PROBLEM SOLVING

INTRODUCTION

There is a prevailing idea that education provides us with knowledge base that
enables us to deal with life’s problem in our professional work and in everyday life.
Problem solving requires an integrated use of thinking skills, which produce novel
solution from limited information. The basic purpose of education is to enable an
individual to adopt himself to life in society, which is full of problems. Problem solving
ability enables the persons to find appropriate solutions of problems which confront him.

MEANING

Problem solving is an instructional method or technique whereby the teacher and

pupils attempt in a concourse planned and purposeful effort to arrive at some explanation
or solution to some educationally significant difficulty.

DEFINITION

 “Problem solving is a method of organization of subject matter in such a way that

it can be dealt with through the study of the problems encountered.”
 “Problem solving is an instructional technique whereby the teacher and pupils
attempt in conscious, planned and purposeful effort to arrive at some explanation
or solution to some educationally significant difficulty.”- J. Dewey
 “Problem solving is a process of overcoming difficulties that appears to interfere
with the attainment of a goal. It is a procedure of making adjustment in spite of
interferences.”

PURPOSES

1. To train the student in the act of reasoning.

2. To give practical knowledge.
3. To discover new knowledge.
4. To solve a puzzling problem.
5. To improve knowledge of the students.
6. To help to overcome the obstacle or inferences in the attainment of objective.
7. To help in the progress of an individual as well as society.

ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF A PROBLEM

1. The problem should be meaningful, interesting and worthwhile.

 2. It should have correlation with life.
3. It should arise out of the real needs of the students.
4. Students must possess some background knowledge of the problem.
5. The problem should be clearly defined.
6. The solution of the problem should be found out by the students themselves
working under the guidance of the supervising teacher.

STEPS IN PROBLEM SOLVING

1. Recognizing the problem.

A problem is an obstruction, if an individual is not aware of problem, does not
have some general understanding of it, she cannot attack the problem. Sometimes
teacher present problems, which are beyond the comprehension of the learner with
the mistaken idea that this is the way to make a student to think on the contrary it
is more likely to make the student guess and resort to trial and error methods. So
the nature of the problem should be made very clear to the students, must feel the
necessity of finding out a solution of the problem.
2. Defining the problem.
One of the first steps in defining the problem is the derivation of the purpose that
is some idea of the use to which the findings are to be put. What is the essence of
the problem? What are the variables? How are the terms defined? All these
questions are essential parts of defining a problem. A well-defined problem is
clear, specific, and unequivocal, so that problem solver knows exactly what is
doing.
3. Collection of relevant data and information
The student must be stimulated to collect data in a systematic manner. Full co-
operation of the students should be secured. The teacher may suggest many points
to them. E.g. to read extra books to get additional information.
4. Organization of data
The student should be encouraged to arrange the relevant material from the
superficial one and put it in a scientific way.
5. Drawing of conclusions
Discussions should be arranged collectively and individually with each student.
The essential thinking is done by the students themselves and that there
educational process the particular solution.
6. Testing conclusions
This step calls for the ability to draw valid conclusions and to judge the validity of
the inferences. No conclusion should be accepted without being properly verified.
 The correctiveness of the conclusions must be proved. The student must be taught
to be critical and to examine the truth, which they discover.

METHODS/ APPROACHES TO PROBLEM SOLVING

Inductive method

The inductive method is a method of development. In this the student is led to discover
truth himself. The various processes in the inductive method are as follows:-

1. Observation of the given material.

2. Discrimination and analysis noting differences and similarities.
3. Classification.
4. Abstraction and generalization.
5. Application or verification.

Merits of inductive method

 Knowledge is self-acquired.
 Promotes mental activity participants in the learning teaching process.
 It makes the lesson interesting by providing challenging situations to the students.
 The method affords opportunities to the students to be self-dependent and
develops self-confidence.
 The student curiosity is well kept up till the end when generalizations are arrived.
 The method is very natural because the knowledge is acquired learns to tackle
problems.

Demerits of inductive method

There is possibility that student may draw conclusions very hastily and these may
be based on insufficient data and therefore, may be wrong.

 The method is very slow and lengthy.

 It is not very helpful in the case of small children.
 It is not suitable in the teaching subjects in which there is more stress on the
teaching of facts.
 The inductive method is not complete method in itself.

Deductive method

In the deductive method rules, generalization and principles are provided to the student’s
and then they are asked to verify them with the help of particular examples.
Merits of deductive method

 The teachers work is simplified.

 This method is very economical, saves time and energy of both the students and
the teachers.
 It is very suitable for small children who cannot discover truth for themselves.

Demerits of deductive method

 Knowledge is not self acquired and therefore not assimilated properly.

