A provocative collection of papers containing comprehensive reviews of previous research, teaching techniques, and pointers for direction of future study. Provides both a comprehensive assessment of the latest research on mathematical problem solving, with special emphasis on its teaching, and an attempt to increase communication across the active disciplines in this area.
This survey book reviews four interrelated areas: (i) the relevance of heuristics in problem-solving approaches – why they are important and what research tells us about their use; (ii) the need to characterize and foster creative problem-solving approaches – what type of heuristics helps learners devise and practice creative solutions; (iii) the importance that learners formulate and pursue their own problems; and iv) the role played by the use of both multiple-purpose and ad hoc mathematical action types of technologies in problem-solving contexts – what ways of reasoning learners construct when they rely on the use of digital technologies, and how technology and technology approaches can be reconciled.
This book is the first in the series of the yearbooks of the Association of Mathematics Educators in Singapore. It is highly unique as it addresses a focused theme of mathematics education. The chapters of the book, illustrate the immense diversity within the theme and presents research that translates into classroom pedagogies. The thirteen chapters of the book illustrate how mathematical problems may be crafted and infused in classroom teaching. Several novel pedagogies, such as learning mathematics through productive failure, problem posing and generative activities are presented in the book. The chapters are comprehensive and laden with evidence-based examples for both mathematics educators and classroom teachers of mathematics. The book is an invaluable contribution towards the already established field of research of mathematical problem solving. It is also a must read for graduate research students and mathematics educators.
This engaging book offers an in-depth introduction to teaching mathematics through problem-solving, providing lessons and techniques that can be used in classrooms for both primary and lower secondary grades. Based on the innovative and successful Japanese approaches of Teaching Through Problem-solving (TTP) and Collaborative Lesson Research (CLR), renowned mathematics education scholar Akihiko Takahashi demonstrates how these teaching methods can be successfully adapted in schools outside of Japan. TTP encourages students to try and solve a problem independently, rather than relying on the format of lectures and walkthroughs provided in classrooms across the world. Teaching Mathematics Through Problem-Solving gives educators the tools to restructure their lesson and curriculum design to make creative and adaptive problem-solving the main way students learn new procedures. Takahashi showcases TTP lessons for elementary and secondary classrooms, showing how teachers can create their own TTP lessons and units using techniques adapted from Japanese educators through CLR. Examples are discussed in relation to the Common Core State Standards, though the methods and lessons offered can be used in any country. Teaching Mathematics Through Problem-Solving offers an innovative new approach to teaching mathematics written by a leading expert in Japanese mathematics education, suitable for pre-service and in-service primary and secondary math educators.
This book contributes to the field of mathematical problem solving by exploring current themes, trends and research perspectives. It does so by addressing five broad and related dimensions: problem solving heuristics, problem solving and technology, inquiry and problem posing in mathematics education, assessment of and through problem solving, and the problem solving environment. Mathematical problem solving has long been recognized as an important aspect of mathematics, teaching mathematics, and learning mathematics. It has influenced mathematics curricula around the world, with calls for the teaching of problem solving as well as the teaching of mathematics through problem solving. And as such, it has been of interest to mathematics education researchers for as long as the field has existed. Research in this area has generally aimed at understanding and relating the processes involved in solving problems to students’ development of mathematical knowledge and problem solving skills. The accumulated knowledge and field developments have included conceptual frameworks for characterizing learners’ success in problem solving activities, cognitive, metacognitive, social and affective analysis, curriculum proposals, and ways to promote problem solving approaches.
This book is addressed to people with research interests in the nature of mathematical thinking at any level, topeople with an interest in "higher-order thinking skills" in any domain, and to all mathematics teachers. The focal point of the book is a framework for the analysis of complex problem-solving behavior. That framework is presented in Part One, which consists of Chapters 1 through 5. It describes four qualitatively different aspects of complex intellectual activity: cognitive resources, the body of facts and procedures at one's disposal; heuristics, "rules of thumb" for making progress in difficult situations; control, having to do with the efficiency with which individuals utilize the knowledge at their disposal; and belief systems, one's perspectives regarding the nature of a discipline and how one goes about working in it. Part Two of the book, consisting of Chapters 6 through 10, presents a series of empirical studies that flesh out the analytical framework. These studies document the ways that competent problem solvers make the most of the knowledge at their disposal. They include observations of students, indicating some typical roadblocks to success. Data taken from students before and after a series of intensive problem-solving courses document the kinds of learning that can result from carefully designed instruction. Finally, observations made in typical high school classrooms serve to indicate some of the sources of students' (often counterproductive) mathematical behavior.
The mathematics education community continues to contribute research-based ideas for developing and improving problem posing as an inquiry-based instructional strategy for enhancing students’ learning. A large number of studies have been conducted which have covered many research topics and methodological aspects of teaching and learning mathematics through problem posing. The Authors' groundwork has shown that many of these studies predict positive outcomes from implementing problem posing on: student knowledge, problem solving and posing skills, creativity and disposition toward mathematics. This book examines, in-depth, the contribution of a problem posing approach to teaching mathematics and discusses the impact of adopting this approach on the development of theoretical frameworks, teaching practices and research on mathematical problem posing over the last 50 years.
Recent research in problem solving has shifted its focus to actual classroom implementation and what is really going on during problem solving when it is used regularly in classroom. This book seeks to stay on top of that trend by approaching diverse aspects of current problem solving research, covering three broad themes. Firstly, it explores the role of teachers in problem-solving classrooms and their professional development, moving onto—secondly—the role of students when solving problems, with particular consideration of factors like group work, discussion, role of students in discussions and the effect of students’ engagement on their self-perception and their view of mathematics. Finally, the book considers the question of problem solving in mathematics instruction as it overlaps with problem design, problem-solving situations, and actual classroom implementation. The volume brings together diverse contributors from a variety of countries and with wide and varied experiences, combining the voices of leading and developing researchers. The book will be of interest to any reader keeping on the frontiers of research in problem solving, more specifically researchers and graduate students in mathematics education, researchers in problem solving, as well as teachers and practitioners.
A thinking student is an engaged student Teachers often find it difficult to implement lessons that help students go beyond rote memorization and repetitive calculations. In fact, institutional norms and habits that permeate all classrooms can actually be enabling "non-thinking" student behavior. Sparked by observing teachers struggle to implement rich mathematics tasks to engage students in deep thinking, Peter Liljedahl has translated his 15 years of research into this practical guide on how to move toward a thinking classroom. Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K–12 helps teachers implement 14 optimal practices for thinking that create an ideal setting for deep mathematics learning to occur. This guide Provides the what, why, and how of each practice and answers teachers’ most frequently asked questions Includes firsthand accounts of how these practices foster thinking through teacher and student interviews and student work samples Offers a plethora of macro moves, micro moves, and rich tasks to get started Organizes the 14 practices into four toolkits that can be implemented in order and built on throughout the year When combined, these unique research-based practices create the optimal conditions for learner-centered, student-owned deep mathematical thinking and learning, and have the power to transform mathematics classrooms like never before.
