Problem Solving with a Purpose

The demand for students that can successfully problem solve is a skill that the workforce is looking for in prospective employees.  Many teachers are revising their curricula to encourage higher orders of thinking on their students.  When problem solving students go through three cognitive activities to find a solution to the problem. 

1.      Represent Problem- Students find appropriate context knowledge, and seek the end goal and starting conditions of the problem.

2.      Solution Search- During this stage students refine the goal they are seeking and develop a plan of action to reach their end goal

3.      Implement Solution- Students execute their plan of action and then evaluate the results.

When implementing problem solving through the use of projects there are eight important steps to consider making the assignment purposeful and meaningful for your students.

1.      Identify the significant content you want your students to fully understand.  Outline the basis of the important knowledge you would like students to become familiar with.  This should reflect what you as an educator believes are essential for their learning process on the topic.  In turn students will find material and terms they believe are significant in their own lives.

2.      Grab students attention from the get go!  Provide an “entry event” that gets the students interested and engaged.  Some examples are video clips, group discussion, guest speaker, and a field trip.  Sparking students’ interest rather than passing out a handout and telling them they need to know this because it is on the test is a poor way to get students to fully use their problem solving skills. 

3.      Be sure to have a driving question.  A clear driving question provides a sense of reasoning for the assignment and also a challenge presented to them.

4.      Allow for student input.  Provide multiple outlets for completing the project.  Allow for a written paper, oral presentation, and media technology.  Students articulate and solve problems in many ways don’t constrict your students learning and thought process.

5.      Create a project replicated to the workforce.  Allow for collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and the use of technology.  Incorporating these facets into your assignment create purpose and allow for reflection.

6.      Dig deeper.  Have students ask questions and stem off of topics already being examined.  Students find more meaning in work when they can relate it to real life issues.

7.      Feedback & Revision.  In doing this students realize the importance of creating high quality products and that their first attempt at something is usually not their last.  It explicitly relates to the workforce and that revisions are an integral part of creating high quality products.

8.      Present your product!  Show off your work.  Present how you arrived to your final solution.

In conclusion when creating an assignment centered on problem solving make it meaningful!  Do not create it just for the sake of completing the assigned material and moving on to take the test.  Upon completion of the project have students present their findings or creation to an audience.  Students care more about the quality of their research and problem solving strategies when they know they have to present it.  Doing this students acquire a taste of what professionals in the workforce are looking for, after all isn’t that what we as educators are preparing our students for?  Real world experiences in an atmosphere where they can succeed and fail without any repercussions.

Check out this short interesting read about problem solving.