WHAT ARE HEURISTICS?

In the words of Plya (1973): The aim of heuristics is to study the methods and rules of discovery and invention. He further elaborates: I wish to call heuristic the study ... of means and methods of problem solving ... to entice the reader to do problems and to think about the means and methods he uses in doing them

WHAT ARE HEURISTICS?

Gelernter & Rochester (1958) postulate: ... a heuristic method (or a heuristic, to use the noun form) is a procedure that may lead us by a short cut to the goal we seek or it may lead us down a blind alley. It is impossible to predict the end result until the heuristic has been applied and the result checked by some formal process of reasoning. If the method does not have the characteristic that it may lead us astray, we would not call it a heuristic, but rather an algorithm.

WHAT ARE HEURISTICS?

To Schoenfeld (1980), heuristic means: ... a general suggestion or strategy, independent of any particular topic or subject matter, that helps problem solvers approach and understand a problem and efficiently marshal their resources to solve it

WHAT ARE HEURISTICS? In all the above cases, there are at least four common features of heuristics: (1) Heuristics are rules or methods to plan for solutions. (2) These rules or methods are plausible in nature. (3) They wont guarantee success in finding solutions. (4) They are hard to teach. That is why Wilson (1967) comments: A heuristic is a decision mechanism, a way of behaving, which usually leads to desired outcomes, but with no guarantee of success. It is plausible in nature, giving guidance in the discovery of a solution.

WHAT ARE HEURISTICS?

For instance, consider the following problem: A rectangular pasture has sides 15 m by 10 m. A cow is tied to one of the corners by a rope of length 7 m. Find the area of the field not being grazed by the cow. B 15m C P 10m 7m AQD In solving this problem, one must draw the above picture based on the information given. Drawing a picture is the heuristic that can be relied on to plan for a solution. However, the picture will only be correct if the problem solver sees PQ to be the arc of a circle of radius 7 m. However, drawing the correct picture will not guarantee the problem solver a solution if he or she does not know how to find the area of PBCDQ.

WHAT ARE HEURISTICS?

Consider another problem: Find x, satisfying the equation x4 13x2 + 36 = 0. Since x4 = (x2)2, and introducing y = x2 , the auxiliary problem y2 13y + 36 = 0 is obtained. In this case the notation y = x2 and the auxiliary problem are the heuristics. The notation transforms the original problem to an intermediate problem that can help in finding a solution. To formulate this auxiliary problem and to conceive it as a means to solve the original problem is an achievement of intelligence. However, this auxiliary problem will not guarantee a solution if the problem solver does not know how to solve it for y and transform y back to x.

WHAT ARE HEURISTICS?

Heuristics lists What actually are heuristics? Plya (1973) presents a long list of heuristics in his Short Dictionary of Heuristics. Analogy Problem to find, problem Auxiliary elements to prove

Auxiliary problem Progress & achievement

Bright idea Reuctio, absurdum & Corollary indirect proof Decomposing & Routine problem recombining Rules of discovery Definitions Rules of style Determination, hope & Rules of teaching success Setting up equations

Diagnosis Signs of progress

Examine your guess Specialization Figures Subconscious work Generalization Symmetry Heuristic Test by dimension Heuristic reasoning Wisdom of proverbs Induction Practical problems Inventors paradox Variations Lemma Working backwards Modern heuristics Pedantry & mastery.

WHAT ARE HEURISTICS?

The following list, proposed by Begg (1994) is more applicable to school mathematics: guess and check, make a list, draw a picture, table or graph, find a pattern, a relationship, and/or a rule, make a model, solve a simpler problem first, work backwards, eliminate possibilities, try extreme cases, write a number sentence, act out a problem, restate a problem, check for hidden assumptions, change the point of view, and recognize when procedures are appropriate.

WHAT ARE HEURISTICS?

There is a close relationship between the heuristics used and the students intellectual levels. Holton, Spicer, Thomas and Young (1996) suggest that primary students could independently and comfortably use: Draw a picture; Act it out; Use equipment; Guess and check. In the intermediate classes, students use a more extensive range of strategies: Act it out; Draw a diagram; Guess and check; Make a list or table; Work backwards; Work systematically; Look at patterns; Try a simpler case.

WHAT ARE HEURISTICS?

In Malaysia, eight different heuristics has been emphasized to students taking Additional Mathematics at the ordinary level. These are: trial and error, draw a diagram, make a table, look for patterns, test and simulate, try a simpler problem, analogy and work backwards. We will now provide illustrations in addition to the two examples in the last page to show how some of these heuristics can be used as a means to solve the original problem.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HEURISTICS

Plya maintains that heuristics can be taught. He devotes much of his effort to showing how heuristic reasoning can be taught through heuristic methods. Wilson (1967) suggests that there is a need to distinguish between the heuristic method as a way of teaching and the use of heuristic reasoning as a goal. The former is to help students to tackle the problem at hand, whereas the latter is to develop students problem-solving ability when tackling complex, non-routine problems. Plya (1973) clearly states these goals as he comments: There are two aims which the teacher may have in view when addressing to his students a question or a suggestion : First, to help the student to solve the problem at hand. Second, to develop the students ability so that he may solve future problems by himself. The teaching through heuristic method can be further enhanced: ... when the teacher solves a problem before the class, he should dramatize his ideas a little and he should put to himself the same questions which he uses when helping the students.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HEURISTICS

Schoenfeld supports the ideas on heuristics put forward by Plya. He has carried out a number of studies on heuristics from the 1980s. Schoenfeld (1985) gives a rationale for the study of heuristics and for teaching problem solving through heuristics: (1) Our students will develop a personal and idiosyncratic collection of problem solving strategies, which can be called upon when tackling new problems. (2) There is a substantial degree of homogeneity in ways that expert problem solvers approach new problems. It is worthwhile to make explicit these ways to our students. (3) By means of introspection or by making systematic observations of experts solving a large number of problems, it might be possible to identify and characterize the heuristic strategies that are used by expert problem solvers. (4) By providing direct instruction on these heuristics, our students save time in discovering them by themselves.