Introduction
While performing a task, we combine many thinking skills all at once: we focus our attention on the task, remember important information about it, and consider what the task means. We have to use these thinking skills together to carry things out with objects, experiences and people all around us.
Part of what we do when bringing together various types of thinking is solving problems; we are looking at a task, figuring out how to do the task, and then applying our thinking skills — often in collaboration with others. This is problem-solving, and it is just as complex as it sounds but also so relevant to our daily lives that it is hard to even notice how often we encounter it.
We will consider many perspectives on problem solving in this chapter, from your own as a student and as a professional, from researchers representing different cultural perspectives, and from children engaged in activities that involve problem-solving. Luckily for us, it is easier to observe problem-solving than to observe memory or attention, so we have the richness of many examples of young children in this chapter.
Before we look at the many ways that problem solving has been studied in young children, let us first turn to our own experiences and how we solve problems.
Reflection Journal
First, think about a recent assignment you had to do for a course (it can be any course you are taking, not just Children’s Thinking and Learning!) It is especially helpful to think about an assignment you were having difficulty interpreting.
Reflection 6.1a: Write down a brief description of the assignment in your own words. Avoid copying from the assignment sheet itself, and please do not indicate the course it is from.
Next, think through how you overcame any challenges in interpreting what you had to do for this assignment.
Reflection 6.1b: In bullet form, jot down any tricks, tips, or strategies that you came up with in order to interpret or carry out this assignment.
Finally, reflect on your recent experiences with children.
Reflection 6.1c: Describe a recent observation that you have made of a young child solving a problem. What are some differences that you note between your strategies and theirs?
It is important for you to have a problem-solving experience in mind before we move on to discuss what other people have to say on this topic.
You have now written down one memory of a child solving a problem, which is also important to bring to this topic as part of your professional experience. It is often in the moments of children engaging with something difficult that we see our roles as educators — perhaps to observe, perhaps to engage, or perhaps to support.
