The Road Ahead

This chapter notes that most discussions around critical thinking and Socratic problem solving before this book was published described interactions between humans. However, as shown in this chapter, computers can not only automate the Socratic problem-solving process but can enhance its advantages for individuals, teams, and organizations in ways that only a computer can do. This chapter looks at eight ways that Socrates DigitalTM can be enhanced to create better solutions for problem solvers in less time.

Teacher Professional Development through Harezmi Educational Model

Harezmi Educational Model, a national model first piloted in 2016, is based on the inclusion of multi-disciplines, use of computational skills in the problem-solving process, development of life skills, and using robotics, coding, and game designs in learning. Teachers interested in implementing this model are expected to attend in-service training for several weeks to gain theoretical knowledge and practical skills. The purpose of the present study is to explore how the whole process, from the training to implementation in class stages, has affected teachers’ beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes regarding teaching. Sixteen teachers participated in this study. Data came from an online survey with 11 open-ended questions and online focus group interviews. In the analysis, the recurring themes were determined through content analysis, and themes that emerged at the beginning and end were compared. The results suggested that besides developing a critical eye on their own teaching, teachers improved their collaboration skills and observed an increase in their autonomy. This study is an attempt to address a gap in the field concerning this model and how this model has the potential to contribute to the professional development of teachers.

The plant and the management of the PICC/MIDLINE. The priority nursing role in the appropriate care

The interaction between the individual and the environment has a strategic significance for welfare purposes and shows the importance of the bilateral nature of the relationship. It highlights how promoting health means acting on the environment and on the individual. In terms of health education, for health workers it is no longer a question of intervening from the outside on behavior, but of inserting themselves into situations, in the processes of interaction, as active protagonists of a complex system. This orientation of the health system requires a reinterpretation of the role of operators, through the adoption of the participatory planning method, which requires interpreting one's work as a problem solving process. To get to the solution of the problems it is necessary to identify the elements of difficulty that the patient encounters, thus adopting methodologies that allow for an exchange relationship. Nurses, in all health systems, have a privileged position due to the capillarity of their action, inherent in the “to care” of nursing care, and of their contacts with citizens and clients. In particular towards the patient he teaches the correct assistance maneuvers and the most appropriate attitudes to be adopted to favor the change of behaviors and the achievement of awareness of a new state of health and a new degree of autonomy. The most suitable educational method that should be used by the nurse in the path of therapeutic education, is to link learning to action, in clinical practice, alongside the patient, promoting healthy lifestyles and the dissemination of a culture of health. Educational intervention aims at personalizing care and can improve health status and reduce healthcare costs. Alongside the ethical value and professional duty, it is necessary to use methodologies, techniques and methods to provide a structured set of specific information, with a simple and understandable language, speaking.

Developing an Observation Tool to Measure Preschool Children’s Problem-Solving Skills

In the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), problem-solving skills are part of science and engineering practices for K–12 students in the United States. Evaluating these skills for the youngest learners is difficult due to the lack of established measures. This paper reports on our process of developing an observation instrument to measure preschool children’s learning and their application of problem-solving skills, namely, the steps of the engineering design process (EDP). The instrument, Engineering Preschool Children Observation Tool (EPCOT), was intended to evaluate the frequencies of problem-solving behaviors and use of EDP-related vocabulary by observing preschoolers engaged with the Seeds of STEM eight-unit curriculum in the classroom. In this paper, we describe the development process and revision of EPCOT, its current constructs, and present descriptive findings from using the tool in a pilot study with sixteen classrooms: eight intervention classrooms who received the entire curriculum, and eight comparison classrooms who received only the eighth unit of the curriculum (to enable comparison). We found that, out of 34 possible behaviors across the problem-solving process, children in all classrooms engaged in 31 unique problem-solving behaviors, suggesting that preschool children are indeed capable of meaningfully engaging in solving problems. We also observed a trend that children who were exposed to more of the curriculum (the intervention group) produced more novel vocabulary words than those in the comparison group, who tended to repeat vocabulary words. Since EPCOT was developed in alignment with state and national standards, we believe it has the potential to be used with other early childhood engineering/problem-solving curricula.

Constructing mental diagrams during problem-solving in mathematics

In mathematics, problem-solving can be considered to be one of the most important skills students need to develop, because it allows them to deal with increasingly intricate mathematical and real-life issues. Often, teachers attempt to try to link a problem with a drawn diagram or picture. Despite these diagrams, whether given or constructed, the student still individually engages in a private discourse about the problem and its solution. These discourses are strongly influenced by their a priori knowledge and the given information in the problem itself. This article explores first-year pre-service teachers’ mental problem-solving skills. The emphasis was not on whether they solved the problems, but rather on their natural instincts during the problem-solving process. The research shows that some students were naturally drawn to construct mental images during the problem-solving process while others were content to simply leave the question blank. The data were collected from 35 first-year volunteer students attending a second semester geometry module. The data were collected using task sheets on Google Forms and interviews, which were based on responses to the questions. An interpretive qualitative analysis was conducted in order to produce deeper meaning (insight). The findings point to the fact that teachers could try to influence how students think during the problem-solving process by encouraging them to engage with mental images.

