The core of mathematical work is the solving of problems that are open to mathematical science. In the context of mathematical education, problem-solving constitutes a learning perspective imposed by the need for "active" learning of mathematics and its parallelism with the way the mathematical work itself is structured.
The Hungarian mathematician Polya was the first to articulate general strategies (the Heuristics) for problem-solving, while other researchers have since analyzed all the particular processes of the human mind when solving mathematical problems so that, based on this analysis, effective approaches to teaching intervention can be developed.
The book examines topics such as mental reasoning, control, investigation and experimentation, recall and application of mathematical knowledge, mathematization-modeling, the use of functions, the interrelationship between problem-solving and proof, and finally, problem creation.
The path of problem-solving is presented with graded difficulty, as some of them can be tackled by good elementary school math students, but many require notably advanced mathematical knowledge. Our approach is to encourage students to "do" mathematics rather than study mathematics.
The edition is aimed at both mathematics and education department students, as well as teachers of all levels, who wish to improve their teaching or develop their skills as problem solvers in mathematics, as well as young researchers who will want to research many open topics in mathematical education in Problem Solving.
