Solving Real Problems or “Pseudocontexts”

Daniel Meyer has blogged a lot recently about "pseudocontexts" - that is: imposing mathematics on a situation that doesn't warrant it. A beautiful example is superimpsing a triangle on a picture of a dog, to find angles, etc.


Whilst it is very important that we include "Real world" contexts for our students, it is important that these are genuine and situations in the real world where mathematics is genuinely present.

Implications for Teaching:

Consider getting students to formulate the problem to be solved. To accomplish this, I suggest:


1. Giving too much info


Find the area:





2. Not giving enough information


Find the area (by taking appropriate measurements)





3. Give a hook for a real problem and let students work out the rest.


You currently live in Sydney and you need to plan a holiday in Brisbane. By considering transport, accommodation, time and the relevant costs of these, develop a recommendation for a one week holiday.


Students can include an estimate of petrol consumption, flight costs, distance travelled, if you drive you will have to stay somewhere on the way and many more factors.