Development of Problem Solving Abilities

The essential contribution of the JUNIORS A curriculum centers on helping children develop their problem solving capabilities. This is achieved by focusing the educational effort on systematic processes and on cultivating the appropriate attitudes in the child's behaviour.

In each lesson, the child is required to solve a problem or to plan and design a project. At each step, s/he is guided through the same process of encountering a problem to be solved. Initially the effort focuses on problem definition, on understanding the nature of the problem which is being faced. Of great significance in the entire process is the interchanging of roles between teacher and student. That is to say, the approach entails a role reversal, in which the problem to be solved belongs to the student, as it is s/he who becomes interested in understanding it and solving it. This student-centered educational process stands in contrast to the teacher-centered approach, where "the problem" belongs to the teacher who wishes to teach a body of "material" to the students.

Having communicated to the student the challenge that s/he has a problem to be solved, understanding also the exact nature of the problem, we then enter the second phase of the problem-solving process. This focuses on specifying and identifying which tools are needed for the solution of the problem in question. At this stage the emphasis is on developing the child's ability to anticipate, to assess and to define accurately the type of tools which are required in order to achieve the desired outcome. Subsequently, we become occupied with the learning of the various tools and related skills. The process is finalized by delivering the project which itself constitutes an integral part of the problem-solving process.

The problems which the students are called upon to encounter are drawn from a variety of academic disciplines as well as everyday and professional settings. The idea here is to expose the child to the far reaching implications and transferability of what is being learned.