Curriculum developers and problem solving: the case of Israeli elementary school projects

Problem solving has been a main focus in mathematics education for several decades, yet it seems that its definition and classroom implementation are far from being consensual. We explore the views and approaches of a small community: the project leaders of five elementary mathematics curriculum development projects in Israel, working within a centralized system, which dictates the syllabus. We describe and analyze their views along six categories: What are problems? What are not problems? Classification of problems, problem solving and individual differences, the ratio of problem solving tasks to other tasks in the project, and the role of heuristics and metacognition in teaching problem solving. We describe, exemplify, interpret and discuss the (few) points of convergence and the many different approaches. Finally, we reflect on the possible role of research in settling those differences. We speculate that our analysis and results go beyond the local and the idiosyncratic.