Lesson 10

Mathematical investigation

Objective
Generates investigative tasks and anticipate possible problems that may arise from
the task

Introduction
Contemporary leaders in mathematics education revolutionized the goal of
mathematics teaching and learning from a passive transfer of knowledge to an active process
where students are developed to think like mathematicians. Mathematical Investigation is a
strategy that may be implemented to achieve this.

Think
Mathematical investigation is an open-ended mathematical task that involves not only
problem solving, but equally importantly, problem posing as well. In this strategy, the word
“investigation” does not refer to the process that may occur when solving a close-ended
problem but an activity in itself that promotes independent mathematical thinking. To
illustrate, consider the two mathematical tasks below.
Task A – Problem-solving
There are 50 children at a playground and each child high-fives with each other of the
other children. Find the total number of high-fives.
Task B – Mathematical Investigation
There are 50 children at a playground and each child high-fives with each of the other
children. Investigate.

In Task A, there is a specific problem to solve. Some of the students might attempt to
solve it by drawing diagrams for smaller numbers of children and then investigating the
pattern that may arise. This investigation is a process that may occur in problem solving. On
the other hand, the problem in Task B is not specified. The students may or may not choose
to find the total number of high-fives. Some students may want to investigate a more general
case where they would want to know how many high-fives there would be given a certain
number of children. Some want to find out how many high-fives there would be if instead of
once, the children would high-five each other twice or thrice. Some children may even decide

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to work on a problem that the teacher has not thought of. This is investigation as an activity
itself.
As illustrated, what sets mathematical investigation apart from other strategies that have
been discussed in this unit by far is that the goal of the investigation is not specified by the
teacher; the students have the freedom to choose any goal to pursue. In problem-solving, the
students are encouraged to think outside the box; in mathematical investigation, there is no
box to start with. The students are placed in a space where they can play around whichever
way they want. This makes mathematical investigation a divergent and learner-centered
strategy. So, like in the problem-solving strategy, it is crucial that the teacher chooses or
creates a situation that is engaging and caters mathematical investigation. Tasks A and B show
that a close-ended word problem can easily be converted into an open-ended investigative
task by simply replacing the question with an instruction to investigate.
There are three main phases of a mathematical investigation lesson; the (1) problem-
posing, (2) conjecturing, and (3) justifying conjectures. In the problem-solving phase, the
students explore the given situation and come up with a mathematical problem that they
would want to engage in. The conjecturing phase involves collecting and organizing data,
looking for patterns, inference, and generalizing. In the final phase, the students are to justify
and explain their inferences and generalizations.
Always remember that although mathematical rules or theorems may arise as results of
the mathematical investigation, they are not the objectives of an investigative lesson- the
objective is the investigation itself; the exercise of creative thinking and problem-solving that
the students underwent as they investigated. Mathematical investigation is not after the
teaching and learning of some competency in the curriculum; it is about developing the
mathematical habits of the mind.

Experience
The only planning that the teacher needs to do is to create or choose an appropriate
task and anticipate possible problems that the students would pose. Below is an example of
close-ended word problem transformed into a mathematical investigative task and the
problems that the students would possibly come up to.
Close-ended problem:
Find the perimeter of the triangle whose side lengths are 3 units, 4 units, and 5 units.
Investigative task:
Distribute: 12 Popsicle sticks per pair/group
Instruction: Investigate the following.

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 Possible student-generated problems:
1. What is the perimeter of the given triangle?
2. How many triangles can be formed using 12 popsicle sticks?
3. What types of triangles can be formed using 12 popsicle sticks?

Assess
The following activity will broaden your understanding of the mathematical
investigation strategy.
1. Use the Venn diagram below to compare and contrast problem-solving and
mathematical investigation.

2. In what ways does mathematical investigation help develop the students who think
like mathematicians?

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Challenge
Even though the students are the ones who would identify the problem given a situation,
the teacher must be able to anticipate some of the problems that may come up. To develop
this skill, the teacher must undergo mathematical investigation.
1. Pose a problem, make a conjecture, and justify your conjecture given the following
situation. This task is adapted from Orton and Frobisher’s Insights into Teaching
mathematics (1996).
Investigate the following number tricks.
854
-458
396
+693
1089

2. Write about your experience. How did you feel before, during, and after the task?

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Harness
Choose a close-ended problem from the DepEd mathematics teaching materials
for Kinder to Grade 3. Transform it to an investigative task then list down the possible
problems that the students could pose given task. This activity will be part of the learning
portfolio that you will compile at the end of this module.

Close-ended problem:

Investigative task:

Possible student-generated problems:

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Summary
Mathematical investigation is an open-ended teaching strategy that capitalizes on the
student’s ability to identify a problem. Any word problem can be transformed in to a
mathematical investigation by limiting the given information and omitting the specific
question that it is asking.