1. Reflective log of problem solving
Solving problem is a practical art, like swimming, skilling or playing the piano.
Polya is generally credited with having starting the modern movement towards
problem solving. He introduced the term heuristic as the study of the means and
methods of problem solving and used a wealth of examples in his books to illustrate
various aspects of problem solving.
A typical list of problem solving strategies usually includes some or all of the
following such as guess and check, make and use a model or diagram, act out the
problem, try some simple cases, construct a table, look for a pattern, find a general
rule, explain why, break the problem into sub-problems, solve a simpler but related
problem and eliminate all possibilities.
A good problem will almost certainly be one which is mathematically rich in
the sense that its solution involves students doing some worthwhile mathematics.
This is not to be confused with high level mathematics. The portraits and indicators
represent work in progress. They are offered here in a spirit of joint enquiry with the
profession. They represent the primary national strategy’s initial mapping of key
aspects of learning. Over the coming month we hope to continue this work in
collaboration with teachers and others.
Aspect of learning enquiry. These skill enable pupils to ask relevant
questions, to pose and define problems, to plan what to do and how to research, to
predict outcomes and anticipate responses, to test conclusions and improve ideas.