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Problem-Solving Strategies for Efficient and Elegant Solutions, Grades 6-12
A Resource for the Mathematics Teacher
Second Edition
Afterword by Nobel Laureate Herbert A. Hauptman
Other Titles in:
Mathematics & Numeracy | Teaching Methods & Learning Styles | Teaching in Secondary Schools
Mathematics & Numeracy | Teaching Methods & Learning Styles | Teaching in Secondary Schools
June 2008 | 280 pages | Corwin
This updated edition presents ten strategies that are effective tools for teaching students how to solve problems, both in mathematics and in real-life situations. The authors demonstrate how the strategies can be used to solve a wide range of problems and provide about 200 examples that illustrate how teachers can include these techniques in their mathematics curriculum. In many cases, the methods presented make the solution of a problem easier, neater, and more understandable-and thereby more enjoyable. This new edition includes references to current standards, revisions and clarifications throughout the text, and a number of new problems that can be used to teach the different strategies.
Preface
About the Authors
1. Introduction to Problem-Solving Strategies
2. Working Backwards
3. Finding a Pattern
4. Adopting a Different Point of View
5. Solving a Simpler Analogous Problem
6. Considering Extreme Cases
7. Making a Drawing (Visual Representation)
8. Intelligent Guessing and Testing (Including Approximation)
9. Accounting for All Possibilities
10. Organizing Data
11. Logical Reasoning
Afterword by Herbert A. Hauptman
Sources for Problems
Readings on Problem Solving
Index
“The authors have provided a uniquely strategy-focused resource supported by a wealth of engaging examples that mathematics teachers can readily use to help students develop a more purposeful, systematic, and successful approach to problem solving.”
Public Schools of the Tarrytowns, Sleepy Hollow, NY
"This terrific resource helps both new and veteran teachers better understand the nature of problem solving as a critical mathematics process. In very simple terms, the authors present and illuminate the strategies that are the backbone of mathematics instruction. This indispensable material is useful at all levels, from basic stages to advanced student work to the development of top problem solvers."
Bergen County Academies, Hackensack, NJ
"Each chapter covers a different strategy and includes problems that could be solved using that strategy. This would be a great resource for any secondary mathematics teacher and a wonderful resource for the mathematics teacher educator."
Mathematical Association of America
