Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(1): 105-111, 2020 http://www.hrpub.org DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.080112 Using the "Identifying a Pattern" Strategy to Solve Mathematical Word Problems of Proportional Quantities at Grade 5 – Vietnam Ngo Truc Phuong 1 , Nguyen Phu Loc 2,* 1 Faculty of Education, Bac Lieu University, Bac Lieu City, Vietnam 2 School of Education, CanTho University, Can Tho City, Vietnam * Corresponding Author: nploc@ctu.edu.vn Received October16, 2019; Revised December 13, 2019; Accepted December 17, 2019 Copyright©2020 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License Abstract Ratios and proportions that describe relationships between quantities are the foundation for students to understand and develop many concepts and skills in mathematics. Therefore, they play an important role in students’ learning Mathematics. This paper will present the results of the comparison of mathematical word problems relating to proportional quantities in Mathematics textbooks of Vietnam and USA from the perspective of pattern identification. It also indicates that the design and implementation of some activities to teach the word problems in which the analysis to identify patterns is a necessary strategy. The study results revealed that using “identifying a pattern” problems is a useful tool to promote problem - solving competency for elementary school students in Vietnam. Keywords Identifying a Pattern, Mathematical Word Problem, Mathematical Pattern, Proportion, Proportional Quantities, Solving Mathematical Word Problem 1. Introduction In a study about students’ difficulties in solving mathematical wo rd problems fro m their teachers’ perspectives, Seifi et al. (2012) showed that students in elementary grades had a weak foundation because their teachers taught them inappropriate strategies. In order to overcome students’ difficulties, most of the teacher s suggested helping students in teaching them to look for a pattern. New Jersey Mathematics Curriculum Framework (1997) emphasizes that every Mathematics teacher needs to assist students in recognizing, generalizing, and using patterns that exist in numbers, in shapes, and in the world around them. It can be seen that identifying patterns in solving problems is considered as a helpful strategy. Patterns often appear in Primary Mathematics textbooks of America and Singapore with a variety of activities, such as identifying rules, extending patterns and solving word problems with patterns. However, in Vietnamese primary textbooks, the authors have not seen solving problems, where looking for a pattern is a strategy. According to the trend of international integration, Vietnamese education is implementing a curriculum, which transforms content-based instruction to competency-based education. Therefore, enhancing problem solving competency for primary students becomes an essential element in teaching and learning goals of “General Education Program: Mathematics” in Vietnam. In order to solve problems effectively, elementary students need to be provided with discovery tools, including the strategy of looking for a pattern. In this article, from analyzing using “ide ntifying a pattern” in solving word problems relating to proportional quantities in textbooks and implementing an experiment with Grade 5 students, the authors believe that using patterns could bring more fruitful for students in solving mathematical word problems. 2. Literature Review 2.1. Problems of Identifying a Pattern A mathematical pattern can be described as any predictable regularity, usually involving numerical, spatial or logical relationships. In every pattern, the various elements are organized in some regular fashion. Once a pattern is established, it is easy to predict what happens next because a pattern can be extended or continued after it CITE THIS PAPER [1] Ngo Truc Phuong , Nguyen Phu Loc , "Using the "Identifying a Pattern" Strategy to Solve Mathematical Word Problems of Proportional Quantities at Grade 5 – Vietnam," Universal Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 105 - 111, 2020. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.080112.