Problem Solving In Practice

This book features 50 brief situations that present interesting opportunities and open-ended challenges to engage students in Creative Problem Solving. These brief, practical, everyday situations provide motivating starting points for practicing CPS with groups of many sizes and ages. Grades 3-8

This text has a simple goal - to maximize the reader's capacity to solve problems. It presents a collection of insights and ideas, and offers a coherent strategy and a practical system based on what top performers actually do to achieve results. Business psychologist Steven Kneeland presents step-by-step models, encourages creative thinking and covers the things that make a difference in tackling problems in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment.

"Polya reveals how the mathematical method of demonstrating a proof or finding an unknown can be of help in attacking any problem that can be "reasoned" out--from building a bridge to winning a game of anagrams."--Back cover.

Beast Academy Guide 2A and its companion Practice 2A (sold separately) are the first part in the planned four-part series for 2nd grade mathematics. Book 2A includes chapters on place value, comparing, and addition.

Engineering professor Barbara Oakley knows firsthand how it feels to struggle with math. In her book, she offers you the tools needed to get a better grasp of that intimidating but inescapable field.

How can we break the cycle of frustrated students who "drop out of math" because the procedures just don't make sense to them? Or who memorize the procedures for the test but don't really understand the mathematics? Max Ray-Riek and his colleagues at the Math Forum @ Drexel University say "problem solved," by offering their collective wisdom about how students become proficient problem solvers, through the lens of the CCSS for Mathematical Practices. They unpack the process of problem solving in fresh new ways and turn the Practices into activities that teachers can use to foster habits of mind required by the Common Core: communicating ideas and listening to the reflections of others estimating and reasoning to see the "big picture" of a problem organizing information to promote problem solving using modeling and representations to visualize abstract concepts reflecting on, revising, justifying, and extending the work. Powerful Problem Solving shows what's possible when students become active doers rather than passive consumers of mathematics. Max argues that the process of sense-making truly begins when we create questioning, curious classrooms full of students' own thoughts and ideas. By asking "What do you notice? What do you wonder?" we give students opportunities to see problems in big-picture ways, and discover multiple strategies for tackling a problem. Self-confidence, reflective skills, and engagement soar, and students discover that the goal is not to be "over and done," but to realize the many different ways to approach problems. Read a sample chapter.

The real challenge of programming isn't learning a language's syntax—it's learning to creatively solve problems so you can build something great. In this one-of-a-kind text, author V. Anton Spraul breaks down the ways that programmers solve problems and teaches you what other introductory books often ignore: how to Think Like a Programmer. Each chapter tackles a single programming concept, like classes, pointers, and recursion, and open-ended exercises throughout challenge you to apply your knowledge. You'll also learn how to: –Split problems into discrete components to make them easier to solve –Make the most of code reuse with functions, classes, and libraries –Pick the perfect data structure for a particular job –Master more advanced programming tools like recursion and dynamic memory –Organize your thoughts and develop strategies to tackle particular types of problems Although the book's examples are written in C++, the creative problem-solving concepts they illustrate go beyond any particular language; in fact, they often reach outside the realm of computer science. As the most skillful programmers know, writing great code is a creative art—and the first step in creating your masterpiece is learning to Think Like a Programmer.

Beast Academy Practice 2B and its companion Guide 2B (sold separately) are the second part in the planned four-part series for 2nd grade mathematics. Level 2B includes chapters on subtraction, expressions, and problem solving.