Problem solving
Stephen and Gallagher (1983)
define problem solving as “a curriculum development and delivery system that
recognizes the need to develop problem solving skills as well as the necessity
of helping students to acquire necessary knowledge and skills”. Simply put, it is
a teaching strategy that focuses or emphasizes on the development of problem
solving skills in the children.
The most obvious (but not
necessarily the best) reason for teaching problem solving is to help children develop critical and creative thinking
skills. Education can be more wholesome and realistic if children are more
able to use their school learning in solving problems in their day to day life
situations and most of the teacher are frequently suggested as to why this form
of learning should be encouraged because it develop students current knowledge,
It is interesting and enjoyable way to learn, challenging, it needs positive
attitude towards learning, it develop sense of inquiry and research in
children, it teaches thinking flexibility and creativity, teaches problem
solving skills, encourage cooperative learning skills and use full way to
practice skills learned by other means.
IDEAL is a mnemonic device proposed by
Bransford and Stein (cited in Crowl, et al. 1997, p. 161) and it is considered
to be an effective strategy of problem solving. I: Identify the problem. D:
Define and represent the problem. E:
Explore possible strategies. A: Act
on the strategies. L: Look back and evaluate the effects of your activities.
Multimedia
encyclopedia and Electronic books
“The
meaning of term 'Multi-media' is that more than two media communication is used
in teaching and in learning package or instruction, procedure. There are
several devices of non print media which facilitate individual variation of
learners. It is a recent approach to teaching and instruction. The classroom
teaching is not only confined to the physical voice of a teacher but also
through a number of media such as radio, tape recorder, CD ROM, TV, video,
computer (internet), language laboratories are used in teaching and
instruction. A teacher is no more confined to the four walls of classroom
(Sharma, 2003).
But before letting student to use multimedia each
student should be able to Get exposure to variety of media (audio, audio-visual
and visual), learn more productively based on distant and authentic materials, Retain
the information for longer period of time, Learn on their own through computer,
radio, video, etc and Improve communication skills.
The following activities can be conducted:
The students will be ask to listen to the
radio or TV on particular issue related to the current topic and write down
their opinion on the issue; present it to the class and discuss and conclusion
is drawn by the teacher.
The class will watch a video on a particular
issue. They will be asked to watch attentively and it will be followed by
discussion.
A particular topic will be given in groups and
the students are asked to explore information on that topic from the internet
and share with others in the class.
