DEVELOPING PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS

Abstract

The article deals with the creating and the developing of the students’ problem-solving skills, which are necessary for all life spheres. The authors have focused on the idea that classroom problem solving activities can be a great tool to get students ready to solve real problems in real life as the ability to analyze a problem critically, map out all its elements and develop a workable solution as one of the most valuable skills one can acquire in life. It has been highlighted the features of the problem-solving skill education; analyzed the main problems in developing activities and instructions to them in the context of the problem-solving skill education; formulated the basic principles of the problem-solving skill education; studied the models of the problem-solving skill education and developed a set of activities to prove the ideas discussed. Applying the discussed activities in a complex and systematic way, within a general educational model gives the opportunity to provide a methodologically conditioned approach that will form the so-called “21st Century Skills”: critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and self-management. The authors have emphasized that problem- solving skills do not develop naturally; they need to be explicitly taught in a way that can be transferred across multiple settings and contexts.