learning mathematics, to solve a problem in a number of ways is one of the ways to develop students’ creative thinking. A sample consisted of 138 students in Can Tho city and Hau Giang province and they solved the problem of calculating the distance from a point to a plane. The results showed that a large number of students only solved it in one way and only 32 students addressed it in two ways. Moreover, when solving the problem, students made many errors for various reasons.

Keywords

Different ways, distance from a point to a plane, geometrical problem, mathematics education, problem solving

Cited as: Tong, N.H., Uyen, B.P., Thi, H.H.Q. and Khanh, N.Q., 2018. Solving a mathematical problem in different ways: A case of calculating the distance from a point to a plane. Can Tho University Journal of Science. 54(8): 54-62.