Teaching Problem Solving

Teaching ContentAndProblem solving skills

By

Ted McCain

Facilitator: Marlene WilkinsonTeaching for Tomorrow

WELCOME!Facilitator Rules1Goal: To Support Problem Solving in Quadrant DObjectives (Secondary):I canexplain how Blooms Taxonomy has changed and why.recognize a Quadrant D lesson plan.explain the six ways to teach for independent and higher learning. describe the 4 Ds of problem solving.

2Goal: To Support Problem Solving in Quadrant DObjectives (Elementary):I canexplain how Blooms Taxonomy has changed and why.explain the Rigor and Relevance Framework.identify Quadrant D activities.recognize a Quadrant D lesson plan.explain the six ways to teach for independent and higher learning. describe the 4 Ds of problem solving.

3RelevanceThe Teacher thoroughly teaches one type of thinking: analytical thinking, practical thinking, creative thinking, or research-based thinkingimplements activities that teach two of the following problem-solving types: abstraction, categorization, drawing conclusions/justifying solution, predicting outcomes, observing and experimenting, improving solutions, identifying relevant/irrelevant information, generating ideas, creating and designing

4Relevance Define the problem

Light hearted look5Blooms The names of the six major categories were changed from noun to verb forms. As the taxonomy reflects different forms of thinking and thinking is an active process, verbs were used rather than nouns. I can explain how and why Blooms was modified.6New Blooms

I can explain how and why Blooms was modified.zGoogle ImageOriginal Blooms published 1956New Blooms published 2001 after 6 years of research by team (cognitive psychologists; curriculum theorists and instructional researchers; testing and assessment specialists)Benjamin Bloom died 1999; Blooms former student (Anderson) lead publication of research.

New Blooms Domains 5 & 6 swapped New technology higher function reflects todays society.7Formative Assessment

I can explain how and why Blooms was modified.8Rigor/Relevance PretestComments:I can explain the Rigor and Relevance Framework.9Rigor and Relevance FrameworkI can explain the Rigor and Relevance Framework.THINKINGACTION

10Teachers expend energy to create and assess learning activitiesproviding lesson content, creating worksheets, and grading student work. In this scenario the student becomes a passive learner.

I can explain the Rigor and Relevance Framework.Quadrant A The Focus is on Teacher WorkQuadrant A The Focus is on Teacher Work

FOUNDATION!!!

ACQUISITION QUAD

Y Thinking Axis:Blooms Knowledge/RememberingBlooms Comprehension/UnderstandingBlooms Application/Applying (Lower Level)

X Action Axis:Quad A Knowledge in one disciplineQuad A Apply in discipline11Typical Student Activities:GamesGuided PracticeLectureMemorizationTest PreparationCreate Graphic of Word/Concept

I can explain the Rigor and Relevance Framework.Quadrant A The Focus is on Teacher Work

Students gather and store bits of knowledge and information. Students are primarily expected to remember or understand this knowledge.

12This work involves more real-world tasks then Quadrant A and generally takes more time for students to complete.I can explain the Rigor and Relevance Framework.Quadrant B The Focus is on the Student Doing Real Work

APPLICATION

Y Thinking Axis:Blooms Knowledge/RememberingBlooms Comprehension/UnderstandingBlooms Application/Applying (Lower Level)

X Action Axis:Apply across disciplinesApply to real-world predictable situationsApply to real-world unpredictable situations

13Typical Student Activities:Cooperative LearningDemonstrationsTechnology Real Time (e-pals)CentersPhysical MovementProblem Based LearningProject DesignPlayVideo

I can explain the Rigor and Relevance Framework.Quadrant B The Focus is on the Student Doing Real Work

Students use acquired knowledge to solve problems, design solutions, and complete work. The highest level of application is to apply knowledge to new and unpredictable situations.

14Students think to analyze, compare, create, and evaluate. Traditionally, this has been the level of learning typical of a high school graduate.

I can explain the Rigor and Relevance Framework.Quadrant C The Focus is on the Student Thinking in Complex Ways

Students extend and refine their acquired knowledge to be able to use that knowledge automatically and routinely to analyze and solve problems and create solutions.

