Problem-solving is the Goal of Schools

Learning is the task of schools and us all. Yet, learning has its own components: memory, understanding, application. The first step, memory, precludes all others. A person with no memory of the “something” can never learn much about anything.

From memory, a student has a chance of understanding through various mechanisms, not the least important of which is analogy through previously understood concepts. Thus, understanding and learning are bootstrapping processes. But now comes the most important stage of learning, and that is applications or better known as problem-solving. We conclude…

The greatest learning engine is problem-solving. Give a lecture and only a fraction learn. Call for a group involvement and more learn. Ask them to solve a problem, and all learn.

Not solving a problem is a key learning experience. It exposes gaps in understanding. It points to needs. It is an essential component of growth. How many times has the teacher heard this, “I understand solutions when I see them but have trouble when I try myself.”

If you don’t test your understanding by problem-solving, you can’t know if you have learned the leasson.

Some schools teach memory by regurgitation. Fewer try to teach understanding. Those teaching problem-solving are where you should go or send your kids.

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