For most of us, whose brains are mathematically wired, it seems obvious and natural to break down any problem solving question to the three phases: Entry, Attack, and Review. Most students, on the other hand, are rushing to figure out the solution right away, without even getting to the end of the question. And this is a problem because not reading the problem careful enough, they lose important information about it. By rereading the problem, and asking the question: “What do I KNOW?”, the students will be able to gather important information and find better approaches to solve it.
I think this first phase is crucial and more important than the other two, because without fully understanding the problem students won’t be able to get to the solution therefore it is worth spending extra time with it.
The second phase, the Attack, (What do I WANT?) has its importance too: you cannot solve a problem if you don't know what do you want to get out of the problem and soon might find yourself in a totally different direction.
The Reflection phase, ( What can I INTRODUCE?) is an opportunity for students to come up with different ways of solving a problem and maybe adding to it in complexity.
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