Math Heuristics? Heuristics Math? You might have seen or heard these terms being used in primary school Math, but what exactly are they? Why should you learn them? Before we dive into that, we’ll first need to understand what a heuristic is. Put simply, heuristics are just simple rules and mental shortcuts that we have created based on our past experiences. Ever heard of the phrases “rule of thumb”, “estimate”, or “stereotyping”? If you did, that’s what it is. So, what about heuristics in Math? Math Heuristics are simple problem-solving strategies that can be applied to Math questions. These are often tried-and-tested strategies that many Mathematicians before our time had invented to solve new Math problems that they encountered.
By right, Math Problem Solving can be a fun and rewarding experience. However, many children find it difficult and lose marks in this area. Why? This is because where problem sums are concerned, the approaches and the solution may not be obvious. Ask any child studying the upper primary levels such as Primary 5 and Primary 6 and they’ll most likely agree. Unlike Primary 4 where problem sums are more straight forward, Primary 5, and Primary 6 problem sums are much more complex and demand higher order thinking.
This is where Math heuristics can come in handy.
It’s like equipping yourself with a valuable toolbox to help you solve these challenging problem sums. Knowing a set of Math heuristics can dramatically increase your chances of solving any Math problem. Not only does it help to get you started, but it also provides a guide to your thinking processes.
For example, if you have had the experience of solving simpler questions that are related to this challenging problem that you are trying to solve, you could apply the same method of solving it. That is an example of a heuristic known as “Simplifying the Problem”.
Since Math heuristics are mostly tried and tested strategies, you don’t really have to spend as much time thinking of a newer, unique solution from scratch.
On top of that, using certain Math heuristic allows you to solve certain types of problems in a more systematic way. Hence, it’s a faster and more accurate problem-solving strategy.
Thinking skills and heuristics are essential for mathematical problem-solving.
Now that you have a better picture of what Math Heuristics are and how they work, try them out with a variety of Math questions!
As you are doing the questions, don’t forget to think about which Math Heuristics is the best-fitting for each scenario.
If you continue to hone your problem-solving skills over the next few weeks with these heuristics mentioned above, you will be able to see questions in new perspectives and increase your efficiency in solving Math problems!
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