 The student is deprived of the pleasure of self activity and self effort as readymade
formulae, principles and rules are given to him.
 It encourages memorization of facts, which are soon forgotten, and therefore
knowledge is rendered useless.
 This method is unnatural and un-physiological for the students who do not passes
ability to appreciate abstract ideas in the absence of concrete examples.
 It fails to develop motivation and interesting the learning.
 It fails to develop self-confidence and initiative in the students.

COMBINATION OF DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE METHOD

Induction is followed by deduction and deduction followed by induction.

According to L.E. Miller, induction is the making of the tools of thought and deduction is
the using of tools.

ADVANTAGES OF PROBLEM SOLVING

1. Improves problem solving abilities:

During the process of problem solving or problem based learning, student
encounter new problems which need to be addressed students practice a variety of
problem solving strategies in order to complete their tasks. Therefore projects
create problems and problems create problem solvers.

2. Student centered rather than teacher centered:

Here the students make the choices for their subject and the direction that their
learning takes in pursuing learning rather that\n following the teacher’s lead. The
teacher takes the role of a “facilitator or guide” on the side rather than a “sage on
the stage”.
 3. Collaboration:
The students use a divide and conquer approach to take their problem. This allows
the students to use their communication skills and assume a leadership,
responsibility and compromise skills.
4. Constructivism:
The constructivist movement believes that the students should create their own
learning in a meaningful context. Teachers provide guidance to a meaningful
context. Teachers provide guidance to a meaningful context. Teachers provide
guidance to build their meaning for “real life” context instead of isolation, thus
enabling students to see connections to their life.
5. Allows for multiple intelligence:
Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences states that each learner has
several different types of intelligence (linguistic, musical, special interpersonal).
An open ended project allows for each student to view the problem through
different lenses.
6. Extended time frames:
The long term nature of the project allows student to learn the plan the project,
pursue the research react to the problems and choices encountered, create a
product which conveys the material learned and reflects success and failure during
the process. Here students take on more responsibilities and learns to budget their
time in order to complete the complex task.
7. Deeper understanding of knowledge:
Exposing students to content does not ensure that they understand the knowledge.
By using a “big idea” or enduring questions and requiring students to use their
higher level thinking skills (analyzing, applying, interpreting, evaluating) and to
access, transfer and translate information into understanding students gain deeper
understanding of the standards based content.
8. Multidisciplinary:
A good essential question will require the students to gain information from
several content areas. To look at the culture of India, the students must be
historians, archaeologist, anthropologist, artist, writers, researchers and computer
technicians.

Other advantages

 It helps in developing good study habits.

 It affords opportunities for participation in social activities.
 The students learn to be self-dependent.
  Discussions help to develop the power of expressions of the students.
 The method provides opportunities to the teachers to know in detail their pupils.
 Students learn facts which are meaningful and which have been discovered by
their own efforts.
 It helps in the maintenance of discipline.
 Learning becomes more interesting in place of dread.
 It gives the power of critical judgment.
 It helps to verify an opinion.
 It satisfies curiosity.
 It helps to learn how to act in a new situation.

DISADVANTAGES OF PROBLEM SOLVING

1. Problem solving involves mental activity only. There is less of bodily activity.
There is less of bodily activity.
2. There is lack of suitable reference and source book for students.
3. It involves a lot of time and the teachers and it is difficult f\to cover the prescribed
syllabus.
4. Problem method needs very capable teachers to provide effective guidance to
students.
5. There is a danger that the problem method may led to the selection of trivial topics
as in some instances to those generate more feeling and emotion than thought.

TEACHERS ROLE IN PROBLEM SOLVING

 Get the students to define the problem clearly.

 Aid them to keep the problem in mind.
 Get them to make suggestion by encouraging them.
 Give them time to evaluate such suggestions carefully.
 Get them to organize material.
 Set up an atmosphere of freedom in the class.

SUMMARY

Problem solving forms part of thinking. It occurs if an artificial intelligence system

does not know how to proceed from a given state to a desired goal state. It is part of the
larger problem process that includes problem finding and problem shaping.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Elsa Sanatombi Devi – Text book on “Nursing Education”; Ist edition; Publication
– Sathish Kumar Jain for CBS Publishers, Page No: 125-130.

 B. Sankara Narayan, B. Sindhu – “Learning and Teaching Nursing”; Page No: 100

 B.T. Basavanthappa – “Text book on Nursing Education”; Jaypee Publication.

 K.P. Neeraja – “Text book of Nursing Education”; Ist Edition; Jaypee Publication.

 S.K. Mangal – “Text book of Advanced Educational Psychology”; 2nd edition;

Published by Asoke K Ghosh; Page No: 369-376.
 NURSING EDUCATION

A Seminar On
PROBLEM SOLVING

SUBMITTED TO; SUBMITTED BY;

Mrs. Lakhmi, Mrs. Sindhu,
Lecturer, Ist year MSc Nursing,
KRSMCON. KRSMCON.

SUBMITTED ON;
02-07-2010