Well-developed problem-solving skills are essential for any student enrolled in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) course as well as for graduates in the workforce. One of the most essential skills is the ability to monitor one's own progress and understanding while solving a problem. Successful monitoring during the entire solution allows a solver to identify errors within a solution and make adjustments as necessary. To highlight this aspect of problem-solving, we have developed a framework and associated classroom activities that introduce students to monitoring (M) alongside the more traditional aspects of problem-solving models: analyzing the task (A), creating a plan (C), and executing the plan (E). This ACE-M framework has been successfully implemented in lower-division chemistry, mathematics and physics courses. Students enrolled in courses where ACE-M was used as the foundation for problem-solving instruction reported improved problem-solving self-efficacy, more monitoring while solving problems, and in many cases improved course grades. With this explicit instruction on self-monitoring, students are now introduced to expert problem-solving skills that will benefit them in their STEM careers.
Loyola Marymount University (LMU) has developed a new approach to problem solving, Collaborative Solution Discovery (CSD), to help practitioners in a school system leverage their individual passions in a way that grows students’ positive math identity through mathematical thinking, problem solving, and self-regulation. By focusing on how students and teachers interact with each other in real-time in an ideal classroom, practitioners take ownership of a process to guide their students in growing their positive math identity and thus taking ownership of their own math learning. Practitioners measure progress along the way through metrics that are created, defined, used, and continually refined by themselves to attain their ideal math learning environment. The entire CSD process results in a system that owns ist improvement efforts—improvement efforts that are flexible, adaptable, and sustainable.
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