Problem Solving
QUICK LOOK AT THE CHAPTER AHEAD
Central themes of problem solving include task analysis, encoding, mental models, domain-general and domain-specific knowledge, and processes of change.
Problem-solving processes are planning, causal inference, analogy, and tool use.
Common errors children make include failing to analyze the task and encode facts and failure to make a mental model or understand relationships in the problem.
Good problem solvers have a positive attitude, are concerned with accuracy, can take a problem apart, and don’t guess or jump at answers.
TERMS
DUPE model
Problem
During middle childhood, youngsters use their emerging cognitive accomplishments to solve the problems they face in their daily lives. A great deal is known about problem-solving strategies, and this knowledge can be of great value to children. For example, simply reassuring childen that there is nothing to be afraid of when they face a problem and urging them to look carefully for the facts that are given in a problem may greatly improve their problem-solving abilities.
WHAT IS A PROBLEM?Technically, a problem is a significant discrepancy between the actual circumstances or expected circumstances. Children know a problem exists when they cannot get where they want to go; a gap stretches before them. To solve the problem, they must construct some way of bridging the gap.
Technically, a problem is a significant discrepancy between the actual circumstances or expected circumstances.Central Themes
The following central themes are important in understanding how children solve problems:
Task analysis: careful examination of the problem to identify what is needed to solve it.
Encoding: identification of the critical information and use of it to build an internal representation of the problem.
Mental models: construction of a model that accurately represents the structure of the problem (i.e., how its parts relate to one another). The child must reconcile personal experience with the contradictory information being provided.
Domain-general and domain-specific knowledge: appropriate integration of these types of knowledge to solve problems.
Processes of change: the evolution of newer and better problem-solving strategies is uneven, with older and new strategies existing side by side for some time. Both failure and interest in innovation for its own sake fuel change.
Problem-Solving Processes
Common problem-solving processes are described here:
Planning: future-oriented problem-solving; requires inhibiting initial response; “think before you act”; compare the goal to the current situation and think ahead; keep several items in mind at one time, such as intervening steps.
Causal inference: understanding contiguity (events occur together in time and space), precedence (cause comes before effect), and covariation (cause and effect occurred together in past).
Analogy: identifying how two objects or events correspond in function or structure; brushing teeth is like brushing hair, a camera is like a video recorder.
Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel
Full access? Get Clinical Tree
