Many Advantages Problem solving objectives are a powerful way to teach and have several distinct advantages and can be used in a number of ways. They are more artistic. They may be long term -- covering a number of lessons or an entire unit. They can be designed to be integrative -- they may combine or cut across subject areas, or they may involve a number of different processes. They can be used to combine a number of intelligences or cognitive functions. Students may become involved in the criteria statement and the development of parameters, thus giving them ownership in the process and pushing toward more intrinsic levels of learning and evaluation. They may allow ownership in that students can help devise parts of problems or their own problems. If students are allowed to create and construct their own problems, again, this would allow them ownership in the process and may help them go beyond problem-solving to problem finding. Grading is more subjective. However, this can be done in an objective manner. Remember the conditions of a problem and/or the problem parameters provide the framework for judging both the problem solution and/or the product. These parameters and/or conditions become the contract between the teacher and the students. Students may be required to judge their own work through some sort of self-evaluation process. Peers can evaluate peers. Members of the community may also become involved in the evaluation processes. These may be combined with teacher evaluations, thus creating multidimensional forms of evaluation. Students and/or teachers become learning partners and should decide if they are going to use problem solving objectives as culminating experiences, or as a catalyst for and method of learning new skills. Problems may be used in either way or by combining both ways. Example The Harrison Ford Elementary School received a $100,000 grant to create a nature trail on school grounds. The money is to be used for a trail that is both aesthetic and also one that can be used for environmental study. Create a design for the trail. Problem from, L. Wilson (1994) Every child, whole child. Tucson: Zephyr Press,   Problem conditions: Conditions often refer to the actual appearance of finished products or are ways in which products are standardized. Products must be neat Presented on graph or grid paper Drawn to scale Students will include a key and color code drawings so that they are easily understandable. Problem parameters: Parameters usually deal with restrictions placed on solving the problem. All costs cannot exceed $100,000. Total area of trail and the areas surrounding the trail cannot go outside of the current property boundaries of the school's grounds. The trail cannot interfere with existing facilities. The total area of the trail must not exceed 1 acre. The trail must be both aesthetically pleasing and must have areas for environmental study. The trail must comply with general safety standards governing parks and playgrounds and be generally accessible to person with disabilities. The problem above requires a myriad of skills and knowledge in varied content areas. Skills needed to solve this problem successfully might be -- research skills; artistic skills; interpersonal skills; knowledge of ratio;  botany; budgeting; mathematical calculations; graphics; and knowledge of state and federal regulations governing handicap accessibility. A comprehensive problem solving objective may be used as an entry into a unit of study, thus providing students with a rationale for having to learn certain material and skills. Or, a problem solving objective may be used as a culminating event. In this case it provides a comprehensive way to evaluate students skills. ** Please note, problems may have either conditions or parameters, or both. Once conditions and/or parameters have been set and/or agreed upon, they may not be changed without a general consensus or without negotiating changes with the students. It is unethical to change conditions and/or parameters without some discussion and a firm rationale. Once these have been agreed upon, products must be judged in accordance with the stated or agreed upon parameters or problem conditions. Assessment may be based on combinations of teacher assessment, self-assessment and peer assessment. Students may be involved in designing a grading rubric for product evaluation. Designing lesson plans to include problem-solving objectives.   Problem solving lesson plans may be designed in any number of ways, but they should include components from the starred items below as a minimum. Remember that even though these are designed as lesson plans, the course of each problem may vary greatly depending on the components, solutions and skills needed in solving it. Some problems are simple and can be solved in one class period, a day, or over several periods. Other problems are complex and will need days or weeks, or the problem solution and product may comprise an entire unit of study. Remember to plan accordingly, allocating enough time for students to complete the problem successfully. In writing a problem, steps should be arranged clearly and sequentially so that anyone reading the problem could easily follow its progression.   Problem-solving writing tips Statement of the problem. Conditions - include product specifications. These usually refer to how the problem looks or desired standardized components within a final product. Conditions can be used as portions of the assessment procedure. Some problems may be so open that they don't require conditions. Parameters - are detailed restrictions on solving the problem. These may be either very general or very specific and, again, can be used to help determine assessment. A partial or complete list of process skills and/or subject areas needed to solve problems. A listing of district aims and goals met by completing the problem. This may be done before the statement of the problem or after the problem statement, or in a the context of a grading rubric or checklist. Methods of evaluation and/or evaluation forms. A rationale statement - this should include a brief statement as to why you are having students do the problem. This may include a restatement or be part of the aims and goals statement. Materials' list. A listing of teacher's responsibilities within the problem. A listing of students' responsibilities within the problem. Any extraneous support needed to solve the problem -- as in community cooperation. Expanded lessons related to the problem or possible follow-up activities. Remember the rules of thumb -- the more conditions and parameters you include, the more conforming, restrictive, and narrow students' products will be. The fewer conditions or parameters, the more diversity and creativity in the products. Some students may require more structure and help in solving problems, others may need less help. Make allowances for both types of students. Back to the curriculum index The second principle of magic...things which have once been in contact with each other continue to act on each other at a distance after the physical contact has been severed.                                             Sir James Frazer