Math Processes

The mathematical processes can be seen as the processes through which all students acquire and apply mathematical knowledge, concepts, and skills. These processes are interconnected.

Problem solving and communicating have strong links to all the other processes. A problem-solving approach encourages students to reason their way to a solution or a new understanding. As students engage in reasoning, teachers further encourage them to pose questions, make conjectures, and justify solutions, orally and in writing.

The communication and reflection that occur before, during, and after the process of problem solving help students not only to articulate and refine their thinking but also to see the problem they are solving from different perspectives.

This opens the door to recognizing the range of strategies that can be used to arrive at a solution. By seeing how others solve a problem, students can begin to reflect on their own thinking (a process known as “metacognition”) and the thinking of others, as well as their own language use (a process known as “metalinguistic awareness”), and to consciously adjust their own strategies in order to make their solutions as efficient and accurate as possible.

(Ontario Elementary Math Curriculum, 2020)