ABSTRACT
In 1945, George Polyá wrote his seminal work describing the processes that expert mathematicians use when solving mathematical problems. His fourstep approach guides students in their mathematical problem-solving efforts. The four main components of the framework include understanding the problem, devising a plan for solving the problem, carrying out the plan, and looking back to ensure that the solution is correct. Implicit in the component of understanding the problem, and then devising a plan, is the need to read and interpret the meaning of the problem. Reading mathematical problems for understanding differs from reading problems in other nonscientific content areas. As Earle (1976) describes, the following three levels of reading are required if learners are to reach the final stage of being able to solve a problem: (a) perceiving symbols, (b) attaching literal meaning, and (c) analyzing relationships. The lowest level of reading mathematics, perceiving symbols, is simply a decoding of the words and symbols without any comprehension. The second level of reading, attaching literal meaning, requires comprehending symbols based on their meaning and order. Analyzing relationships, the third level of reading, requires the ability to infer, generalize, draw conclusions, generate equations, and interpret implicit relationships expressed in visual displays of data. Since mathematical text is characterized by symbols, technical and special vocabulary, diagrams, tables, and graphs, text comprehension and analysis can be particularly difficult for students.
