Randall I. Charles, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at San Jose State University, San Jose, California. He began his career as a high school mathematics teacher, and he was a mathematics supervisor for fi ve years. Dr. Charles has been a member of several NCTM committees and is the former Vice President of the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM). Much of his writing and research has been in the area of problem solving. He has authored more than 75 mathematics textbooks for kindergarten through college.

The Role of Problem Solving in High School Mathematics

Problem solving has been the focus of a substantial number of research studies over the past thirty years. It is well beyond the scope of this paper to even attempt to summarize this body of research. Those interested in significantly broader reviews of research related to problem solving should see Schoenfeld (1985), Charles & Silver (1988), and Lesh & Zawojewski (2007). This paper focuses on the most recent research related to problem solving that has a direct impact on the way mathematics is taught every day in secondary mathematics classrooms.