Problem-solving and reasoning (PSR) can be daunting when you\u2019re teaching it for the first or hundredth time.<\/p>\n
Teaching PSR is an art, and like any art, there are solid foundation of principles you can follow and expand upon as your confidence grows.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how the best teachers take PSR to their students:<\/p>\n<\/div>
Treat PSR lessons like interactive stories and you\u2019ll see where the strengths and gaps are in your lesson. You can try:<\/p>\n
In your head, in the shower, in front of the most convenient mirror \u2013 wherever suits.<\/p>\n
Think about:<\/p>\n
Going through these key questions can help you find any stumbling blocks and gives you a good idea of the path you\u2019ll be following from beginning to end. For the middle, you\u2019ll want to make sure you\u2019ve got every student engaged. To do this you can try:<\/p>\n
Get students hooked on the problem, and they will follow the entire lesson.<\/p>\n
Think about:<\/p>\n
Reaching this level of personal investment is about understanding your students \u2013 what matters to them? It might be a character in the activity you\u2019re trying to help, or the goal of the activity, or the fact they can follow the problem in a way that speaks to them.<\/p>\n
Your passion is important. It\u2019s infectious. It\u2019s emotive. It makes the lesson feel more personal.<\/p>\n
The closer the activity is to their heart, the more effort they\u2019ll put into finding solutions.<\/p>\n<\/div>
The best PSR questions aren\u2019t the item in the middle \u2013 they\u2019re the ones that prompt students into action. Give less information, support the strugglers, and scaffold the successful to turn questions into organic learning experiences.<\/p>\n
You can give information, but you can\u2019t take it away.<\/p>\n
Give students enough space to figure things out on their own. This will give you an idea of who\u2019s getting stuck, and who needs scaffolding.<\/p>\n
Have a series of questions up your sleeve that can support understanding \u2013 think about how you can reframe questions, approaches or knowledge of the concepts. Sometimes it\u2019s down to how it\u2019s said rather than what is said.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t let them get comfortable!<\/p>\n
If they\u2019re flying through, sprinkle in questions that will force them to pause. Try asking them hypotheticals, \u2018what if?\u2019 or \u2018does that always work?\u2019, or throw them a new challenge like \u2018what would it look like as a diagram?\u2019<\/p>\n
Suit your class to the activity. Think through and see if the activity, or what parts of the activity, are best-left solo, or in pairs, or by tables, or by ability levels and so on.<\/p>\n
Group activities can inspire a whole new level of creativity with your PSR lesson. You can set each student within groups different roles, tasks or characters if your story-telling is good enough.<\/p>\n