Interpersonal dysfunction in individuals high in chronic worry: relations with interpersonal problem-solving

Background: Interpersonal dysfunction has been proposed as an important maintenance factor in chronic worry and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Perceptions of problems and the problem-solving process as threatening, and unhelpful (e.g. avoidant, impulsive) problem-solving styles are implicated in worry and have also been suggested to be associated with dysfunctional interpersonal styles. Aims: The present study assessed the relationships between interpersonal dysfunction and problem-solving orientation, approach, and effectiveness in a sample of individuals high in chronic worry and investigated the indirect effect of interpersonal dysfunction on GAD symptom severity through negative problem-solving beliefs and approaches. Method: Fifty-nine community participants completed questionnaires and an interpersonal problem-solving task. Results: Greater interpersonal dysfunction was significantly associated with greater negative problem-solving orientation and greater habitual avoidant and impulsive/careless problem-solving styles. Greater interpersonal dysfunction was associated with poorer effectiveness of solutions when the task problem involved conflict with a romantic partner. Negative problem-solving orientation fully mediated the relationship between interpersonal dysfunction and GAD symptoms. Conclusions: These findings support that problem-solving processes are implicated in interpersonal dysfunction and that negative beliefs about problem-solving account for the relationship between interpersonal dysfunction and GAD symptoms. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Exploring Visualisation as a Strategy for Improving Year 4 & 5 Student Achievement on Mathematics Word Problems

<p>Solving mathematics word problems is more difficult for many students than solving comparable number only problems. Given the wide use of word problems in class teaching and in assessments there is potential for students not to achieve to their full ability. This study aimed to investigate if students’ comprehension of mathematics word problems, their accuracy in choosing the correct operation, and the number of word problems solved correctly could be increased through using drawings and mental visualisation. This mixed method intervention study involved 10 Year 4 and 5 students in an inner city New Zealand school. Two separate interventions were used with different groups of five students identified as being at risk of low achievement in mathematics. Each group was involved in three intervention sessions to help with solving mathematics word problems. The first included instruction in creating drawings, and the second using mental visualisation. The study data included pre- and post-tests, verbal student reflections, and student drawings. Results showed that both groups made improvements during their interventions in the number of problems solved, the number of operations chosen correctly, and in their ability to identify and write the equation described in the word problems. Both groups also increased their achievement in number only problems. There were no significant differences between the results gained by students in the different interventions. The findings suggest that visualising word problems is an effective strategy for solving mathematics word problems and is an important step as a part of a mathematics word problem solving process. Implications for teachers include that creating representations is important for students’ understanding in mathematics and crucially, that creating both internal representations (visualisations) and external representations (drawings) can and needs to be taught for maximising achievement.</p>

Exploring Visualisation as a Strategy for Improving Year 4 & 5 Student Achievement on Mathematics Word Problems

<p>Solving mathematics word problems is more difficult for many students than solving comparable number only problems. Given the wide use of word problems in class teaching and in assessments there is potential for students not to achieve to their full ability. This study aimed to investigate if students’ comprehension of mathematics word problems, their accuracy in choosing the correct operation, and the number of word problems solved correctly could be increased through using drawings and mental visualisation. This mixed method intervention study involved 10 Year 4 and 5 students in an inner city New Zealand school. Two separate interventions were used with different groups of five students identified as being at risk of low achievement in mathematics. Each group was involved in three intervention sessions to help with solving mathematics word problems. The first included instruction in creating drawings, and the second using mental visualisation. The study data included pre- and post-tests, verbal student reflections, and student drawings. Results showed that both groups made improvements during their interventions in the number of problems solved, the number of operations chosen correctly, and in their ability to identify and write the equation described in the word problems. Both groups also increased their achievement in number only problems. There were no significant differences between the results gained by students in the different interventions. The findings suggest that visualising word problems is an effective strategy for solving mathematics word problems and is an important step as a part of a mathematics word problem solving process. Implications for teachers include that creating representations is important for students’ understanding in mathematics and crucially, that creating both internal representations (visualisations) and external representations (drawings) can and needs to be taught for maximising achievement.</p>

A Study on the Strategy of Non-face-to-face Writing Lectures in the Post-Corona Era －Based on PBL-based Thinking and Expression

The liberal arts lecture called “thinking and expression” aims to provide a foundation for improving basic and professional communication skills to be used in universities and societies. However, it is true that “thinking and expression” is being developed as a writing-oriented lecture at each university, and online lectures in the current non-face-to-face situation expose various limitations due to the nature of writing. As a result, the following conclusions were obtained by reviewing the PBL lecture module of K University. First, theory-oriented writing classes do not stimulate students' interest in non-face-to-face situations, and existing writing textbooks also need to be extensively supplemented suitable for non-face-to-face situations. In non-face-to-face situations, writing lectures face contradictions that have no choice but to return to theory rather than practice, so it is imperative to develop online writing lecture modules in the university itself to improve the quality of lectures. Second, discussion classes based on PBLs are a priority to forestall various problems that can occur in non-face-to-face classes. It is important to consider using the video conference platform to facilitate communication between students in non-face-to-face situations as much as possible, but to encourage direct conversation to build intimacy rather than chatting. In order to become a PBL differentiated from the existing group learning, we pay more attention to the problem-solving process itself, and lead cooperative learning to more actively respond to social problems and find practical solutions through the ‘living lab’ method. Third, in non-face-to-face writing, the interaction between students and professors is absolute, and the process of writing and correcting together is important to form communication. Along with real-time lectures using video conferencing platforms, it is very important for professors to continue to show interest in students' writings and feedback them one by one.