How to Teach Problem Solving

Our charge as elementary teachers has been made clear—problem solving is the number one focus for school mathematics of the 1980s. And that's exactly as it should be. It would be hard for anyone to deny that the major responsibility of schools is to help children become effective problem solvers, preparing them to face the myriad of day-to-day problems of living they'll face as adults. But it's also hard for teachers to relate that responsibility to what happens in the mathematics curriculum on a daily basis. This article aims to deal with just that issue—how to incorporate problem solving as an integral part of the mathematics program in the classroom.