Problem-solving with Mathematics Series 1 – Ages 11+

Solving problems is a part of everyday life, whether it means making decisions on problems such as ‘What will I have for breakfast?’ or ‘What clothes should I wear?’ or facing up to more difficult work and personal problems. Thus, problem solving is not confined to mathematics but is around us in all aspects of our lives.

Mathematics is, however, an extremely effective medium to develop strategies and methods of organizing our thoughts that will help us overcome problem situations. These series of teacher worksheets look at developing specific mathematical problem-solving strategies.

These are:

• Exploring Patterns
• Organizing Information
• Finding all Answers
• Concrete Manipulation

Each strategy has six activities related to it. Teachers will find that although these strategies are separated in the book, some problems may be solved by students using a combination of strategies. This is an important aspect of all problem solving – the ability to use a combination of strategies.