Activity 6.1 (Problem Solving)

I think there are more aspects of problem solving in learning than I originally thought before going over the lecture slides and assigned reading. I do think we learn some things without problem solving, but not too much, because most of what we learn can be deduced to a problem. Are we aware that what we are learning has some element of a problem attached to it? No I don’t think we do. Do I perceive what I’m learning in this class as a problem? Not originally, but that line of thinking is shifting. I think most people carry on in their lives unaware of the fact that most of their interactions and dialogues with others, and with themselves, as having connections to a specific problem. This maybe explains why problem solving is analogous to learning.

Years ago, and I won’t specify how many, I took a graduate summer course to become a certified mediator in conflict resolution. It was an intensive seminar on essentially, problem solving. Sure we role-played the obvious scenarios such as “the neighbor’s dog is barking too much and now you’re in a dispute” or “we’re getting a divorce and can’t agree on anything”. Those were obvious problems, or well-defined problems (Pretz., et. al, p. 7). However, as I learned through the course of this summer long training excursion, it’s the ill-defined problems that are the most difficult to work through. For example, a husband and wife are arguing over what to have for dinner, but as the conversation escalates in emotions other topics come to the surface. Come to find out dinner is not the problem, it’s something else, and that’s where the process to problem solving begins. Define and identify the problem. Fractionation would work really well in these situations too.

I recently read an article about whether or not students at different ability levels should be taught in the same way or same room as those that may need more assistance. Vygotsky and Piaget believed that children learn in stages during their developing years, some maybe faster than others, but not to the extent that the child wouldn’t master that stage at some point. I couldn’t help but think about this hot topic in the world of primary and secondary education when I came across this passage while reading the chapter on problem-solving. “Even though experts often both define and represent problems differently than do novices, the experts can suffer when the fundamentals of their representations are altered, resulting in significantly different performance profiles”(Pretz, et. al, p. 15). Learning is about making associations, connections with what we already know and building on that. Some individuals may start off with few knowledge structures related to the topic but will still continue to assimilate and accommodate. We see here that experts, or individuals who have more skill and/or experience with something, may also experience some hurdles to problem solving.

To me this connected well with the discussion in the lecture slides on thinking or talking aloud to enhance non-routine thinking. Speaking out loud our inner thoughts is a valuable tool, allowing us to figure out ways to connect the old with the new, through accommodation. I encounter problems on a daily basis, either at work related to teaching, at home on a relational level, or within myself. Here recently, well just since June really, I’ve been having a hard time with time management. The problem is I had too many things I wanted to do over the summer that I am not able to get to and it’s frustrating to me, which then occasionally leaks over in to my relationships with others (specifically my husband). I tend to feel guilty if I’m not getting things done in a timely fashion or completing goals that I had assigned to myself. For me it’s not good to ruminate in my thoughts for too long without sharing them aloud. I find out answers to questions or solutions to problems best when talking to someone about it. So, I sat my husband down, asked him to lend an ear for a bit while I wrestled out loud with my inner thoughts. Once I identified the problem (too many tasks assigned for time allotted), I was able to brainstorm possible solutions. The one I chose was to delegate some tasks and reassign others to a later date. So far it’s working out, but it’s in the early stages of implementation.