Manuel Santos-Trigo – författare

This book contributes to the field of mathematical problem solving by exploring current themes, trends and research perspectives. It does so by addressing five broad and related dimensions: problem solving heuristics, problem solving and technology, inquiry and problem posing in mathematics education, assessment of and through problem solving, and the problem solving environment.

Mathematical problem solving has long been recognized as an important aspect of mathematics, teaching mathematics, and learning mathematics. It has influenced mathematics curricula around the world, with calls for the teaching of problem solving as well as the teaching of mathematics through problem solving. And as such, it has been of interest to mathematics education researchers for as long as the field has existed. Research in this area has generally aimed at understanding and relating the processes involved in solving problems to students’ development of mathematical knowledge and problem solving skills. The accumulated knowledge and field developments have included conceptual frameworks for characterizing learners’ success in problem solving activities, cognitive, metacognitive, social and affective analysis, curriculum proposals, and ways to promote problem solving approaches. 

This book presents both theoretical and empirical contributions from a global perspective on problem solving and posing (PS/PP) and their application, in relation to the teaching and learning of mathematics in schools. The chapters are derived from selected presentations in the PS/PP Topical Study Group in ICME14. Although mathematical problem posing is a much younger field of inquiry in mathematics education, this topic has grown rapidly. The mathematics curriculum frameworks in many parts of the world have incorporated problem posing as an instructional focus, building on problem solving as its foundation. The juxtaposition of problem solving and problem posing in mathematics presented in this book addresses the needs of the mathematics education research and practice communities at the present day. In particular, this book aims to address the three key points: to present an overview of research and development regarding students’ mathematical problem solving and posing; to discuss new trends and developments in research and practice on these topics; and to provide insight into the future trends of mathematical problem solving and posing.