PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS - 2020

We define critical thinking and problem solving as the broadly applicable cognitive skills that people use in constructing knowledge, identifying patterns, formulating arguments, and solving problems. To be effective critical thinkers, students need to be able to evaluate vast amounts of information and formulate well-reasoned claims. In addition, to develop strong problem solving skills, students need to build the capacity to analyze situations, to devise strategies for solving problems, to implement those strategies, and then to evaluate both their solutions and their processes.

To help students and teachers understand and build critical thinking and problem solving skills, we have identified three core constructs of critical thinking and problem solving:

1. Effective Reasoning: The ability to create claims and support them with logical evidence

2. Decision Making: The ability to identify options for a choice, to articulate criteria for evaluating those options, and to evaluate those options based on the articulated criteria

3. Problem Solving: The ability to identify the key questions in a problem, to develop possible plans for solving, to follow through on those plans, and to evaluate both the success of the plan and the solution

For decision making, effective reasoning, and problem-solving, we have developed explicit thinking routines, rubrics, and assessment tools for teaching and assessing these constructs. To access these resources, click below.