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Errors are part of the process of problem solving, which implies that both teachers and learners need to be more tolerant of them, Mr. Martinez points out. If no mistakes are made, then almost certainly no problem solving is taking place.
To think is constantly to choose in view of the end to be pursued.1
EVERY educator is familiar with the term "problem solving," and most would agree that the ability to solve problems is a worthy goal of education. But what is problem solving? Its meaning is actually quite straightforward: problem solving is the process of moving toward a goal when the path to that goal is uncertain. We solve problems every time we achieve something without having known beforehand how to do so. We encounter simple problems every day: finding lost keys, deciding what to do when our car won't start, even improvising a meal from leftovers. But there are also larger and more significant "ill-defined" problems, such as getting an education, becoming a successful person, and finding happiness. Indeed, the most important kinds of human activities involve accomplishing goals without a script.
Problem solving is a ubiquitous feature of human functioning. Human beings are problem solvers who think and act within a grand complex of fuzzy and shifting goals and changing means to attain them. This has always been true, but it is doubly so today because we live in a time of unprecedented societal transformation. When circumstances change, old procedures no longer work. To adapt is to pursue valued goals even when circumstances - and perhaps the goals themselves are in flux. Because the pace of societal change shows no signs of slackening, citizens of the 21st century must become adept problem solvers, able to wrestle with illdefined problems and win. Problem-solving ability is the cognitive passport to the future.
There is no formula for true problem solving. If we know exactly how to get from point A to point B, then reaching point B does not involve problem solving. Think of problem solving as working your way through a maze.2 In negotiating a maze, you make your way toward your goal step by step, making some false moves but gradually moving closer toward the intended end point. What guides...