This book discusses the implications of new informationtechnologies and cognitive psychology for mathematicalproblem solving research and practice.Based on a NATOAdvanced Research Workshop held in Portugal in 1991, itoffers both empirical research and theoretical papers.The book includes a thorough discussion on the nature andpurpose of problem solving as a mathematical activity, providing a view of the importance of complementaryactivities such as investigations, conjecturing and problemposing. It focuses on cognitive processes, instruction, classroom processes, and the teacher's role, and...

A strong and fluent competency in mathematics is a necessary condition for scientific, technological and economic progress. However, it is widely recognized that problem solving, reasoning, and thinking processes are critical areas in which students' performance lags far behind what should be expected and desired. Mathematics is indeed an important subject, but is also important to be able to use it in extra-mathematical contexts. Thinking strictly in terms of mathematics or thinking in terms of its relations with the real world involve quite different processes and issues. This book includes...