Application of Sakamoto Math Method in Solving Mathematical Word Problems for Year 5 Pupils

Mathematical word problem solving skills has always been a concern in Malaysia because pupils are unable to cope with the word problems given. Thus, Sakamoto Math method was introduced to deal with the pupils’ difficulties in solving word problems. The purposes of this study were to investigate the effectiveness of using Sakamoto Math method and to compare the pupils’ performance in solving word problems between the application of Sakamoto Math method and conventional method. In addition, comparison of pupils’ attitude towards the application of Sakamoto Math method and conventional method in solving word problems was also investigated. Quantitative methods were employed in this study. Year 5 pupils in a Chinese elementary school (SJKC), Nusajaya, Johor were assigned as a control group and an experimental group with 33 participants in each group. All the participations took part in the pre-test and post-test and the results were analysed through inferential statistics which are Paired Samples T-test and Independent Samples T-test. Pupils’ attitude was then recorded in the questionnaire and analysed by using Wilcoxon-Signed Ranked test. There was a significant difference on pupils’ performance and pupils’ attitude between the application of Sakamoto Math method and conventional method. It proves that Sakamoto Math method is effective in solving word problems. In conclusion, this study suggests that different visualization approaches could be prepared to overcome the pupils’ difficulties in solving word problems.


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The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2002) claimed that students need to develop multiple strategies for solving problems such as looking for patterns or using diagrams to help students be successful problem solvers.
Teachers who exhibit explicit strategies in problem solving benefit pupils in developing their problem-solving skills (Hembree et. al., 1992). Therefore, it is vital for teachers to keep on exploring and updating new problem-solving approaches to improve students' understanding and to master mathematical word problems.
One of the approaches is the visual approach which is a strategy to develop pupils' thinking skills using diagrams to represent a mathematical word problem (Smith, 2003). A visual approach called the Sakamoto Math method is used in this study to see if it improves students' problem-solving skills. The method was developed by Dr. Hideo Sakamoto from Japan in 1975 and has seen a tremendous growth during the past decade. There are three simple basic steps involved in the method which is grasp the relation, diagram, and writing. The following is an example of the Sakamoto Math method: Problem: There are teachers and students who bought tickets. The price of each ticket for a teacher is RM20 while for a student is RM8. The number of tickets bought by the teachers is of the total number of tickets bought. The amount of money collected from the students is RM416 more thanfrom the teachers. What is the total amount of money collected?

Solution:
The Sakamoto Math method is now being widely used in developed Asian countries like, Singapore, South Korea and Japan. However, in Malaysia's mathematics education, Sakamoto Math method is still not well known and not yet utilized in learning and teaching in school. Therefore, in this study, the effectiveness of using Sakamoto Math method in solving mathematical word problems in the Malaysian context is investigated.

II. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this research are as follows: i.
To investigate the effectiveness of using Sakamoto Math method in solving mathematical word problems. ii.
To compare the performance of pupils between using Sakamoto Math method and conventional method in solving mathematical word problems. iii.
To compare the attitude of pupils towards the application of Sakamoto Math method and the conventional method in solving mathematical word problems. to measure pupils' performance in solving mathematical word problems before and after using Sakamoto Math method and conventional method.

III. METHODOLOGY
In the control group, conventional method which is Polya (2004) and chalk and talk method was introduced to the 33 participants. During the treatment, the researcher were also requested to complete the same twelve mathematical word problems as the control group but, by using Sakamoto Math method.
Finally, questionnaires on attitude towards the Sakamoto Math method and conventional method were distributed to the experimental group, after the post-test. Attitude is a psychological tendency expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favour or disfavour (Eagly and Chaiken, 1993). It is a judgment constructed based on beliefs and readiness and are primary indicators of a person's intent to perform a behavior (Ajzen, 1991   18.06 0.000 Table 5 shows the attitude of participants from the experimental group towards the application of conventional method (mean rank= 8.10) is lower than Sakamoto Math method (mean rank=18.06) in solving mathematical word problems. Besides that, the asymptotic significance (two-tailed) shown in Table 6 is p = 0.000, p < 0.05. Thus, there is a significant difference of pupils' attitude towards using Sakamoto Math method and conventional method in solving mathematical word problems.

V. DISCUSSIONS
The result of analysis shows a few positive changes. There was an increase on the pupils' performance in solving mathematical word problems after applying the Sakamoto Math method in the treatment. The pupils in the Sakamoto Math method group also performed better in solving mathematical word problems compared to the conventional method.
Pupils were found to be more confident in solving mathematical word problems as Sakamoto Math method teaches pupils to grasp the relationship of the questions and draw the linear diagrams when solving the mathematical word problems. The three simple steps also encouraged the pupils' positive attitude towards problems solving concept.
The students have better understanding in solving the mathematical word problems when they applied Sakamoto Math method because they were given the opportunity to transform the word problems situation into diagrams and apply their mathematical knowledge through exploring the word problems situation (Lester and Kehle, 2003). This allowed them to enhance their higher order thinking skills and apply their critical and logical thinking skills independently without spoon-feeding from the teacher.
Also, it encourages students to form long term memory of mathematical knowledge. Math method and were ready to use this method in their problem-solving worksheets in the future. This is in line with Moyer, Bolyard and Spikell (2002) in their research that by using visualization strategy in solving mathematical word problems, the pupils' learning became more enjoyable and pupils perceive that it stimulated learning. In conclusion, the application of Sakamoto Math method has showed its effectiveness in solving mathematical word problems and this method seems to attract the pupils' interest in the lesson.

VI. CONCLUSIONS
Having excellent problem-solving skills can promote high performance in solving mathematical word problems in pupils. It is a way for pupils to compete globally in education. As suggested by Woodward et. al., (2012), teachers need to integrate the activities of problem solving in their instructions and incorporate visual aids such as diagrams into the mathematical word problems taught.
Besides, Papic (2012) suggested that by promoting mathematical problem-solving skills which involve higher order thinking skills at the early age, can prompt their learning opportunities in solving mathematical word problems.
The use of Sakamoto Math method seems to trigger students thinking skills to solve mathematical word problems. This method can be used in mainstream class and low achievement class so that the learning process becomes more meaningful. Other than that, Sakamoto Math method can also be implemented in secondary schools according to their proficiency level. Pupils can share the knowledge they gained in Sakamoto Math method with their peers during group discussions.
Indirectly, it will encourage pupils to be more independent as well as responsible towards their own learning in solving mathematical word problems.
Although conventional method is a strategy used by most mathematics teachers for certain period of time in their teaching of solving mathematical word problems, teachers should put more effort in preparing their mathematics lesson and always keep themselves up to date.
Pupils will lose interest in learning as well if the same approaches are repeated. Teachers should try to apply visualization strategy such as Sakamoto Math method so that pupils can understand better as they learn by drawing a diagram to picture the word problem's situation. VII.