One of the problems with problem solving is defining it. There is a variety of definitions of problem solving. Some define problem solving in terms of the skills needed to solve problems, e.g. testing hypotheses, analyzing data. Others define problem solving as a series of steps that people use to find a solution or answer to a question.
Helgeson reports that in the literature of science education there is a strong linkage between problem solving and science process skills. That is, many science teachers teach students science process skills in the context of a subject---earth science, biology, chemistry, physics---because they accept the notion that these process skills are indeed the elements of problem solving. There are two aspects of this that should be pointed out. First, what are the generally accepted steps in problem solving, and secondly what are the science processes associated with problem solving.
Problem Solving Schema. No doubt you have come across the steps usually associated with problem solving; Are these familiar?
A more elaborate form of the problem solving strategy is one described in a typical middle school/junior high science text. Four general step are presented: Question, Test, Conclude, and Analyze. Students are shown that there are four steps involved in the scientific method to generate information and questions.
Another way to look at problem solving is from the vantage point of the scientist. Paul Brandwein depicts the scientists' approach to problem solving as the "scientists methods of intelligence." Typically the scientist's way begins with a discrepancy---a situation that does not fit the scientists present "concept." Although this theoretical model is often not applied directly to the classroom, there are a number of elements that are applicable.
Note that the model involves a number of processes---observing, hypothesizing, designing an investigation. These are examples of science thinking skills which have become one the organizing structures for teaching problem solving. Let's take a closer look at these scientific thinking skills.
Scientific Thinking Skills and Problem Solving. The curriculum projects of the 1960s and 1970s placed emphasis on problem solving, and developed as part of the organization of the curriculum a series of problem solving skills which became known as the processes of science. They are sometimes called the skills of science. Today, these skills are referred to as scientific thinking skills. It is important to note that problem solving as perceived in science classrooms is intimately related to these thinking skills.
The thinking skills of science are conceptualized as belonging to two distinct groups, basic thinking skills, and integrated thinking skills (shown in the table below). As you examine different science curriculum project materials, you will find some variation in the "lists" of skills, but in general:
Using the senses to
gather information about an object or an event. Example: Describing
a mineral as red. Being able to
identify variables that can affect an experimental outcome,
keeping most constant while manipulating only the
independent variable. Example: Controlling
the type of soil or sand and the angle of incline when
testing to find out what affect the amount of flow (water)
has on the depositional rate of a model river in a stream
table. Making an "educated
guess" about an object or event based on previously gathered
data or information. Example: Saying that
a landform was once underwater because of the presence of
Brachiopod and trilobite fossils in the rocks. Stating how to
measure a variable in an experiment. Example: Stating
that depositional rate will be measured in grams of sand
deposited in the stream table's "ocean." Using both standard
and nonstandard measures or estimates to describe the
dimensions of an object or event. Example: Using an
equal-arm balance to measure the mass of an
object. Stating the expected
outcome of an experiment. Example: The greater
the amount of flow in a river the greater the depositional
rate. Using words or
graphic symbols to describe an action, object or
event. Example: Describing
the change in temperature over a month in writing or through
a bar graph. Organizing data and
drawing conclusions from it. Example: Recording
information about weather changes in a data table and
forming a conclusion which relates trends in the data to
variables (such as temperature, pressure, cloud cover,
precipitation) Grouping or ordering
objects or events into categories based on properties or
criteria. Example: Placing all
minerals having a certain hardness into one
group. Being able to
conduct an experiment, including asking an appropriate
question, stating a hypothesis, identifying and controlling
variables, operationally defining those variables, designing
a "fair" experiment, conducting the experiment, and
interpreting the results of the experiment. Example: Describing
and carrying out a process to find out the effect of stream
flow on depositional rates in rivers. Stating the outcome
of a future event based on a pattern of evidence. Example: Predicting
the position of the moon in the sky based on a graph of its
position during the previous two hours. Creating a mental or
physical model of a process or event. Example: The model
of how the processes of erosion, deposition, metamorphism,
and igneous activity interrelate in the rock
cycle.