Many students perceive their teachers to know more than they really do (Math teachers in particular). If a Math student who just observed a teacher solve a problem at the board is asked “What do you think was going through the teacher’s mind as they solved that problem?”, I suspect the average answer would be something very specific, like “This is a second degree polynomial in standard form, so solving this problem will require precisely six steps, the first of which is…”
In reality, the jumble of thoughts in a math teacher’s mind probably go something more like: “What looks easiest to simplify first? Oh… I see two places, no make that three, that I could start… but which should I choose? Does this look like it will take a lot of room to solve? If so, I had better organize my work a bit more… OK – now that I have simplified things a bit, what options do I see from here?”
Teachers and mathematicians do not “see” the entire series of Continue reading Solving Math Problems At The Board