Several factors need to be considered when writing the problem in a problem solving activity. During the problem solving process, the teacher acts as a guide for the students in helping them decide first of all, whether or not the problem solving activity is feasible or whether or not resources are available to support the experience.
Before students tackle a major problem like saving their local park or cleaning up an endangered stream or river, they need to have practice with problem solving activities that are more familiar to them.
One way to do this is to structure a problem-solving situation that has a limited scope and that is tied to the curriculum being taught. These “practice” problem-solving activities help teach the problem solving process and also get the students ready to tackle a bigger problem on their own. Writing a practice problem also gives the teacher the chance to see whether or not he/she has the available resources, the time and the interest to actually have the students complete the problem solving activity.
How to Write a Practice Problem
- Choose a topic from the content area you plan to teach.
- Identify a big idea- an issue or statement that would be important to all of the students and that may have statewide, national, or international involvement.
- Identify the stakeholders who would have interest in the topic or “big idea” including what students think might be their point of view regarding the topic.
- Write introduction to the problem using limited information from the viewpoint of one of the stakeholders.