Teaching problem-solving heuristics to engineers and testing for results: hit or miss

Problem solving in Germany has roots in mathematics and psychology but it found its way to schools and classrooms, especially through German Kultusministerkonferenz, which represents all government departments of education. For the problem solving standard to get implemented in schools, a large scale dissemination through continuous professional development is very much needed, as the current mathematics teachers are not qualified to do so. As a consequence, one organ in Germany focuses on setting up courses for teacher educators who can “multiply” what they have learned and set up their own professional development courses for teachers. However, before attaining to this work, it is crucial to have an understanding what conceptions about teaching problem solving in mathematics classroom mathematics teacher educators hold. In this research report, I focus on mathematics teacher educators’ conceptions about problem solving standard and their effects regarding a large-scale dissemination.

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Mathematics teachers’ knowledge for teaching problem solving

LUMAT International Journal on Math Science and Technology Education ◽

10.31129/lumat.v3i1.1049 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 19-36 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Olive Chapman

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

Mathematics Teachers ◽

Mathematical Problem ◽

Research Literature ◽

Mathematical Problem Solving ◽

Knowledge For Teaching ◽

General Ability ◽

Mathematics Knowledge ◽

Teaching Problem ◽

Problem Solvers

In recent years, considerable attention has been given to the knowledge teachers ought to hold for teaching mathematics. Teachers need to hold knowledge of mathematical problem solving for themselves as problem solvers and to help students to become better problem solvers. Thus, a teacher’s knowledge of and for teaching problem solving must be broader than general ability in problem solving. In this article a category-based perspective is used to discuss the types of knowledge that should be included in mathematical problem-solving knowledge for teaching. In particular, what do teachers need to know to teach for problem-solving proficiency? This question is addressed based on a review of the research literature on problem solving in mathematics education. The article discusses the perspective of problem-solving proficiency that framed the review and the findings regarding six categories of knowledge that teachers ought to hold to support students’ development of problem-solving proficiency. It concludes that mathematics problem-solving knowledge for teaching is a complex network of interdependent knowledge. Understanding this interdependence is important to help teachers to hold mathematical problem-solving knowledge for teaching so that it is usable in a meaningful and effective way in supporting problem-solving proficiency in their teaching. The perspective of mathematical problem-solving knowledge for teaching presented in this article can be built on to provide a framework of key knowledge mathematics teachers ought to hold to inform practice-based investigation of it and the design and investigation of learning experiences to help teachers to understand and develop the mathematics knowledge they need to teach for problem-solving proficiency.

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Teachers' perception of teaching problem-solving strategies to novices

Proceedings of the 17th ACM annual conference on Innovation and technology in computer science education - ITiCSE '12 ◽

10.1145/2325296.2325410 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Lavy Bunimovich

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

Problem Solving Strategies ◽

Teaching Problem

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Cognitive Functionality of Multimedia in Problem Solving

Multimedia Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-953-3.ch085 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 1233-1247

Author(s):

Robert Zheng

Keyword(s):

Information Retrieval ◽

Problem Solving ◽

Cognitive Load ◽

Mental Representation ◽

Cognitive Functions ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Interactive Multimedia ◽

Problem Solving Skills ◽

Teaching Problem ◽

Problem Solving Process

Teaching problem solving can be a challenge to teachers. However, the challenge is oftentimes not due to a lack of skills on the part of learners but due to an inappropriate design of media through which the problem is presented. The findings of this study demonstrate that appropriately designed multimedia can improve learners’ problem solving skills because of the cognitive functions such media have in facilitating mental representation and information retrieval and maintenance, as well as reducing cognitive load during the problem solving process. Suggestions were made on how to apply interactive multimedia to teaching and learning.

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