Which Heuristic Operations Do Primary School Students Use When Solving Complex Story Problems

The scientific discussion of heurism concentrates on the solving of tasks. One of its specific aims is to emphasize the general reasons for choosing certain aspects of a problem that helps us to find the solution (Polya, 1964). The elements that are detected in such analyses are known as “heuristic operations” or “heuristics” (Bruder & Collet, 2011). These terms, however, are understood as rules of thumb, which can be utilized for problem solving without guaranteeing a solution (Rasch, 2001). Because the operations are supposed to be independent of the specific content, they can be used by problem solvers for a variety of tasks and transferred to various contexts (Konig, 1992).