Habits of Mathematical Thinking and Development of Heuristics

Abstract

Psychological theory indicates that human use heuristics, the psychology of mental shortcuts, to make decisions, solve problems, or learn new knowledge. In this article, I will discuss how some common mathematical mistakes generate from the heuristics process while students learn mathematics or solve mathematics problems, and how we may help students avoid the hurdle of heuristic bias. Constructing heuristics ability of non-linear thinking will be discussed to shed light on teaching students high order of mathematical thinking.