Communicative Language

Teaching

PROBLEM-SOLVING

Lucy Sarah Blaisse F. Anas

Discussant
 What was the biggest problem you had in
your entire life?

What is/are the solution/s you took

to solve it?
 Are you contented with your
solution/s?

Are you happy with the result/s?

What would you have done better?

 Game: The Worst-Case Scenario
Think of being stranded on a deserted island or
getting lost at sea. Work together with a group to
concoct a solution that ensures everyone arrives
safely. Come up with a list of 10 must-have items that
would help you most, or a creative passage to safety.
 Problem Solving Method
-the ability to identify and solve problems by
applying appropriate skills systematically.

-a process—an ongoing activity in which we

take what we know to discover what we don't
know. It involves overcoming obstacles by
generating hypo-theses, testing those
predictions, and arriving at satisfactory
solutions.
 Problem-solving involves
Problem-solving involves three
three basic basic
functions:
functions:
1. Seeking information
1.2.Seeking
Generatinginformation
new knowledge
3. Making decisions
2. Generating new knowledge
3. Making decisions
The five-stage model that most students can easily
memorize and put into action and which has direct
applications to many areas of the curriculum as well
as everyday life:
• Understand the problem. It's important that students
understand the nature of a problem and its related
goals. Encourage students to frame a problem in their
own words.
• Describe any barriers. Students need to be aware of
any barriers or constraints that may be preventing
them from achieving their goal. In short, what is
creating the problem? Encouraging students to
verbalize these impediments is always an important
step.
• Identify various solutions. After the nature and
parameters of a problem are understood, students
will need to select one or more appropriate strategies
to help resolve the problem. Students need to
understand that they have many strategies available
to them and that no single strategy will work for all
problems. Here are some problem-solving
possibilities:
- Create visual images.
- Guesstimate.
- Use manipulatives.
- Look for a pattern.
- Create a systematic list.
• Try out a solution. When working through a strategy
or combination of strategies, it will be important for
students to …
- Keep accurate and up-to-date records of their
thoughts, proceedings, and procedures.
- Try to work through a selected strategy or
combination of strategies until it becomes evident
that it's not working, it needs to be modified, or it is
yielding inappropriate data.
- Monitor with great care the steps undertaken as part
of a solution.
- Feel comfortable putting a problem aside for a period
of time and tackling it at a later time.
• Evaluate the results. It's vitally important that
students have multiple opportunities to assess
their own problem-solving skills and the
solutions they generate from using those skills.
Advantages of Problem-Solving
1. Development of Long-Term Knowledge
Retention
2. Continuous Engagement
3. Promotes development of higher critical
levels of thinking (application,
synthesis, evaluation) versus simple
memorization
4. Improvement of Teamwork and
Interpersonal Skills
 Disadvantages of Problem-Based
Learning

1. Student Unpreparedness
2. Teacher Unpreparedness
3. Time-Consuming Assessment
Exercises / Evaluation: Problem Solving
• Identify the main
problem in the
situation and
give possible
solutions.
• A group member
will present your
group’s work in
the class.
Other Exercises to practice Problem-Solving
• Provide different levels of the problem scenario for
beginners and intermediate/advanced learners. In
some cases, you may prefer to have beginners work
from pictures or picture sequences that depict the
problem.
• Showing a video clip about a major community issue
and let the students have an argumentation about
that certain issue. Group the class into two.
• A debate about a major problem in the country
• Questions and answers related to students’ personal
experiences.
Assignment/Agreement

Follow-Up Activity :
Write a letter, giving advice to
someone experiencing a similar
problem.