"Solving problems", writes Polya, "is a practical art, like swimming, or skiing, or playing the piano: You can learn it only by imitation and practice. This book cannot offer you a magic key that opens all the doors and solves all the problems, but it offers you good examples for imitation and many opportunities for practice: If you wish to learn swimming you have to go into the water and if you wish to become a problem solver you have to solve problems." "In enough cases to allay . . . discouragement over not immediately discovering a solution, Professor Polya masterfully leads the reader down several unproductive paths. At the end of each chapter he provides examples for the render to solve. By means of these carefully selected and arranged problems, many of them directly related to others that precede, and guided by just the right suggestions at just the proper time, the reader's own ability is developed and extended. Solutions to the examples and, in many cases, outlines of procedures for discovering solutions. arc given at the back of the book. With striking promise for effectiveness, the entire book as a unit is one great experience in learning processes for problem solving through participation. The author has captured with great success the implication of his basic premise stated in the preface ..." The Mathematics Teacher

"So goes the legend of the tricky knot of Gordius, king of Phrygia. Many had tried, many had failed, but Alexander the Great simply cut the knot with his sword. He went on to conquer most of Asia, eventually reaching as far east as Northern India. This book of probability riddles curated to challenge the mind and expand mathematical and logical thinking skills. First housed on cut-the-knot.org, these puzzles and their solutions represent the efforts of great minds around the world. Follow along as Alexander Bogomolny presents these selected riddles by topical progression. Try them for yourself before reading their solutions. Just like it was for Alexander the Great, the non-trivial, unexpected solution might be exactly the one you need." -- from amazon.com

Using Technology for Problem Solving in Middle and High School Mathematics: Investigations Using Scientific and Graphing Calculators, Spreadsheets, and The Geometer's Sketchpad © Firmly rooted in the NCTM Principles and Standards, Using Technology for Problem Solving in Middle and High School Mathematics examines why technology is essential to today's mathematics classroom, and illustrates how using technology can encourage and enhance your students' study and understanding of mathematics. Inquiry-based, this book provides both a five-step model and 23 sample investigations that demonstrate how to help students become better problem solvers through the use of four types of instructional technology: the scientific calculator, the graphing calculator, spreadsheet software, and The Geometer's Sketchpad © software. Here's what reviewers say about this book: "The five-step model provided here is excellent, giving teachers a rich mathematical perspective to draw upon. This process moves students from inductive explorations to deductive justifications of the results, which is aligned with current theories on how students best learn." Dr. Robert M. Horton, Clemson University "I like the organization of the investigations; they include a nice variety of topics and tend to avoid the 'already known' examples. The level of technology used moves from simple to more complex, and the reader is exposed to potentially new uses of the technology beyond commonly used (novice) features." Dr. Linda Bolte, Eastern Washington University "I really like the idea of the research summaries. In all cases, I think bringing mathematics research into the practice arena is extremely useful and productive." Dr. Janet Bowers, San Diego State University