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Polya's Problem-Solving Cycle: The Teaching and Learning Group

Polya's Problem-Solving Cycle outlines a 4 step process for solving problems: 1) Understand the Problem, 2) Devise a Plan, 3) Carry Out the Plan, and 4) Look Back. The first step involves understanding the details of the problem fully. The second step is coming up with one or more approaches to a solution. The third step is implementing the plan. The final step has the problem solver evaluating if the solution makes sense and learning from the experience. This cycle provides a framework for systematically solving problems across various subjects.

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96 views9 pages

Polya's Problem-Solving Cycle: The Teaching and Learning Group

Polya's Problem-Solving Cycle outlines a 4 step process for solving problems: 1) Understand the Problem, 2) Devise a Plan, 3) Carry Out the Plan, and 4) Look Back. The first step involves understanding the details of the problem fully. The second step is coming up with one or more approaches to a solution. The third step is implementing the plan. The final step has the problem solver evaluating if the solution makes sense and learning from the experience. This cycle provides a framework for systematically solving problems across various subjects.

Uploaded by

Fatima Uli
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Polya’s Problem-Solving Cycle

The Teaching and Learning Group


Polya’s Problem-Solving Cycle
Understand
the Problem

How to
Look Back
Approach Devise a Plan
Problem
Solving

Carry Out the


Plan
Understanding the Problem
 The obvious first step, but often not done. Understand
the Problem

How to
Approach Devise a
Look Back

Ask students questions such as:


Problem Plan
 Solving

 Do you understand all the words used in the problem? Carry Out
the Plan
 What are you being asked to do/show/find out?
 Can you put the problem into your own words?
 Can you draw a diagram/picture that would explain what you
have to do?
 Is there enough information to enable you to find a solution?
 What do we know already, and what do we need to find out?
Devising a Plan
There are many ways to approach solving a
Understand
 the Problem

problem How to
Approach Devise a
Look Back

Below is a list of just some of them


Problem Plan
 Solving

 You may need to help the students identify a Carry Out


the Plan

suitable approach
 Guess and check  Use a model
 Look for a pattern  Consider special cases
 Make an orderly list  Work backwards
 Draw a picture  Use direct reasoning
 Eliminate possibilities  Use a formula
 Solve a simpler problem  Solve an equation
 Use symmetry  Be ingenious
Carrying Out the Plan
 This is too often where students start! Understand
the Problem

How to
Approach Devise a
Look Back

Students need persistence and patience (and


Problem Plan
 Solving

perhaps encouragement) Carry Out


the Plan

 All the while the students should be keeping the


next step in the cycle at the back of their minds
Look Back
Understand
the Problem

 Key questions to ask here include: How to


Approach Devise a
 Is the plan working? Look Back
Problem
Solving
Plan

 If not, go back round the cycle and develop a new plan


 Students too often keep going with things that clearly aren’t working Carry Out
the Plan

 Does the solution make sense?

 What worked and what didn’t?


 Have a solved the problem successfully?
 What have I learnt?
 These questions are critical to helping students solve future problems
For example…
 Solving a complex mathematical problem
 Polya was a mathematician!

 The extended essay!

 Science investigations

 Fulfilling a design-brief

 Writing an essay
Over to you….

 Would this work in your subject?

 What might it look like in your subject?


References and Further Reading
 ‘How to Solve It’, George Polya, 1945

 ‘Polya’s Problem Solving Techniques,


http://math.berkeley.edu/~gmelvin/math110sp14/polya.pdf

 Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Solve_It

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