Reflection on Article - "Creativity, flexibility, adaptivity, and strategy use in mathematics"

This article seems to bring forward more questions than answers. The thing that struck me most upon reading this is how much research still needs to be done. I was shocked that this paper was published only last year and that research in this area is pretty new.

I very much agree that there are discrepancies in the meaning of an 'appropriate method', different methods will be appropriate when different criteria is taken into account. Personally I feel that individual characteristics is an important element to consider. We are all individuals who learn differently and our methods should be appropriate for us first and foremost. I was thus surprised that the problem solving approach led to such a high instance of incorrect answers. I also agree that whatever strategy is used, the path to success always starts with having a full understanding of the problem.

A remark in this article which stood out to me was regarding intentions. The best of intentions can lead to bad, and unexpected results. As teachers we have to realise the great effect we have on students and to take as many factors into account before making decisions, we have to be especially careful not to pass on any bad habits!

Finally, it is clear that if a general consensus is ever reached as to the best approach, it needs to be implemented in a students' education as early as possible as prior knowledge definitely has an impact.