Conquer Thinking Skills & Heuristics focuses on the underlying processes and strategies essential to problem solving. Each book introduces various skill sets and builds upon them as the level increases. The 6-book series covers the following thinking skills and heuristics:
Thinking Skills:
- Analysing Parts and Wholes
- Comparing
- Classifying
- Identifying Patterns and Relationships
- Deduction
- Induction
- Spatial Visualisation
Heuristics:
- Act It Out
- Draw a Diagram / Model
- Look for a Pattern
- Work Backwards
- Make a List / Table
- Guess and Check
- Before-After
- Make Suppositions
- Use Equations
Students who are keen to develop their abilities in problem solving will learn quickly how to:
- make sense of the problem sum: what am I asked to find?
- make use of given information: what do I know?
- think of possible strategies: have I come across similar problems before?
- choose the correct strategy: apply what I know confidently!
- solve the problem: work out the steps...
- check the answer: is the solution logical and reasonable?
Practice questions follow after the examples of each skill set and 3 graded Reviews (easy, intermediate, challenging) are provided for an overall assessment of the skills learnt. The worked solutions show the application of the strategies used. Students will find this series invaluable in helping them understand and master problem-solving skills.
