7. Problem-Solving
Skills
In the New Zealand Curriculum Framework (Ministry of Education, 1993, p 19), the problem-solving skills are described in the following manner:
Problem-solving Skills
Students will:
- think critically, creatively, reflectively, and logically;
- exercise imagination, initiative, and flexibility;
- identify, describe, and redefine a problem;
- analyse problems from a variety of different perspectives;
- make connections and establish relationships;
- inquire and research, and explore, generate, and develop ideas;
- try out innovative and original ideas;
- design and make;
- test ideas and solutions, and make decisions on the basis of experience and supporting evidence;
- evaluate processes
and solutions.
As might be expected, each of the reports contained tasks which involved problem-solving skills. However, the problem-solving aspects of the tasks were not always specifically assessed.
The examples below illustrate the nature of some of the problem solving tasks and the associated assessment.
| Art 1995, page 22, Firebird Pastel and Crayon Drawing. | |
| Task: | In
this activity you are going to draw a picture of a make-believe creature
called a firebird. It is not a picture of ordinary things. It is a picture that comes from your imagination. |
| Assessment: | Key attributes (1 low - 4 high)
|
| Comment: | The task clearly involves creative thinking and the exercise of imagination and these are specifically assessed in the first of the key attributes. |
| Reading and Speaking 1996, page 46, Follow me | |
| Task: | In this activity you will each be describing to the other members of the team how to do something without them seeing what you are doing. |
| Assessment: | Sequencing and organisation of instructions to team |
| Clarity of explanation | |
| Completeness of instructions given | |
| Overall effectiveness in giving instructions | |
| Comment: | The task involves reflective, and perhaps logical, thinking which is assessed in the first of the assessment items. |
| Mathematics 1997, page 18, Numbers in Squares | |
| Task: | I want you to work together to work out the numbers that should go in A, B, C and D. |
| You will need to try to work out a strategy for solving the problem. | |
| Assessment: | How problem was solved (collaboration) |
| Evidence of strategy | |
| Comment: | The task involves logical thinking which is assessed in the second assessment item. |
| Technology 2000, page 15, Puppet Make-Up | |
| Task: | Investigating and describing how a puppet has been designed and assembled. |
| Assessment: | Selection of materials |
| Preparing components | |
| Joining components | |
| Total score | |
| Comment: | The task involves analysis and reflective thinking. |
| Health and Physical Education 1998, page 34, Choosing a Partner | |
| Task: | Imagine that you are doing a project or a special topic at school, and you will be choosing one other person to work with. Think about the sort of things which would be important when choosing someone to work with you. |
| Assessment: | Write down 4 things about the kind of person you would choose. |
| Put a tick beside the thing you think is most important. | |
| Why do you think that would be most important? | |
| Comment: | The task requires reflective thinking, but the assessment is descriptive rather than evaluative. |
The table below indicates the achievement of year 4 and year 8 students on those assessments, attempted by both groups of students, which were evaluative, rather than descriptive, and which were judged to be substantially based on problem-solving skills.
| Report
No |
Assessments |
Good
student achievement % |
|||
| Year
4 |
Year
8 |
Gain |
|||
| Science 95 | 7
|
12
|
36
|
24 |
|
| Science 99 | 5 |
49
|
62 |
13 |
|
| Art 95 |
9 |
50 |
57 |
7 |
|
| Art 99 |
9 |
32 |
45 |
13 |
|
| GTM 95 |
1 |
35 |
72 |
37 |
|
| GTM 99 |
0 |
- |
- |
- |
|
| Music 96 |
2 |
11 |
16
|
5 |
|
| Music 00 |
9 |
16 |
23 |
7 |
|
| Technology 96
|
5 |
9 |
29 |
20 |
|
| Technology 00
|
1 |
13 |
44 |
31 |
|
| Reading/Sp 96
|
10 |
23 |
32 |
9 |
|
| Reading/Sp 00
|
5 |
20 |
40 |
20 |
|
| Inf Skills 97
|
3 |
25 |
44 |
19 |
|
| Social St 97
|
5 |
41 |
65 |
24 |
|
| Maths 97 |
6 |
17 |
49 |
32 |
|
| Listen/View 98 |
6 |
28 |
40 |
12 |
|
| Health/PE 98
|
0 |
- |
- |
- |
|
| Writing 98 |
6 |
13 |
31 |
18 |
|
| Overall | 89 |
26 |
41 |
15 |
|
The assessments were also classified according to the kind of thinking required to solve the problems using the classifications from the NZ Curriculum Framework:
- creative thinking
- reflective thinking
- logical thinking
There were very few assessments which might possibly have been classified as involving critical thinking, the other classification in the Framework, and these were included in the reflective thinking group.
The overall achievement of students in problem-solving assessments involving these different kinds of thinking is given below:
| Type
of thinking |
Number
of assessments |
Good
student achievement % |
|||
| Year
4 |
Year
8 |
Gain |
|||
| Creative thinking | 45 |
24 |
33 |
9 |
|
| Reflective thinking | 19
|
31
|
53
|
22 |
|
| Logical thinking | 25 |
24 |
47 |
23 |
|
In those learning areas for which there have been two cycles of assessment, the achievement in the trend tasks, which were common to both assessments, gives a measure of changes in performance over time. The overall achievement in these problem-solving sub-tasks is given below
Number
of assessments
|
||||||
Good
student achievement% |
||||||
Year
4 |
Year
8 |
|||||
| Cycle
|
1
|
2
|
Gain
|
1
|
2
|
Gain |
| 18
|
30 |
31 |
1 |
44 |
41 |
-3 |
Problem-solving skills were assessed in each of the reports. Student achievement was quite variable, indicating the importance of context in problem-solving.
There appears to be less improvement in creative thinking between year 4 and year 8 than in either reflective or logical thinking. The growth in reflective and logical thinking might be anticipated on the basis of developmental stages, but the smaller growth in creative thinking might be considered disappointing.
There is no evidence of substantial change in problem-solving skills between the two cycles of assessment.
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