5.1.1 Processes:

It is worth explaining the kind of processes we have referred to and their place in the curricular framework. Admittedly, such processes cut across subject areas, but we wish to insist that they are central to mathematics. This is to be seen in contrast with mathematics being equated to exact but abstruse knowledge with an all-or-nothing character. Formal problem solving, at least in schools, Exists only in the realm of mathematics. But for physics lessons in the secondary stage and after, there are no other situations outside of mathematics where children address themselves to problem Solving. Given this, and the fact that this is an important â??life skillâ?? that a school can teach, mathematics education needs to be far more Conscious of what tactics it can offer. As it stands, problem-solving only amounts to doing exercises That illustrate specific definitions in the text. Worse, textbook problems reduce solutions to knowledge of specific tricks, of no validity outside the lesson where they are located. On the other hand, many general tactics can indeed be taught, progressively during the stages of school. Techniques like abstraction, quantification, analogy, case analysis, reduction to simpler situations, even guess-and-verify, are useful in many problem contexts. Moreover, when children learn a variety of approaches (over time).