The literature informs us how
competent individuals solve problems, and how competence
changes from novice to expert.
Problem solving skills are
content specific and are not generalizable. The most
reported example is of the chess master whose logistical
expertise does not generalize to other fields. It may
just be convenient to think that there are a relatively
small set of core abilities that improve an individual's
performance whatever his or her endeavour. Imagine Isaac
Newton being hit on the head by a brown apple. Would he
have munched away, cogitating on why that apple fell? He
may well have thought a brown apple was a bruised, rotten
apple, unless he had the prior knowledge that Russett
apples are brown.
While one person can be
accomplished at many activities, common sense suggests
that a person has several kinds of knowledge; not one
skill generically referred to as reasoning. (Johanson,
1987, p. 5)
Underlying generic problem
solving skill research is the assumption that there is a
single process or set of processes of problem solving
that can be described, measured and taught. Research
suggests that different processes are used by individual
nurses depending on their level of expertise, and on the
demands of the task. That there is not a single problem
solving process is evident in the work on nursing
process, and in novice to expert differences.
What was discovered was that the
best predictor of successful problem solving (finding the
correct diagnosis) was the content of the
diagnostic hypothesis. Thus, the search for a generic
problem solving process verified the central role of
knowledge.
Geoffrey Norman has researched
the cognitive clinical reasoning of experts and students,
and identified the expert clinician as a better
problem solver by virtue of accumulated experience, not
as a result of innate or learned problem solving skills.
(Norman, 1984) He says that the process of problem
solving in a particular case "is strongly influenced
by prior experience, is based on a pattern matching
process, shows little evidence of general problem solving
strategies which are independent of experience or
knowledge, and may explain why studies of clinical
problem solving have had difficulty revealing
correlations in performance across problems".
In contrast, a reliable estimate
of problem solving ability correlated 0.92 with a
separate measure of knowledge assessed by multiple choice
questions. Norman's research showed that the case being
studied and the knowledge and experience of the
student will dictate the problem solving strategy.
The strategy selected is a function of the amount and
relevance of information available.
Robert Glaser explains:
"Problem solving in knowledge-rich tasks show strong
interactions between structures of knowledge and
cognitive processes. Data and theory in developmental
psychology, studies of expert/novice problem solving, and
process analysis of high and low scorers on intelligence
and aptitude test tasks show that a major component of
problem solving is the possession of accessible and
usable knowledge."
John McPeck says that
critical thinking cannot be taught without linking it to
a field of knowledge: "Purporting to teach
critical thinking in the abstract, in isolation from
specific fields or problem areas, is muddled nonsense;
thinking of any kind is always "thinking about
`x'".
Nickerson points out that
thinking is a knowledge dependent activity. He argues:
"Knowledge and thinking ability are
interdependent and mutually reinforcing; attempting
to develop one without the other is like trying to make
cloth with only one side". (in Holbert and Abraham,
1988)
Knowledge directs you to your
next thought. Problem solving must be flexible
according to the data that presents and its relationship
to the expert's body of knowledge.
Perkins asserts that
"thinking strategies often fall flat because the
students lack the subject matter knowledge to apply
them." (in Brandt, 1990) If there is little emphasis
on content, students will not learn and remember the
domain of knowledge central to a course or discipline.
It is ironic to note that Arthur
Whimbey (1986), one of the strongest proponents of
teaching problem solving skills, states, "poor
problem solvers frequently express the opinion that
either you know it or you don't know it". If you
don't "know it" a problem solving skill won't
help.
An overemphasis on problem
solving skills unwittingly prevents problem solving.
Mary Daly (1973)
Those who would teach generic
problem solving skills believing that the skills are
generalizable to a broad range of situations are treating
education as training, and bear the risk of limiting the
development of thinking in learners.
Educational manipulation and
control as though the human mind were a machine
(cybernetics) is dangerous. The act of thinking is too
complex and too poorly understood to be moulded by
reductionist rules.
The phrase "reflection
in action" describes the application of knowledge
and experience to a hypothetical solution. It
combines pattern recognition with an experimental problem
solving approach.
"The inquirer draws on a
familiar repertoire which is relevant to the present
problem. This inquiry may reframe the situation or
suggest an "experiment". This experiment is
not trial and error because the strategy is based on the
professional's repertoire of theoretical principles,
technical knowledge, and experience. The practitioner
searches a mental data bank of knowledge and experience
for the most likely explanation or strategy for this
unique clinical problem. A recipe does not exist. He or
she carries out an experiment which serves to generate
new information about the situation and possibly change
the situation. The practitioner remains open to feedback
from the situation. Data from the first experiment is
used to make a second choice." (Saylor, 1990)
What then can guide us in
designing curricula for teaching problem solving?
Efforts to obtain a general
understanding of a topic by using analogies and examples,
relating new information to knowledge already available
and critical step-by-step examination of details and
evidence are desirable. This "content analysis"
was found to enhance the level of understanding and long
term retention. (Van-Langenberghe, 1988)
Harvard's Project Zero
identified the need to teach the content better, to
ensure conceptual understanding, reflection and
strategizing in order to enrich learning. (Brandt,
1990) Effective instruction, we may conclude, allows the
learner to translate information into problem solving
efforts and thus the goal of instruction should be to
facilitate students to become self-propelled thinkers.
"MUCH ADO ABOUT
NOTHING:THE PROBLEM WITH PROBLEM SOLVING"; Leslie Millson
Taylor Leslie Millson
Taylor teaches in the School of Applied Arts and Health Sciences
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