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Mathematics Education Research Journal

, Volume 24, Issue 1, pp 59–85 | Cite as

The effects of Polya’s heuristic and diary writing on children’s problem solving

  • Karina K. R. Hensberry
  • Tim Jacobbe
Original Article
First Online:

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study that aimed at increasing students’ problem-solving skills. Polya’s (1985) heuristic for problem solving was used and students were required to articulate their thought processes through the use of a structured diary. The diary prompted students to answer questions designed to engage them in the phases of Polya’s (1985) heuristic. While it appeared as though most students did not internalise the diary questions, further analysis of students’ responses indicated that most students showed improvement in their solution strategies. These results indicate that having students write about their thinking may be beneficial for developing their problem-solving skills.

Keywords

Problem solving Polya Heuristic Elementary Diary writing 
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Copyright information

© Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Inc. 2012

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.School of Teaching and LearningUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleUSA

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