Problem-solving students? Not really.
(Second in a series on problem-solving)
We all have to solve problems every day.
Many people are not good at it simply because they’ve never been trained how to do it.
We can fix that!
The results here measure how 15-year-olds from around the world are doing in different areas (science, math and English) but primarily problem-solving.
In an international test involving 44 countries, Asian students are doing well.
Us? Not so much.
WHAT IS PROBLEM-SOLVING?
Problem-solving involves trying to determine the solution to a complex problem that lacks an obvious solution or types of solutions.
We often think of problem-solving as a requirement for jobs or careers but we all have to solve problems. Mothers, for example, have to solve dozens a day!
Students might have been asked to solve questions such as how to plan a dinner for 8 (including one vegan and two vegetarians)or how to plan the best route to school.
All of us have technical, financial, mechanical problems as well as personal problems which can be related to ourselves or with others.
How would you solve a question such as telling your father you love him when your relationship has not been good for years?
How we handle these problems dictates how we feel and about ourselves and how we perform in our everyday lives.
If we aren’t good at problem-solving we become anxious, depressed and in many ways upset.
At the end of this piece I’ll tell you how to fix this.
BACKGROUND
If you missed the first post in this series, Here it is. (LINK to the 1st post after its been published)
If you don’t have time to do that, here’s a short backgrounder.
- CANADIAN students came in sixth and U.S. students 18th (out of 44 countries) in a recent problem-solving test for 15 year-old students from around the world.
- ASIAN countries, led by Singapore, Korea and Japan scored higher than the North American countries.
- The assessment tested students’ cognitive skills in “creative problem solving” in subject areas such as math, science and reading.
NOTES TO HELP INTERPRET THE FINDINGS
- Different countries were better at one in one area than others, and that might skew the results somewhat but North Americans don’t come out great either way.
- The results are based on a limited number of examples and subject to a large margin of error.
- There are some caveats re the way science and math are taught in some Asian (and other countries) and some people feel that they rely too much on rote but that’s a whole other area for discussion.
CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING
And, anyway as a American educator, in an excerpt from a NY Times story, says, U.S. have fallen behind other countries in improvisation, imagination, intuition, and fearlessness with regard to facing problems.
Problem-solving abilities are in need of improvement for jobs increasingly in the future.
- The scores were first recorded by the OCED (the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s program for International Student Assessment (PISA). They began these Problem-solving tests in 2012.
- About 85,000 students in 44 countries and economies participated in the computer-based assessment.
- Not all countries that did well in school subjects like mathematics or science did well on the problem-solving test. Conversely, students in the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan did better on problem-solving than in key school subjects.
OECD AND PISA
The OECD’s PISA program investigates and compares the performance of schools and education systems worldwide. It does this by assessing 15-year-old students in three main subjects: mathematics, reading and science.
To date, more than 70 economies around the world have taken part in PISA.
The assessments are held every three years, and each round places a special focus on one of the key subjects: in 2012, it was mathematics.
A special feature focused on creative problem-solving.
FRIGHTENING STATS
- Around one in nine (11.4%) of 15-year-old students across OECD countries are able to solve the most complex problems, compared to one in five in Singapore, Korea and Japan.
- But on average across OECD countries about one in five students are able to solve only the simplest problems, meaning they lack the skills the modern workplace needs.
But PISA is not just a school test: it gathers extensive data on students’ social background, how they approach learning and the characteristics of their schools.
HERE’S A YOUTUBE VIDEO ON OECD AND PISA
You get a good, fast intro here!
If you prefer text, here’s the OECD site.
PROBLEM-SOLVING AND YOU!
If you are having difficulty solving problems, or even figuring out exactly what a particular problem IS,
then…
I have an inexpensive but helpful book on problem-solving on Amazon.
It addresses the first step in problem-solving that frequently gets missed in the process of trying to fix things in our personal or professional lives.
It is the steps of problem-identification.
Do you often say you “can’t solve a problem” as hard as you try?
I know how it feels, but…
WHAT IF YOUR “PROBLEM” IS NOT THE REAL PROBLEM?
What if you are mistaken about the nature of the actual problem?
You could go insane trying to solve some problems…if they are not the real problems.
Chances are they are NOT.
You have to find the real problem not the one that is suggested to by your mind, your psyche or your emotions.
You will learn—fast–how to eliminate the three psychological barriers that prevent you from solving your day-today problems.
This book can help you eliminate all the worry, fear, negative thinking and emotional upset that comes when you can’t solve what you think or feel are the problems.
Stop trying to do the impossible—solve the wrong problems…the ones you haven’t correctly identified.
You’ll learn how to “see” your real problems and be able to find solutions.
This book will help you do it.
Fast.
Click the image below to get your copy today!
Frank Daley
daleyfrank0@gmail.com
647-205-5059
356 Westridge Drive , Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
