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Problem Solving Ability: Significance for Adolescents

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 SRJIS/BIMONTHY/ MADHURI HOODA & RANI DEVI (1773-1778)

Problem Solving Ability: Significance for Adolescents

Madhuri Hooda, Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Maharshi Dayanand

University, Rohtak

Rani Devi, Research Scholar, Department of Education, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak

Abstract
Every problem is an opportunity for learning. Everybody faces many problems in life. The adolescence
age is the age of various problems due to physical and emotional changes. Problem solving is the natural
process in human being, but we cannot that it will develop at its best level. It is also a slow process, but
with deliberates efforts and special training, skill of problem solving can be developed. Various types of
co-curricular activities can be organized frequently to promote qualities such as cooperation, tolerance,
open-mindedness and sharing of responsibilities to enhance the Problem Solving Ability. Parents should
help their children in solving their problems independently at their own pace. Computer programming
enhances problem-solving abilities and promotes creativity and reasoning ability of students.
Keywords: Problem solving ability, students.

Scholarly Research Journal's is licensed Based on a work at www.srjis.com 4.194, 2013 SJIF©
SRJIS2014

“Problems are only opportunities in work clothes”

Henri Kaiser
PROBLEM SOLVING ABILITY
Problem solving occurs when an organism or an artificial intelligence system needs to move
from a given state to a desired goal state. Problem solving activities get students more involved
in the process of learning and enhance the use of higher level thinking process. Problem solving
involves the application of principles and facts to explain new phenomena or predict
consequences from known conditions. The task of problem solving requires prediction, analysis
of facts and principles to develop cause and effect relationship in physical phenomena.
Generally, our daily life activities are followed in routine and we do not face any problem to
perform our routine duties. But this is not always so, sometimes we are confronted with a

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problematic situation which acts as an obstacle to reach the goal. These obstacles may be
physical, social and economic which may hinder the progress of an individual towards the goals.
Problem solving is an alternative to assessments and diagnostic categories as a means to identify
students who need special services. Bandhana and Darshana (2012) found that emotional
intelligence and home environments have significant impact on the problem solving ability of
adolescents.
Problem solving is the frame work or pattern within which creative thinking and reasoning takes
place. It is the ability to think and reason on given levels of complexity. The state of tension
created by unsatisfied wants and drives enable the individual to exercise his greatest effort and to
use his best language techniques, observations, predictions and interferences to control the
difficulties that hinder the progress towards his goal of wants and satisfaction. Problem solving
ability plays an important role in the academic achievement of students.
NEED AND IMPORTANCE: Problem solving is the key to success and has been regarded as
the most significant aspect of human behavior. One of the major aims of education is to develop
the ability to attain better performance. No two individuals are alike. There are individual
differences in the problem solving ability. Some individuals can handle a situation, but others
cannot. A large part of an individual’s life is spent in a struggle to find effective solution to his
problems. A student having good problem solving ability will be properly adjusted in the class as
well as at home. A problem cannot be solved without thinking. The need of problem solving
behavior is to create the power of thinking which helps to find out the solution of the problem.
The main objective of problem solving is to go through the physical, psychological, social and
environmental factors which hinder the progress of an individual to attain certain goals.
Problem Based Education is an approach that aims to have students gain the skills of learning
with self-governance, independent studying, questioning and problem solving, is an approach
that provides the students to self-research and learn whenever they encounter similar situations
during their lifetime. This approach is based upon from real situations forming problem
situations and scenarios. Learners, under the guidance and management of the teacher, learn to
discover, analyze, and solve the problem and together the required data to learn both individually
and in groups. Teacher is the main source to help the students to improve their problem solving
skills. This situation provides the students with opportunities of problem solving, and helps them
to rise as good problem solvers in future. In this situation teachers’ understanding, belief and

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approaches problem solving is important. Therefore it is believed that revealing teacher

candidates’ skills of problem solving and approaches problem solving is important.
Steps in Problem-Solving: In order to correctly solve a problem, it is important to follow a
series of steps. Many researchers refer to this as the problem-solving cycle, which includes
developing strategies and organizing knowledge. While this cycle is portrayed sequentially,
people rarely follow a rigid series of steps to find a solution. Instead, we often skip steps or even
go back through steps multiple times until the desired solution is reached.
1. Identifying the Problem: While it may seem like an obvious step, identifying the problem is
not always as simple as it sounds. In some cases, people might mistakenly identify the wrong
source of a problem, which will make attempts to solve it inefficient or even useless.
2. Defining the Problem: After the problem has been identified, it is important to fully define
the problem so that it can be solved.
3. Forming a Strategy: The next step is to develop a strategy to solve the problem. The
approach used will vary depending upon the situation and the individual's unique preferences.
4. Organizing Information: Before coming up with a solution, we need to first organize the
available information. What do we know about the problem? What do we not know? The more
information that is available, the better prepared we will be to come up with an accurate solution.
5. Allocating Resources: Of course, we don't always have unlimited money, time and other
resources to solve a problem. Before you begin to solve a problem, you need to determine how
high priority it is. If it is an important problem, it is probably worth allocating more resources to
solving it. If, however, it is a fairly unimportant problem, then you do not want to spend too
much of your available resources into coming up with a solution.
6. Monitoring Progress: Effective problem-solvers tend to monitor their progress as they work
towards a solution. If they are not making good Progress toward reaching their goal, they will
reevaluate their approach or look for new strategies.
7. Evaluating the Results: After a solution has been reached, it is important to evaluate the
results to determine if it is the best possible solution to the problem. This evaluation might be
immediate, such as checking the results of a math problem to ensure the answer is correct, or it
can be delayed, such as evaluating the success of a therapy program after several months of
treatment.
PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES: Algorithms: An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure

