Notes on "Perpetual Question" of Problem Solving: How Can Learners Best Be Taught Problem-Solving Skills?

Although problem solving was a major focus of mathematics education research in many countries throughout the 1990s, not enough is known about how people best acquire problem-solving skills. This paper is an attempt to advance further development of problem-solving skills of talented school students through combination of some methods accessible from curriculum knowledge and more special techniques that are beyond curriculum. Analysis of various problems is provided in detail. Educational aspects of challenging problems in mathematical contests up to IMO level are, also, taken into account and discussed in the paper.