Most of us who have studied mathematics at upper division levels can relate to these two chapters because years three and four math seem to be more challenging and we were getting ‘stuck’ more so than in junior years. Hence, we grouped and used various approaches to solve problems and probably used a lot of these Mason’s elements but never really defined them as such. These courses for me were the most fulfilling. Therefore, I can relate to Mason where he talks about how to stay positive in that situation because the hard thinking that you do to find an answer is quite rewarding in the end.
It is great to point out to these problem solving essentials in such a way so that we can help students organize their thoughts when working on their problems. Otherwise, we may overlook them as we do not find their problems always challenging enough to come up with a slower step by step process like this one.
I found it surprising that the attack phase was the least crucial one but I can see why. If the question is not understood properly the attack is going to result in solving the wrong question. And the review phase is also very important because the students can make sure they understand the material well by expanding it to a wider context.
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