Critical Analysis of Children Solving Problems Chapters 5 and 6

Summary of Chapters 5 and 6

Thornton dedicates a section in chapter five of her book to the idea that children learn by

joining in, or in other words, children learn by working with others and joining in the problem

solving process. She draws from the ideas of Vygotsky, who showed “that the level of skill a

child can produce is very much a matter of how much support the child has from the

environment—especially from other people (Thornton, 1995, p. 97).” In other words, a child can

be very capable of completing a task with the aid or direction of a more knowledgeable person,

such as a teacher or parent, but may be completely or mostly unable to if asked to do so alone

with no instruction. Thornton uses the example of packing a suitcase and how, with help, a child

would be able to do this and then, in the future, become more equipped and able to do this task

independently. However, if a child is just told to pack a bag for an overnight, they would

probably be overwhelmed and confused about what exactly they need, and, without direction,

would not learn what they should bring. If a week later you asked the child who had help and the

child who did not to complete the task, the child who had help would be more likely to be able to

because they learned by joining in. In addition to just giving direction, Thornton discusses the

importance of scaffolding, or slowly building up a skill with the assistance of someone more

versed in the skill so the child does not get overwhelmed by the complexity of a new task.

Thornton also dedicates a section to the idea of confidence and control. She says that

“Success in solving problems—and other people’s belief in our success—makes us feel

competent and confident at any age (Thornton, 1995, p.110).” This, she continues, is critical for
children to develop higher cognitive skills and become better problem solvers. She brings in a

study done by Robert Hartley where students were asked do do a task pretending they were the

smartest kids in the class, and how this confidence made them more capable of doing the task.

She discusses how children are very aware of their competence and that confidence in abilities is

very powerful for children, but often misunderstood and not fostered in the right ways.

Discussion

In her conclusion, Thornton states that “Expertise in problem-solving grows out of the

child’s expanding knowledge and experience of particular types of problems (Thornton, 1995 p.

120).” Thornton believes that children are born curious and ready to explore the world and

problem solve, but, at the same time, need interactions with others, both children and adults, to

scaffold their learning and become more advanced problem solvers and develop higher cognitive

functions. More specifically, she addresses the ideas that learning by joining in, as well as

developing confidence and control, help a child to develop problem solving abilities. Her section

on learning by joining in expands upon the work of Vygotsky and the idea of sharing work with a

skilled partner as well as Barbara Rogoff’s idea of guided participation. Furthermore, her section

on confidence and control discusses how a child’s confidence, or lack there of, can influence

their problem solving abilities.

Thornton emphasized the importance of the relationship between problem solving and

social interactions. Two suggestions she offers are to teach children by having them join in on a

task and to focus on instilling confidence in children. I believe that both of these suggestions are

crucial for elementary school teachers to utilize, especially when it comes to problem solving,

whether it be in math or daily activities. In regards to having children learn by joining in, I recall

back to second grade when my teacher would send home a weekly math and science experiment
for students and their families to complete. My dad always read the directions with us, got the

supplies, and guided us through it with a lot of enthusiasm. As a student who typically was not

very fond of math and science because I found it too confusing, this was a highlight of the

subject and, because I was doing it with my dad, I never felt like I was overwhelmed. The

teacher was very skillful to create an assignment that so clearly explained what parts a parent

should do and what a student should do so that nothing is overwhelming but the student can learn

from the parent and be able to help. It is important for elementary school teachers to know that

many parents might not be aware of the importance of learning by joining in, and that helping

them understand this and work with their child will be extremely beneficial.

In regard to confidence, I think that this may be one of the most important things for a

teacher to learn and understand not only in regard to math, but any subject. I remember working

with a young student as a substitute teacher and doing a math page with him. He was getting

visibly upset over it, so I broke down a problem for it and he was able to complete it. I asked him

why he was so overwhelmed since he was so smart and able to figure it out with me and he said

“don’t call me smart, I’m not smart.” When this student looked at the problem not as a problem

on a paper but as something he and I could do together, he felt more than capable of doing it. But

when it became just a problem on a paper, something he had struggled with time and time again,

he felt incapable of doing it. I have to admit I have been in similar situations as a student. I

remember being in my algebra class junior year of high school and knowing that this class was

extremely difficult, regardless of how smart you were. Just knowing this assumption about the

class and the material made me feel like I was unable to do well, but when I pushed past my

preconceived notions, I was able to understand and do well. I believe that teachers need to
understand the importance of instilling confidence in students and need to remind them that they

are more capable than they may think.

Conclusion

Thornton explains that children are born ready and willing to problem solve, but require

the skills and help of others more versed in problem solving to help the child grow in their

abilities, confidence, and develop higher cognitive abilities. Children need to be nurtured so that

they can take the innate desire to problem solve and foster it with the knowledge of others and

the world. Two ways this can be done are by scaffolding and allowing the child to learn by

joining in, as well as instilling confidence in the child so they are aware of their abilities and

ready to tackle the problem. Teachers need to understand the importance of working with

children in ways that are not overwhelming or asking too much that the child may not know.

Rather, teachers should take what the child knows and build off of it so the child can get closer to

completing other tasks and developing new skills and abilities. As a teacher I want to take time

to work with students on believing in themselves and their abilities by doing problem solving

workshops that are fun and stress free and allow me to work with the child and nurture their

abilities so that they can complete the problem and be proud of themselves and ready to take on

the next challenge.