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Polya’s method variant: Developing students’ analytical thinking

Activity: Talk or presentationOral presentation

Description

In recent years, the level of basic mathematical skills as well as analytical thinking skills of secondary
school students in the Netherlands has been on the decline, with consequences for the rest of these
students’ academic career. Polya’s four step method for problem solving is a well-regarded and
popular method throughout literature, which brings about the improvement of both students’ attitudes
towards mathematics and their (relational) understanding. In this paper a variation upon the method
is proposed which aims to address the weaker aspects of Polya’s method while enabling the students
to develop their analytical thinking skills. In particular, the proposed method aims to promote the
active use of mathematics as a language students can freely and easily express themselves in within
the classroom so as to address the declining level of mastery within the subject mathematics.
Period5 Feb 2025
Event title14th Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education, CERME14
Event typeConference
Conference number14
LocationBolzano, ItalyShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational