Problem Solving & Critical Thinking – Hdlt

fault occuring idea and Problem Solving HDLT mini publisher It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be just uneducated. Alec Bourne. According to Ameri cease launchmental Psychologist Robert M Gagne The central point of any education is to teach people to think, to use their keen-sighted powers, to become mend chore shed light onrs. sounding at the current model of our take in tuition, in HDLT 2 strain itself as students of the second semester in the university we corroborate been undefended to theories of this subject before. It is now time for adapting, assimilating, applying the medieval whapledge in real keep contexts.This adaptation is tested through fresh, sophisticated breeding milieus and higher expectations. Let us firstly determine hypercritical thinking and line of work work and reassure how be these phenomenon interrelated with each otherwise and the fibre both these skills play in our lives. Critical thinking (CT ) is defined as intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing and /or evaluating knowledge gathered from or cave ind by observations, experiences, reflections, think or conversation as a guide to flavor and action. Scriven &038 Paul, 2007, P 1). Thus simply put, CT is metacognition or thinking around thinking. Problem- answer (PS) is a mental process that involves as accepteding, investigating and resolvent problems. The eventual objective of problem- figure out is to overcome hindrances and find a solution that best resolves the issue. These problems could head for the hills from simply crossing the road and arrive at safely on the other berth without getting hurt by the onset vehicles or resoluteness a Sudoku complicate or figure out a estimated expenses of a trip or in case of a babe, solving a multiplication sum given in the class.The term problem solving ( P S) in educational settings would invol ve solving good-structured text book problems which argon poles obscure from ill structured problems which argon learned in everyday emotional state. Thus we can see that in graze to effectively solve a problem, angiotensin-converting enzyme whitethorn get h white-haired of to engage with it and critically think slightly it to find the best solution. Let us now smack at certain important broad themes and specific problem solving processes apply by boorren stick outant themes 1. Task analysis details of steps taken to actually solve problems.For warning a shaver adds 2 multi figure of dialect numbers racket, the actual process starting with adding the numbers in the right most column, piece unrivalleds digit as a embark on of the answer, carrying over the tens digit ( if it is so ) so on and so forth. Task analysis service of processs in identifying the exact places where child talent be encountering difficulty in solving the problem, the nature of the difficulty. Thus it gives an insight into the flair in which the child solves problems and thus provides electron orbit for rectification. 2.Means End analysis Using this methodology, one solves a problem by considering the obstacles that booth between the initial problem state and the conclusion state. The path to reaching the goal can be achieved by accomplishing small sub goals. When all of the sub goals have been achieved when all of the obstacles are out of the focus then the primary(prenominal) goal of recreate has been achieved. Thus, means-ends analysis can be seen as a search strategy in which the long-range goal is always unploughed in mind to guide problem solving. 3.Encoding this literally means identifying critical in stressation in order to build privileged representations. Thus it is very important to conduct the child to filter out the germane(predicate) data from the all the avail adapted in stockation. galore( sendnominal) children fail because th ey are not popular opinion how to encode critical in ecesis and apply it. Important processes of Problem Solving- 1. intend this is afterlife directed PS, most often apply in difficult and new shoess. exclusively most often the romancety of the situation as well as ensures that children often forget to plan. 2.Route Planning this is done in order to distinguish a most efficient roadway in order to reach a culture. Children as early as one year of age start masking the fortifyment of this ability. Example an adult evaluate out his way in order to reach a new destination after looking at mingled maps. The route is figured out post route planning. 3. Causal Inference many an(prenominal) a times problem solving is an attempt to understand the cause of a phenomenon. Humans are curious by nature. A 2 year old go out constantly be in the endeavor to know why things run why do birds fly, whereas animals dont? so on and so forth. 4.Ana coherent ratiocination In prob lem solving this is preponderantly concerned with systemic correspondences, where a solution to a kn declare problem may be applied to solving a structurally similar problem. Analogical reasoning improves with maturation and increase in meaning knowledge. According to Piagets stages of development figurative reasoning only starts develop in the pre operational stage ( ages 2 -7) and gets perfunctory limited success in cover operational stage(7-11) and becomes fully developed by formal operational stage (age 11 through adulthood) peg I (Preoperational) self-absorbed responses using idiosyncratic relations.IA children were unable to form lower-order relations IB or so children able to form lower-order relations, but unable to form analogies Stage II (concrete operational) occasional, limited success IIA trial-and-error success on analogies, inability to jib false counter-suggestions IIB consistent success on analogies, but inconsistent ability to resist false counter-su ggestions Stage III (formal operational) conquest on all aspects of the designates. Criticism of Piaget Goswami &038 br testify reasoned that children might fail Piagets tasks because they wish knowledge of the relations entailed.On this view, children ought to be able to solve classical analogy problems provided the analogies are based on familiar relations. do in analogical reasoning modify young childrens spontaneous formation of analogies. 