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that will always produce a correct solution. A mathematical formula is a good example of a
problem-solving algorithm. While an algorithm guarantees an accurate answer, it is not always
the best approach to problem solving. This strategy is not practical for many situations because it
can be so time-consuming.
Heuristics: A heuristic is a mental rule-of-thumb strategy that may or may not work in certain
situations. Unlike algorithms, heuristics do not always guarantee a correct solution. However,
using this problem-solving strategy does allow people to simplify complex problems and reduce
the total number of possible solutions to a more manageable set.
Trial-and-Error: A trial-and-error approach to problem-solving involves trying a number of
different solutions and ruling out those that do not work. This approach can be a good option if
you have a very limited number of options available. If there are many different choices, you are
better off narrowing down the possible options using another problem-solving technique before
attempting trial-and-error.
Insight: In some cases, the solution to a problem can appear as a sudden insight. According to
researchers, insight can occur because you realize that the problem is actually similar to
something that you have dealt with in the past, but in most cases the underlying mental processes
that lead to insight happen outside of awareness.
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS: In order to increase the problem solving ability of the
adolescent, congenial home environment need to be created by the parents for their desirable
sufficient positive growth. The parents should pay special attention to them. They should
encourage them to solve their day to day problems by using their cognitive abilities. Moreover,
the parents should also provide rich and balanced diet, so that they remain physically fit and
mentally alert and they have high problem solving ability. It is the responsibility of the teachers
to identify such student who have low problem solving abilities and try to modify their learning
and thinking power through various audio-visual aids. In order to increase the problem solving
ability and academic achievement of the students, qualified and well-trained teachers should be
appointed in the schools so that they may understand the difficulties faced by the students and
help them in developing their cognitive abilities. The teachers should inform the parents
regarding the poor academic achievement of their children. Parents should help their children in
solving their problems independently at their own pace. They should engage their children in
specially designed problem solving activities to increase their problem solving ability. It is

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desirable to organize problem solving contexts and competitions in the society especially for
these students. The students should be encouraged to participate in these contexts which will
definitely increase their problem solving activities.
SUGGESTIONS ON IMPROVING STUDENTS’ PROBLEM SOLVING ABILITIES:
Within the classroom environment, it is difficult to monitor and interpret the habits of each
individual student; however, educators can certainly use the results of the study to impact the
methods that they use to deliver the information to the students in the classroom and also in more
individualized settings. Educators not only provide content information, but serve as role models
to the students in the problem-solving process. While working with the students, educators
should emphasize the key aspects of the problem, whether that is the terminology, the values
provided, or the like, that directed them in the problem-solving process. The students need to
recognize and understand the visual cues that enable the solution of a problem that make the
problem unique and also how to use similar visual cues in the solution of a future problem. .
Within smaller environments, such as recitation sections or office hours, individualized attention
can be given to the student, and recommendations regarding the problem-solving process can be
implemented with dramatic impact on the individual student. Simply asking the student to read
the problem and perform a short think aloud protocol can assist the educator in understanding the
misconceptions that arise from the lecture material in the mind of the students, not only helping
the student at the moment, but also assisting in the continual improvement of the lecture
environment.
CONCLUSION: It is universally acknowledged that school life is most important and crucial
period in life of an individual characteristics and problems. The problems may create
disturbances and disequilibrium in developing process of an individual. Therefore, the educators
must re-define traditional teaching methodologies which often do not match students learning
styles and skills needed in society. Educators can play an instrumental role in fostering an
environment of teaching and learning by presenting topics in an activity oriented manner to
mitigate or prevent math anxiety. For instance, concept can be taught through mathematical
modeling related to day to day life activities, forming math clubs for interaction among students
on mathematical phenomena, audio-visual aids, hands on activities and technology. Computer
programming enhances problem-solving abilities and promotes creativity and reasoning ability
of students. Teachers who teach mathematics to the students need a strong background in

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mathematics content. Inquiry-oriented mathematics instruction, tasks and activities, can assist
students to develop his/her talents. Various types of co-curricular activities can be organized
frequently to promote qualities such as cooperation, tolerance, open-mindedness and sharing of
responsibilities to enhance their Problem Solving Ability.
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