Stages
In this section you can see classes and interviews with teachers and pupils from various stages in the age range 5-14 years. In each case you can see teachers discussing not only the class they are teaching but also a number of other topics related to problem solving.
P1-P3
Pupils are introduced to strategies such as ‘Make a pattern’, ‘Work together’ and ‘Elimination’. They are also shown working on thinking skills tasks such as classification. They learn to listen carefully and to take turns.
P4-P5
Pupils learn an expanded range of strategies as well as recording and reporting skills. They learn the importance of social skills, such as collaboration, perseverance and initiative. They also begin to evaluate and assess their own performance. Many will have experienced problem solving in other curricular areas.
P6-P7
Pupils can choose from most of the commonly used strategies. They have gained confidence through experiencing success, working together and reporting in a variety of ways. They are usually able to identify strategies used without prompting by the teacher and are aware of the transferable skills that they have acquired through problem solving.
S1-S2
Pupils at this stage know all the strategies that they are likely to use and are able to identify those used in any particular problem. They are able to work in an investigative manner and are comfortable with a variety of IT resources.
Composite classes
Teachers show how they can involve the whole class to begin and end problem solving sessions. Group work is essential but the composition of groups can be varied and stages can be mixed.