Analysis of Elementary Gifted Students’ Fermi Problem-Solving Process

While Fermi problems can enhance mathematical thinking in gifted students, analysis of elementary gifted students’ problem-solving processes remains insufficient. This study aims to analyze how elementary gifted students approach and solve Fermi problems. Specifically, it examines the strategies these students employ during problem-solving and the types of reasoning they use when simplifying problems to estimate values. Participants were 46 students enrolled in a gifted education center, and their responses were analyzed using analytical frameworks based on previous research. The findings indicate that the most frequently used problem-solving strategies were iteration of a base unit and use of proportion. Additionally, approximately half of the students relied on their experience and intuition to determine estimation values. Based on these results, this study provides implications for the application of Fermi problems in elementary education.