Introducing problem-solving can be dauting for both teachers and students. Creating a safe and supportive learning environment can help minimize the fear and encourage risk-taking and perseverance.
Here are eight tips to click through and consider that might help you make problem solving work in your classroom.
1. “I don’t know… yet”
Students should know that it is OK to not know an answer. In fact, we all start not knowing the answer, and problem-solving helps us figure it out. You may want to explore the language that can help set a positive and playful atmosphere.
Try:
Ask yourself: ‘What does problem-solving sound like?’
Think about the phrases they or you can use in the classroom. This could even be a class activity to tease out the positive language of problem solving – “it’s like a game”. “we can solve this?”, “I am not sure this is working so I’m going to try something else”, “let’s try this, we might see something new”, “I might need some help on this bit”, “this is a right puzzle!”.
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