Questions / instructions:
We'll start this activity by watching a short video clip which shows some roller bladers having a problem.
Show video.
I also have some letters from some of the roller bladers to the school council.

I want you to imagine that you are the school council, and you have been given the job to sort out this problem. You have five things to do, which are written on this card. I'll read them through:

Show and read the agenda.

1. Decide on the problem.
2. Think of ways to fix the problem.
3. Work out how you will let all roller bladers have a say about how you think the problem should be fixed.
4. Decide what you will say in reply to the letters.
5. Agree on 3 really good reasons why the council thinks there should be rules.

During your meeting, you will need to write brief notes or minutes. At the end of your meeting, I want you to tell me what you have decided. Each person in the team should help to describe your decisions. You have about 10 minutes, starting now. Here is the sheet for writing down your meeting notes and the letters to the council.
Give students the recording sheet Committee Meeting Notes and the letters, and allow about 10 minutes for discussion.
Now imagine that I am a reporter for the school newspaper, and I am going to interview the school council. I will ask you the five questions on your card, and I want you to take turns in telling me what you have decided.

Statement of the problem: full
partial
very limited

Suggestions for fixing problem: full
partial
very limited

Quality of participation/interaction: very good
good
fair
poor

Commentary:
In this problem solving task which was contextualised as a school-related issue, the majority of teams managed only partial to very limited responses to the question concerning problem clarification and the activities seeking strategies for managing the problem. The general quality of responses was almost equally divided between those that were good to very good, and those rated fair to poor.