Tackling Math Problems

Here are several ideas on a paper-based process for tackling math problems.
We suggest the following materials:
An index card box in A5 landscape format.
Having just a stack of loose sheets is arguably not the best option once we deal with complex
problems that require a larger number of sheets.
So we need some sheet organizer. And an index card box seems - for our purpose of problem
solving - superior both to a notebook and to a folder:
- we can add sheets where we need them,
- we can have several older sheets visible while working on a new one,
- and we don't have to wrestle sheets out of a holding mechanism.
A paper size of A6 is too small for diagrams, A4 is certainly OK (and for diagrams and for
math with bulky terms arguably better than A5), but it is about twice as clunky.
Finally, landscape format fits better with a sheet layout we describe below.
Matching paper in A5.
Paper sheets are thinner than index cards, so the box capacity is much larger.
Matching tabs for the box.
These are often sold together with the box. They are needed for setting up sections and
useful as place markers.
Pencil, eraser etc.
Writing material is a matter of taste, but with diagrams and a constant need for corrections,
pencil and eraser seem a natural choice.
A simple rack for sheets.
(We can fold a thin A3 cardboard accordion-style-ish, fix it to another piece of stiffer
cardboard and mount it in a book stand.
Depending on the folding we get 4-8 horizontal ledges for sheets.)
This item is perhaps optional, but I find it extremely handy: We can arrange numerous sheets
on the rack, we have an overview with one glance, and it is much easier and faster to take a
sheet from the rack than from the box.
The place needed on the table for the sheet rack is much smaller than the place needed for
laying out the sheets.
These simple elements can support our attempts to solve a math problem.
We can use the sheets for ordinary notes - in words and phrases, formulas, diagrams, tables,
lists, and on A4 sheets possibly mind maps.
If we divide the sheets by a vertical line, we get a layout with space for side remarks,
questions etc. This is especially useful if we have to deal with obstacles - and it is an
important building block for "more metacognition".
We can number the sheets (for example in the upper right corner) in a decimal notation, like
12, 12.1, 12.1.1.
With this notation, we can reference between sheets - where did an idea come from, where is
an idea examined in more detail, where do we find related ideas?
We can place the sheets in the index card box according to their number, perhaps with the
highest number at the front.
Finding sheets works via the numbers. (But see the index idea below.)
On the paper rack we can arrange the recent relevant sheets.
For example we can put the sheets for each solution attempt on one ledge - thus we have a
decent overview over the attempts we've tried so far.
Using the tabs, we can set up several sections - one for the main part with notes on problems
we try to solve, one for spontaneous ideas (perhaps with sheet numbers I1, I2) or a section
for open topics we want to examine later.
It may be convenient to have sheets with empty writing space ready at the sheet rack.
The index card box may contain an organically growing section on thinking tools for math
problem solving - general questions, a question catalogue in the spirit of Polya, collections
of math principles or proof techniques, tricks for special math domains.
This tool collection may contain references to other sections of the index card box.
We can place the most important tool sheets on the sheet rack.
When we take sheets from the box, a tab can help us to put them back later.
.........................................................
How to do the thinking about a math problem itself?
One approach is "thinking on paper" - a close interplay between thinking and writing:
We can write down questions, even half-formed ones.
We can note that we are confused, and find out in writing why.
We can collect ideas, or produce them with creativity tools, collect even hazy ones, and make
them more precise.
Or we can play around with terms and diagrams on the paper.
Arguably one of the most important processes is reflection:
We can ask on a new sheet what happened on the previous one. Where are the main obstacles?
What can we do now? What variations are possible? What problem solving tools (perhaps from
the tool collection) may be useful?
The notes are a "work in progress".
They should not be written in the spirit of a polished solution - such a document can be
written later, when the search for a solution was successful.

50 - Seite 1
 written later, when the search for a solution was successful.
A polished version can become part of the index card box.
If necessary, we can install an index to find material for a given topic.
Here are several remarks.
The process outlined above can be modified in countless ways.
The details I mentioned work for me, but I am more than happy if people make adaptations to
the process to find their own versions of "personal problem solving methods".
With all my enthusiasm for "thinking on paper" etc.: I do not think that there is a general
method or even a loose framework that fits all people and all problems.
I see the method as a possible useful extra element in math education - it is certainly not a
replacement for conventional math education and not a replacement for actual exoperiences
with actual math problems.
At the core of the method are three principles:
- Think on paper.
- Use tools.
- Organize your papers.
These principles could be used in isolation, but I find them much more powerful when they
form an "integrated problem solving environment", in analogy to the "integrated development
environments" in computer programming, like Eclipse or Visual Studio.
Our brains have evolved many of their traits in a world where fighting sabretooth tigers
seemed more important than solving math problems.
So it seems a good idea to support our brains in tasks that are crucial for math problem
solving - like concentrating on a topic for a really long time, remembering past thoughts and
pursuing them further, producing new ideas, trying to overcome obstacles etc.
The principles mentioned above and the specific building blocks of the method are just
(first) ideas to provide that support.
I find the sheet rack immensely handy - but it may seem a bit outlandish.
It may be replaced by just laying out the papers on the desk, which should not be too small.
In my mind, a method based on paper has two major advantages over a computer-based one:
It causes much less distractions, and it is much easier to combine text, formulas and
diagrams while concentrating on content and not on technology.
However, if a computer seems to be the best medium, something like wiki software may be a
good choice.
Searching for a solution to a math problem often leads to tree-like structures - we start
with a collection of seminal ideas, we pursue them to a certain point, from there, we can
follow several different paths etc.
Such a structure is easier to model with loose sheets in a box - or temporarily on a sheet
rack - than in a notebook.

50 - Seite 2