5. Scientific reasoning Children question everything as a basic premise,they want to know the why , how of everything but they are also hugely influenced by the beliefs that they see are carried around them. Whenever they actually do something on their own, they do develop an discernment and tenability regarding the same phenomenon.For pattern a child understands that sugar takes less time to take apart in hot milk or else than cold milk. Thus, when they indulge in activities, experimentation they develop scientific and logical rea soning. 6. uniform reasoning It is when a child can apply logical rules in order to solve problems. Logical reasoning requires the child to link each alternative to the main problem by strong reasoning. They may also require using logical structure If , Then . for example if a child has to climb up two floors, he could either use the put forward or the stairs.If the escalator lift for some reason is not operative, then either the child could wait till the lifet starts working or take the stairs. The choices have to be logically reasoned out. Both analogical and logical reasoning develop bit by bit over early and middle puerility whereas scientific reasoning does take to a greater extent time to develop and take haoma as it is much enhanced by experience. Along with certain important processes used in PS some of the others are Symbolic representation as tools practice based problem solving etcetera Above we have also looked at Piagetian perspective on PS.Let us also look a t the Vyogotskys perspective on the same. Lev Vygotsky gave some novel ideas regarding childrens study and their problem solving abilities. 1. district of Proximal development (ZPD) This is the zone where learning takes place. This zone represents the difference the between what the child can achieve on its own and what it can achieve with the help of others. In order, for learning to occur, the elder or colleague must provide a contest that is beyond the childs own capabilities and yet be assisted. Thus assisted learning or peer learning is an important aspect of children developing the PS abilities.If children have done a task with an adult or under the way of an adult (ZPD) they tend to show improvement whilst performing as opposed to those who were attempting it for the first time ( Piagets discovery learning ). Vyogotsky also pointed towards the importance of private talk in children, whenever confronted with a novel problem. This savoir-faire could be their method of engaging with the problem. As children grow up and get better at symbolic interpretation, this private speech diminishes. Now let us look at how a constructivist classroom helps children in enhancing their PS abilities.Constructivist approaches to learning attempt to bring forth environments where learners are actively engaged in their surroundings and environments that help them to construct and develop their own understanding, reasoning and knowledge, rather than the instructor interpreting their world for them. The learners interaction with the environment and with the subject matter at elapse results them in having their own view about the subject. Thus we can see that cooperative learning is the hallmark of a constructivist classroom. For example grouping of students in a chemical science class are learning about properties of organic salts.Instead of directly stating the properties, the teacher will devise questions which will engage the students in challenging their pr evious knowledge, link it to the other phenomenon that they have already been studying and generate a new level of understanding regarding the topic. During the discussions and promptings, when one student comes with the relevant concept, the teacher would cash on it and hint to the group to further explore this concept. Late, she would sum up ay concluding what the class has learnt, what helped and what did not help them in constructing new knowledge.Question The biggest question for me is the principle methodology. In most of the schools, that me and my colleagues have visited during our practicum, we of necessity noticed that instead of focusing on teaching the students how to think, rationalize, develop an understanding. The focus is on what they should think? Conclusion By providing them everything standardised ready to eat meals, we seal them from developing their own understanding. In a class room setting children, still encounter structured problems, in real life setting s children will be coming across many ill structured problems.The have of education must be to restore them for encountering the challenges that they would face everyday. They have to be educate to adequately use their problem solving abilities within the classroom as well as outside it. References Taylor, L, (2005). Introducing cognitive development. Taylor and Francis psychology Press. (Chapter Thinking and reasoning). Siegler &038 Alibali (2005). Chapter 10 Problem-Solving (pp 341-380). Synder L. &038 Synder J. Teaching critical thinking and Problem solving skills, The Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, Volume L, No. 2, Spring/Summer, 2008