Being able to use mathematical thinking in solving problems is one of the most the
fundamental goals of teaching mathematics, but it is also one of its most elusive goals.
It is an ultimate goal of teaching that students will be able to conduct mathematical
investigations by themselves, and that they will be able to identify where the
mathematics they have learned is applicable in real world situations. In the phrase of
the mathematician Paul Halmos (1980), problem solving is “the heart of
mathematics”.