ABSTRACT

With the same gusto that ushered in the ‘new mathematics’ on a cushion of ‘understanding’, ‘structure’ and ‘learning by discovery’ four decades ago, ‘problem-solving’ has emerged as the dominant theme in mathematics education for the close of the twentieth century. Beginning in the 1980s the theme is closely aligned with ‘real world’ applications. The twin concerns are expressed in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) brief document entitled An Agenda for Action: Recommendations for School Mathematics for the 1980s (1980). There we find:

Problem solving must be the focus of school mathematics for the 1980s … Performance in problem solving will measure the effectiveness of our personal and national possession of mathematical competence…Problem solving involves applying mathematics to the real world, serving theory and practice of current emerging sciences. (NCTM, 1980, p. 2)

The theme of problem-solving is reiterated in The Curriculum Evaluation Standards For School Mathematics (1989) and other related documents of the 1990s. We are told that:

Problem solving should be the central focus of the mathematics curriculum. As such it is a primary goal of all mathematics instruction and an integral part of all mathematical activity… Ideally, students should share their thinking and approaches with other students…addition, they should learn to value the process of solving problems as much as they value the solution. (NCTM, 1980, p. 23)

Problem-solving thus begins to acquire a social context-frequently referred to as ‘communication’ in addition to a continued focus upon ‘real world’ applications.