WEBVTT

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[Music] Welcome to the
overview on Talking

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Through Problems and Their Solutions.

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Students who are successful
problem solvers think

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about what they are doing
and why they are doing it.

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They evaluate the strategies
they are using

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and connect new concepts
to what they already know.

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Students become better
problem solvers when they learn

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to monitor and reflect on their thinking 
throughout the problem-solving process.

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Research shows that teaching reflection 
strategies and providing feedback

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to scaffold problem solving steps 
can be effective with students

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who struggle with mathematics 
and English learners.

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There is strong evidence that
scaffolding steps in problem solving

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and modeling self-questioning
lead to better achievement.

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Teachers can facilitate monitoring
and reflecting by prompting students

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with questions that will guide
them through the process.

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As students answer these
questions, teachers can build

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on students' understanding to help
them use the appropriate steps

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for each problem.

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Support tools that students can use
when confronting a problem include lists

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of problem-solving tasks and sample
questions to guide students' thinking.

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When introducing these tools,
teachers should work through each step,

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checklist item, or question with the
class, sharing their thoughts out loud

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at every point of the process.

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Later, students will be
able to use these tools

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on their own to guide their reasoning.

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Here's a sample list of tasks
for solving a problem:

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1.Identify what the problem is asking.

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2. Note relevant information
to solve the problem.

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3. Determine the problem type.

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4. Recall similar problems.

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5. Select a visual representation.

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6. Solve the problem.

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7. Check the solution.

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Such a list might be posted on the board
or turned into a graphic organizer.

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Another helpful tool that teachers can
provide is a list of questions designed

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to prompt students to explicitly think
through steps needed to solve a problem

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and evaluate their work at
each stage of the process.

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Here are some examples of question
prompts: What is the problem asking?

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Which information in
the problem is relevant?

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What similar problems have I solved?

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Does the solution make sense?

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How can I verify the solution?

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What would I do differently next time?

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Students will need help learning
how to use prompts effectively.

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Teachers can model using the prompts,
thinking out loud as they respond

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to each step or question and being sure
to explain their reasoning to the class.

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Or teachers might model only
the responses to the prompts

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and ask students to explain how
they think the teacher arrived

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at that answer.

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Or teachers can ask students to explain
their responses to each of the prompts,

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providing feedback as appropriate.

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Once students have grown
comfortable with the questions,

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they can move on to working in pairs
or small groups, prompting one another

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as they work through problems.

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It is helpful for teachers

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to model using thinkalouds whenever
introducing new problem-solving concepts

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or activities.

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Here's how a teacher's modeling
might sound: "First, I ask myself,

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'What is this problem about and
what do I need to find the answer?'

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I see that the problem asks me to
compare two different product sizes

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to see which is the better value.

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So I'll need the product sizes, and
I'll need to know the cost of each item.

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"Once I've got that answer,
I ask myself,

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'Have I ever seen a problem
like this before?'

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I think this is similar to the
problems we had about finding the volume

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of different containers and also
the problem of comparing prices.

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"Then I ask myself, 'What
steps should I take

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to solve the problem?'" This practice is
also beneficial when reviewing concepts

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and activities that the
students have encountered before.

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Thinking aloud through the
process helps students build good

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problem-solving habits.

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As teachers identify their students'
level of understanding, they should look

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for ways to build on students' ideas.

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Teacher-student dialogue around problem
solving should be geared toward helping

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students verbalize alternative
ways to think about the problem

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and how to proceed at each step.

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Students should know they are
expected to provide valid explanations

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of their problem-solving steps,
and not simply give a solution.

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Consistently having to justify steps in
problem solving becomes more important

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as problems become more challenging.

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Teachers can organize a session

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in which students debrief their
problem-solving strategies

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with the whole class.

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This gives students the
opportunity to learn

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from each other while practicing
the steps in the process.

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Presenting problem-solving
approaches to peers emphasizes

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for students the importance
of explaining their reasoning

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and builds their confidence
in solving problems.

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To learn more about Talking Through
Problems and Their Solutions,

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please explore the additional resources
on the Doing What Works website.

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[Music]