Changing student teachers’ perception about problem solving through the integration of ict in a mathematics teaching methods course

Abstract

The National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (2000) has given strong emphasis to problem solving in the mathematics classroom. The process of problem solving, according to Polya (1957), involves four steps: understanding the problem, devising a plan (solution), implementing the plan and looking back (examining the solution). These processes demand the ability to develop a deep understanding of the problem and to devise a plan to solve it. Problem solving (Polya, 1973; Schoenfeld, 1985) has been advocated as revealing more of the strategies employed by children in the course of solving mathematical problems. While problem solving can be described through the use of heuristics and meta-cognitive strategies, the underlying assumption is that all mathematical entities consist of well-organized structures, waiting to be discovered. Teachers of mathematics should inculcate in children the inclination to develop strategies in the process of solving problems and to value its importance