Problem Solving with First-Degree Equations from Polya's

Abstract

This study investigates how 8th-grade students solve contextualized problems involving first-degree equations, from the perspective of Polya’s problem-solving stages. It is based on the theoretical contributions of Polya (1995), Duval (2011), and official Brazilian educational documents. This is a qualitative research study conducted with 22 students from a public school located in Cupira-PE, Brazil. Four contextualized problems were applied, designed based on Polya’s stages of understanding the problem, planning, execution, and verification. Data collection was carried out qualitatively through the analysis of students’ solutions, aiming to identify the development of mathematical competencies through the use of these structured stages and the conversion from natural language to algebraic language in contextualized problems. The results indicate that students who followed these stages showed improvement in problem-solving performance, highlighting the importance of pedagogical strategies that make mathematics teaching more meaningful.