Problem-Solving

Problem-solving is inherently meaningful because it rests on the existence of a clearly defined purpose.

Put another way, problems need solving.

Trying to solve a problem is the purpose that gives the act meaning.

For example, I could present you with a selection of information and ideas and ask you to learn these.

Or I could present you with the same selection and ask you to use it to solve a problem.

In the latter case, the solving of the problem is your purpose.

This goal is defined.

It calls on our wider experience of problem-solving and what we know this to entail.

Coupled with this is the argument that problem-solving is a significant feature of human life for us all; it is something in which we engage every day, to varying extents, and through which we attempt to realise the desires we have in the world in which we live.

Here are five ways you can build problem-solving into your lessons, helping to foster intrinsic motivation in your learners:

• Rephrase learning objectives, lesson outcomes, lesson titles and activity titles as questions learners must try to answer through the course of the lesson.
• Break down activities into a series of key sub-questions. Encourage learners to see answering each question in turn as the best way to successfully complete the activity.
• Use the problems that came before discoveries and advances as the focus of the learning. For example, when teaching about the discovery of penicillin, you might start by asking learners to look at the problem that preceded its discovery – the lack of effective treatment for illness and disease. From here, you and your learners can move forward, echoing the problem-solving experience as it played out in reality.
• Assign learners the role of investigators, scientists or detectives. Present them with a problem connected to the topic of study alongside the materials they need to solve this. The lesson can develop from here and will be enquiry-led.
• Set learners a series of problems and provide instant feedback on the solutions they develop. This gives them the information they need to use trial and error successfully, allowing them to make rapid progress in response.

In all these examples, the teacher is asking the question:

• How can I reframe the learning, so it is about problem-solving?

Asking this question helps them to tweak their planning in a way that promotes intrinsic motivation by encouraging learners to see the lesson, or parts of it, as being bound up with problem-solving, rather than the more traditional forms of learning.

Joint Goals

A second technique is to think about joint goals.

If learners share our goals, greater engagement is likely to follow.

This is because learners will perceive that what we are asking them to do is aligned with what they are motivated to achieve.

Here are three techniques through which you can establish, communicate, and use joint goals:

• Invite your learners to define what the success criteria will be for a given task. To do this, introduce the task to them, talk through what it will involve and ask them to work in pairs to identify three things they think will be included in any piece of work good enough to be deemed excellent.

When pairs have come up with their ideas, ask for various suggestions and scribe these on the board. When you have six or seven, explain that the class will now vote on which they think are the most important. Tell learners they have three votes each and then precede to go through each potential success criterion in turn. When the voting is finished, pick out the three top scorers and rank these according to their popularity. These then form the basis of what success will look like in the task.

• At the start of the year, try to spend 3-5 minutes interviewing every learner in your class. Come up with a set of questions you can use that will help you to gain an understanding of what learners feel they can do already, what they hope to achieve by the end of the year, and what they will do to make this happen. Make a note of the conversations in a booklet or on your computer.

Doing this serves three ends. First, it builds rapport between you and your learners, showing them that you are interested in their aims and goals. Second, it gives you a wealth of information about the learners in your class – information you can use to inform your lesson planning. Third, during the year you can revisit your notes and use these to remind yourself and your learners what you are all working towards.

• At the start of a unit of work, introduce the topic and give learners five minutes to discuss what they want to learn about this and what they want to be able to do by the end of it. To scaffold discussions, you might want to present some example ideas learners can call on, or a set of questions they can talk around.

When the time is up, give learners a piece of paper and ask them to make a note of their aims, and to add their name to this as well. Collect the papers in and take some time after the lesson to look through these. You can use the information to structure your planning, telling learners in the next lesson that you have read through their aims and will try to help them achieve these in the lessons that follow.

In the penultimate lesson of the unit, return the pieces of paper. Invite learners to assess the extent to which they have achieved their goals, what they still need to do in the last two lessons, and what you can do to help them. Ask them to share this information with you – by telling you as you circulate through the room, by writing it on a mini-whiteboard which they then display, or by writing it on the piece of paper before returning this for you to read.

Each of these techniques demonstrates to learners that your lessons are designed to help them achieve their goals; that you and they are working together to reach the same end.

This is motivational and engaging. Both of which help make behaviour management far more straightforward.