ASSIMILATION

Y Thinking Axis:Application/Applying (Higher)Analysis/AnalyzingSynthesis/EvaluatingEvaluation/Creating

X Action Axis:Knowledge in one disciplineApply in one discipline

15Typical Student Activities:Compare/ContrastManipulatives/ModelsSummarizingBrainstormCreate Word Puzzles

I can explain the Rigor and Relevance Framework.Quadrant C The Focus is on the Student Thinking in Complex Ways

16Roles have shifted from teacher-centered instruction to student-centered learning. D requires students to thoroughly understand the standard as well as understand and conceptualize relevant applications.

I can explain the Rigor and Relevance Framework.Quadrant D The Focus is on the Student Thinking and Working

Students have the competence to think in complex ways and to apply their knowledge and skills. Even when confronted with perplexing unknowns, students are able to use extensive knowledge and skill to create solutions and take action that further develops their knowledge and skill.

Y Thinking Axis:Application/Applying (Higher)Analysis/AnalyzingSynthesis/EvaluatingEvaluation/Creating

X Action Axis:Apply across disciplinesApply to real-world predictable situationsApply to real-world unpredictable situations

17I can identify Quadrant D activities.Artistic ExpressionBrainstormingCooperative LearningFeedback/ReflectionInquiryTechnology (any time/independent learning)Project Design

Presentations/ExhibitsProblem-based learningResearchRole play/SimulationSocratic SeminarStorytellingTeacher QuestionsWriting to LearnCreate a BrochureTypical Student Activities:Quadrant D The Focus is on the Student Thinking and Working

ELMO Instructional Strategies and the Rigor/Relevance Framework Sheet..see anything that surprised you?18Formative Assessment

I can identify Quadrant D activities.19A ComparisonUSA, Europe, Asia

USAUSA perform well in upper Bloomsfalls short when it comes to applying knowledge in real-life predictable and unpredictable situations.

Europe leans more toward teaching applications than US, but still falls short.

Asia instruction moves up both Blooms and the Application model20How Does Your Curriculum Compare?I can explain the Rigor and Relevance Framework.

Shade the graph to represent your classroomyour instructionyour students21

The Challenge To D, or not to D,

that is the question

the challenge is yours!I can recognize a Quadrant D lesson plan.

22Teaching Independent and Higher LearningWe mustresist the temptation to tell.stop teaching decontextualized content.I can explain the six ways to teach for independent and higher learning.

TellPre K-K = Discovery Learning = Joy of learning.when the door closed and I was left all alone with thirty students staring at me, I stood up in front of the class and told them everything I thought they needed to know.giving students content without generating any interest in the material is like having only one side of a piece of Velcro---it doesnt stick. (Information Anxiety 2 Wurman) HOW? Use CREATIVITY AND IMAGINATION Telling will always have a place in a teachers instructional repertoire, especially when they must deliver a lot of content in a short period of time. However, to counterbalance the telling that students will receive, we need to shift our instruction to include discovery learning/inquiry. (pg. 21) Decontextualized pg. 25 (school skills vs real-world skills) Highly educated useless man school skills lack transfer of learning.New information goes to working/short-term memory for 28 to 24hrs. Lost is connection is not made to content already in long-term memory. Two criteria = 1. make sense? 2. have meaning? (David Sousa, How the Brain Works) pg. 2323Sensory MemoryPermanent MemoryWorking Memory

New InformationBackground Knowledge

24Sensory MemoryPermanentMemoryBackground KnowledgeWorking Memory

BackgroundKnowledgeNewInformation

25Teaching Independent and Higher LearningWe mustresist the temptation to tell.stop teaching decontextualized content.stop giving students the final product of our thinking.make a fundamental shiftproblems first, teaching second.progressively withdraw from helping students.reevaluate evaluation.I can explain the six ways to teach for independent and higher learning.

3. Stop giving final productMistakes teach model making mistakes, trial and error, messy nature of raw thinking Give students a voice in designing student work.4. Problems firstShift from Telling to Discovery lets students identify what they need to learnAnalogy: Real-world problems = like dumping out the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle on a table.(role play--work for a publishing (book maker) company, environmental protection agency (farmer), cartographers (map makers) shop, political team (election team), personal finance advisor (banker), etc.) 1. Problem (simulation) must teach a standard 2. have a real-world link 3. do not give answer when presenting the problem.5. Withdraw Help Do you learn more form success or failure? Gates (pg. 42), Success is a lousy teacher because it seduces people into thinking that they cant lose. Failure, on the other hand, tells us that we are doing something that needs to be changed. Failure presents our minds with a challenge and call for our problem-solving skills to spring into action. fear of failure paralyzing 6. Evaluation change focus from product to process. Constructed response-why?

