Problem solving
A Curriculum for Excellence asks teachers to think about their educational aims and values and their classroom practice. It will give teachers more responsibility to use their professional judgement and creativity within broad parameters.
Although the 5-14 curriculum will be with us for the immediate future, use this short Reflection Guide to help you think about adapting your classroom practice in accordance with the principles and purposes of A Curriculum for Excellence.
Introducing problem solving through play
Two North Lanarkshire primary schools and their associated nurseries introduced problem solving activities through play.
Steps to solving a pattern problem
Primary 1 pupils follow four simple steps for problem-solving - listen, look, think and talk - as they work on making a pattern with beads.
Working on an elimination task
By listening to clues, primary 2 children 'eliminate' robots on worksheet until they've selected the right one, and build a model following only their classmates' instructions.
What comes next? Finding a pattern
Primary 2 pupils work on 'looking for a pattern' using Compare Bears. They make their own patterns with the bears but can they spot the gap when the teacher takes one away?
Sorting and classifying objects
Four Primary 2 pupils use their thinking skills to arrange a collection of objects into different categories.
Combining colours to make flags
Working in pairs gives Primary 2 and 3 pupils confidence to tackle the problem of creating as many flags as possible from three colours.
Finding and making patterns
Spotting the patterns and then making their own colour and number patterns are the problems that these Junior 2 pupils try to solve.
Creating colour football strips
Today’s problem for a Primary 3 and 4 class is to create nine different football strips from red, yellow and blue shorts and T-shirts. Watch how the pupils solved it.
Purple cats: a classification challenge
The teacher of a Primary 1/Primary 4 composite class sets two different challenges to develop thinking skills, including classification and working on a technology challenge.
Cost problems solved and shared
Primary 4 pupils work in threes to solve a problem about the cost of ice creams. They take in turns to record their solutions and report back to the rest of the class.
Working out a school timetable
For their Enterprise topic these primary 4 pupils organised a maths week but they now have to work out a school timetable that lets every class get to all the activities.
Working out a class seating plan
Primary 6 pupils work with their 'thinking partners' on a problem involving seating arrangements in class.
Following clues to make shapes
Junior 6 pupils working in groups follow clues to make a 2D shape from cocktail sticks. They analyse their own work to check they have the correct solution to the problem.
Solving problems by guessing and checking
This Junior 4 class has to find out whose car is parked where in a car park. Using the clues, they guess, check and then use their findings to improve their choice.
Making shapes with the same perimeter
In this problem-solving lesson the Primary 7 pupils work on making different shapes with the same perimeter. They discuss the task at the time and at the end of lesson.
Selecting the right strategy
By tackling problems Primary 7 pupils learn to think about selecting the right approach. Their confidence and self-belief spills over into other areas of the curriculum and life outside school.
Problems solved by working in stages
This Primary 5 and 7 class works in stages to identify the problem, assesses what information is useful and decides on a strategy to solve it, all of which has helped the pupils enjoy more success in maths.
Calculating the costs of a class party
The Primary 5 pupils work in groups to plan a party with entertainment and food on a limited budget. They work out the costs using a calculator and play money.
Problem-solving improves self esteem
Primary 6 pupils who co-operate in their problem-solving have learnt to respect and help each other, have improved their self-esteem and are not afraid to ask for help.
Problems from FunMaths boxes
Working either as individuals or in groups, Primary 7 pupils select problems from FunMaths boxes. They record how they went about solving the problems and how hard they found them.
Raising confidence in maths in Barrhead ASG
The primary and secondary schools in this group explored ways of encouraging pupils who needed some additional support in maths, but who were reticent to ask for help due to lack of self-confidence and high sensitivity to failure.