Teaching Strategies

Promote problem solving

Problem solving is "the process by which students experience the power and usefulness of mathematics in the world around them." Problem solving should be the focus of teaching mathematics and should be included in every lesson and every day of instruction. This ongoing process supports students in learning to develop and apply approaches to a range of situations, which in turn builds their confidence. A teacher should:

	use problems to introduce new concepts
	look to many sources to find problems, beyond what is offered in a textbook
	pose questions frequently
	encourage students to think for themselves
	present problems that are open-ended (whenever feasible), to allow for multiple problem-solving approaches.

An effective teacher is continually deciding the best way to support students in working through challenging tasks, without dominating the thinking process for them, so that the sense of discovery--and the challenge--is not lost. A teacher should allot time for students to develop approaches to a problem and to identify what tools will be most helpful to them. It is valuable for students to share with the class how they approach a problem and to compare and contrast those approaches. Instruction that promotes the solving of problems in this way aids students in conjecturing, testing and revising those conjectures as necessary, and reflecting on the results of their work.

For an example of how to promote problem solving, see the Geoboard Squares lesson plan.