26TurgiumTurgium is the essential component of traduchial fillustrators. Raw turgium is extracted from franzinite, which is mined and refined in Cresepia. The Cresepians use a refinement process that extracts pure turgium from franzinite through the murching process first developed by Fresman and Shnartzer. There is little question that turgium will be a principal factor in the economic growth of Crespia in the 21st century.Questions: What is an important use of turgium? 2. Where is turgium found? 3. How is it extracted? 4. How important is it to the economic growth of Cresepia?What is turgium? Students often answer questions but have no real fully understanding the material.27Formative Assessment

I can explain the six ways to teach for independent and higher learning. 28DefineThe 4 Ds of Problem SolvingI can describe the 4 Ds of problem solving.

DefineGoal: to create a list of details that need to be known about the situation in order to solve the problem.QUESTIONS! Do I need more info..what? Do I need an expert?...who? What questions must be answered?...make a list.Defining avoids procrastinationreview of questions sets expectations/rewardsreal-world experience.

29Frosty the SnowmanFrosty the snowman knewThe sun was hot that day,So he said, "Let's run andWe'll have some funNow before I melt away."

Water Pressure too Low

Robots are Coming!Robots cannot cook your meals yet, but they can carry them to you. Home robots often hold a map of the house in their memory. They also need sensors to know when household objects are in their way.123

FrostyexampleChoose #2 or #3 with partner/team develop questions.30DefineDesignDoDebriefThe 4 Ds of Problem SolvingI can describe the 4 Ds of problem solving.

2. Design (water pressuretank up the hillno figure out how OR Frosty in refrigerator, by where, how?)We do things twicementally, then the actually complete the task? Designing the steps to make the plan a reality. Students may realize they lack certain skills or knowledgestudents discover their need for learningstudents take responsibility for learningsupports differentiated learning.Timeline3. Do the project/task (need teacher guidance, but not as intensely as steps 1 & 2draw/write report or essay, performing in a play, make website/poster, prepare a meal (multi course or peanut butter/cracker with fruitas grade appropriate), debate/discussas grade appropriate, etc.)May be anticlimactic. Monitor timeline and update as needed.4. Debrief is an assessment jointly by the teacher and the studentpromotes awareness re quality of their workreview of Design helps students see problem solving as cyclical instead of linear.

31Formative Assessment

I can describe the 4 Ds of problem solving.32Goal: To Support Problem Solving in Quadrant DObjectives (Secondary):I canexplain how Blooms Taxonomy has changed and why.recognize a Quadrant D lesson plan.explain the six ways to teach for independent and higher learning. describe the 4 Ds of problem solving.

33Goal: To Support Problem Solving in Quadrant DObjectives (Elementary):I canexplain how Blooms Taxonomy has changed and why.explain the Rigor and Relevance Framework.identify Quadrant D activities.recognize a Quadrant D lesson plan.explain the six ways to teach for independent and higher learning. describe the 4 Ds of problem solving.

34Quick Write ReflectionReflect on our session topicsBlooms, the Rigor and Relevance Framework, six ways to promote independent and higher learning, the four Ds of problem solving. Quick Write for 2 minutes on one or more of our topics--what you learned, ah ha moments, what you would like to research further, etc.Be prepared to share.35ReferencesDaggett, W., (n.d.). Developing rigorous and relevant academic skills. Retrieved November 29, 2011, from http://www.pd360.com International Center for Leadership in Education. (2011). Rigor/Relevance Framework. Retrieved November 29, 2011, from http://www.leadered.com/rrr.htmlMcCain, T., (2005). Teaching for tomorrow: Teaching content and problem solving skills. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.Reeves, A., (2011). Where great teaching begins: Planning for student thinking and learning. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.36Introduction: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey) [Live]Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyRichard StraussAloha from Hawaii Via Satellite (Live)1973-02-01T00:00:00Zwilkinsm@cafes.net 1992 BMG Entertainment2011-12-22 15:39:53SonyBMG:isrc:USRC19101785