Of the many descriptions of problem-solving strategies, some of the best known can be found in the work of Pólya (1957). Frequently cited strategies include using diagrams, looking for patterns, listing all possibilities, trying special values or cases, working backward, guessing and checking, creating an equivalent problem, and creating a simpler problem.
An obvious question is, How should these strategies be taught?
Should they receive explicit attention, and how should they be integrated
with the mathematics curriculum? As with any other component
of the mathematical tool kit, strategies must receive instructional attention
if students are expected to learn them. In the lower grades, teachers
can help children express, categorize, and compare their strategies.
Opportunities to use strategies must be embedded naturally in the curriculum
across the content areas. By the time students reach the middle
grades, they should be skilled at recognizing when various strategies are
appropriate to use and should be capable of deciding when and how to
use them. By high school, students should have access to a wide range
of strategies, be able to decide which one to use, and be able to adapt
and invent strategies.