Teaching Content and Problem-Solving Skills By Ted McCain

* Using problem-solving, project-based instruction, we are helping our students to have long-term retention and are preparing them for life-long learning.

1. Passing on knowledge and wisdom to our students 2. Helping our students acquire practical problem-solving skills

* Critical thinking and information analysis * Logical, informed decision making * Knowing how to perform online research * Prioritizing and time management

* Teachers “stand and lecture” today

* Teachers need to change their instructional approach so they can teach students these “real-world, problem-solving” skills plus teaching the content that is needed to be taught.

1. We must resist the temptation to tell. 2. We must stop teaching decontextualized content. 3. We must stop giving students the final product of our thinking. 4. We must make a fundamental shift – problems first, teaching second. 5. We must progressively withdraw from helping students. 6. We must reevaluate evaluation.

We Must Resist the Temptation to Tell * Discovery generates interest in learning * Discovery motivates the learner

We Must Stop Teaching Decontextualized Content * Take the content and relate it to the context of real-world situations * Create meaning for our students

We Must Stop Giving Students the Final Product of Our Thinking * Allow for scaffolding learning * Give the students decision-making responsibility in their assignments

We Must Make A Fundamental Shift – Problems First, Teaching Second * Allow students to discover and find the answers for themselves * Use role-playing as a link to the real world

How to transform curriculum into real-world role playing: * The problem must address the outcomes in the curriculum guide * The problem should have a real-world link * You must ensure that you do not give the answer when you present the problem

We Must Progressively Withdraw from Helping Students * Gradually “let go” so the student becomes independent * Teach that failure leads to problem-solving

* Fear of failure – afraid of not measuring up or taking a risk * Need to allow time to develop a student’s self- confidence * Need to teach our students the value of failure * Failure “stimulates creative, outside-the-box thinking” – leads to problem solving * Linked to the fear of failure is the inability to cope with uncertainty * Stop teaching that there is only a“right/wrong” approach * Stop doing things for students

We Must Reevaluate Evaluation * Besides written tests, use other types of evaluation. * Portfolios * Timed Exercises * Real-World Work

1. Define 2. Design 3. Do 4. Debrief

* Avoid jumping to conclusions. * Ask probing questions to get the details. * Goal is to create a list of specifications that outlines all the details. * Need to ensure that everyone understands the scope of the problem.

* Designing a plan for the solution to a problem helps the student to know what skills and knowledge they need to learn in order to solve the problem. * Students take responsibility for identifying what learning they need. * Individualized instruction can be used for the students, taking into account multiple intelligences. * Students put on paper the logical step-by-step that they will follow to complete the task. * Break large tasks into smaller tasks. Helps to determine what resources and learnings will be needed. * Develop a timeline to keep track of time and deadlines.

* Put their design into action. Blueprint for doing their work. * Mistakes can happen. Important to learn from our mistakes. * Teachers play an important part in this step. Work with the student on time management. Monitoring the project is important. * Final product from Defining and Designing.

* Assessing how well the student did. Evaluation is done jointly by both student and teacher. * Students have to go back to the Define document and self-evaluate their work and assign themselves a grade. * Benefits: * 1) students become very aware of the quality of their work * 2) see problem-solving as a cyclical process * 3) evaluation is a very transparent process

* Time Management * Project Management * Research * Project Design * Teamwork

* Use some type of time planner – paper or electronic to document use of time.

* Use the timeline created and completed in the “Do”. * Having the students analyze the time on the various tasks and subtasks helps them develop better project management skills.

* Skills needed are the following: * Find the relevant information for a given task. * Ability to analyze the information to learn its true meaning. * Ability to apply this knowledge to solve the given problem. * Ability to determine the knowledge and skills are needed to complete a project

* When completing the Design part of the project, need to constantly refer back to the Define step to ensure that all details have been used. * Setting realistic goals. * Developing logical sequence of subtasks. * Admitting that you don’t know something is the first step in learning.

* Ability to work well in a group is an important skill.

* Students evaluate their performance and product. * Once a grade was determined by the teacher, the student is encouraged to discuss the grade. * Allows feedback on strengths and weaknesses.

* Best done progressively. * Goal – to teach students to solve problems independently.

Implications for Education * Teachers become crafters of problems. * Teachers must become process instructors in addition to being content instructors. * Goal is to guide students through the process of solving problems until they can do it on their own. * Teacher becomes a confirmer and challenger.

Evaluating the Process * Important to evaluate the process as well as the end product. * Was the 4D process followed? How about time management, project management, research, project design, and teamwork? Evaluating Personal Attributes * Evaluating such personal attributes such as being reliable, taking initiative, working independently, being polite, having a positive attitude, being honest, and so on. * Required that students grade their positive attitude and independence.

* Requires time and energy. * Teacher has to also be a learner. Model life- long learning. * Continuously improving our instructional effectiveness. * Make the transition slowly.

“The issue of foremost importance is to develop thinking skills in our students so that they will be able to utilize the power of technological tools to solve problems and to do useful work.”

* Slide 2 – Google Image * Slide 3 – Google Image * Slide 5 – Wikipedia & Johan Brook – Flickr * Slide 6 – phs.edu.vn * Slide 7 – * Slide 18 – thegoldguys.blogspot.com – Scott Maxwell * Slide 24 – Pixabay – geralt – Public Domain * Slide 28 – wikipedia Commons