The problem with problem solving

I believe Albert Einstein was once asked “If you have one hour to save the world, how would you spend that hour?”He replied, “I would spend 55 minutes defining the problem and then five minutes solving it.”When asking 20 mathematics teachers to define problem solving you are likely to get 21 different definitions. In its recent report Problem...

Problem Solving Tasks

The Spode Group produced a number of resources to support problem solving in mathematics through real life problems. Some of the resources were produced to support the C.S.E. syllabus and others were written at the time mathematics teachers were preparing for coursework to become a compulsary part of the assessment of...

Problem solving skills

This STEM Learning resource collection aims to support STEM Ambassadors to highlight the top 10 employability skills to young people, with examples of activities and discussions to support young people to develop these skills in either school, college or other settings.  These two resources focus on problem...

Problem Solving with Industry

Problem Solving with Industry originally consisted of 30 short problem-solving exercises devised by the Centre for Science Education Sheffield Hallam University in collaboration with a range of industries. A selection of these units were updated and revised to match the requirements of GNVQ Science in 1995. It is this...

Numeracy Through Problem Solving

Numeracy Through Problem Solving is a sequence of five modules which develop students' ability to use mathematics together with other skills. In tackling problems of concern or situations of interest in everyday life - the original definition of numeracy, which was reinforced by the Cockcroft Report. The five...

Perfect problem solving with Bojagi

As a mathematics teacher, I like to start the term with some basic number skills with my KS3 groups. This choice is grounded in solid reasoning: check the pupils have got a grasp of the basics before moving on to another topic. Prime factor trees make great display work, and Pascal’s Triangle can have the ‘wow’ factor. But how else can that start-of-the-new...

Creative Problem Solving in Chemistry

These resources were designed to * To improve students' ability to communicate and work together. *To develop students' problem solving skill. *To give students to opportunity to be creative. *To show students that science is more than 'getting the right answer' and that it can involve using one's own...

MEI Integrating Mathematical Problem Solving

The resources in this collection are the result of a project managed by Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI) and funded by the Clothworkers’ Foundation. The aims of the project are to: • Highlight the importance of mathematics and statistics across the sixth form curriculum • Enable A level students to see...

Using Computers in Mathematical Problem Solving

These two publications from the the Mathematics Centre at the University of Chichester focus on how the use of a microcomputer can be used to allow students to get worthwhile mathematical experiences by using a few words from the computers' programming language.

Problem solving in computing and across STEM - part 1

UK students are good problem solvers. PISA tests reveal that they are better than most international peers, including those from countries with better performance in mathematics and reading. Can this help their achievement in computing and other STEM subjects?This series of articles explores problem solving in computing and across STEM, asking ‘what is...