Problem Solving Blog Post

I learned that it is simple to add to a lesson to make it fit into the 21^st century competencies.  Having students collaborate with other students instead of working independently is one way to bump up a lesson so students are working on more skills than just the academic standard.  I also found that adding real world scenarios makes the lessons more meaningful to students and adds important academic elements to the lessons.

To determine if a lesson focused on a real-world problem, I noted whether the problem was fiction or something that was actually happened.  If the problem was something that children could actually see or touch for themselves, I put it in the “yes” category. 

To determine if a lesson included problem solving, I considered if the lesson had more than one potential answer.  I placed those lessons that had several answers as a possibility in the “yes” category.

To determine of a lesson required innovation, I first checked to see if there was an end product for the lesson.  I also looked for creativity in the lesson and if there was a real-world use to the lesson, not simply for a grade.

Real world problems included words such as “their” and had to do with situations that were personal and local to the students.  Problems with the primary purpose of problem solving asked for more information when writing answers.  Explanation was required for complete answers.

The cards seemed fairly simple to place at first, but as I got further into the stacks, I started second guessing myself and moving the cards around more.

These sorts make me think about lessons I teach and how I can tweak them a little bit to make them fit better into 21^st century competencies.  I plan to add more student collaboration and real-world scenarios.  I will allow students more opportunity for innovation by providing supplies for students to creatively complete assignments.