The Puzzle Approach
10/26/2019
We give young children puzzles to help practice their fine motor and other developing skills. We give adults puzzles to escape from the stresses and strains of the day. We give elderly people puzzles to keep their minds sharp. Whether you are a four-year-old doing a jigsaw, a 40-year-old playing Wordscapes, or an 80-year-old with a crossword, you are learning through puzzles. At PNA we believe in creating learning experiences for our students that are more like puzzles than other traditional teaching practices. Our math curriculum itself (especially at the Middle School level) revolves around team-based problem solving. They are consistently working together, talking through problems, trying to find solutions. This collaborative, "puzzle" approach encourages students to work together and progress what they know from one critical-thinking stage to another. Bloom’s Taxonomy is a buzz word in the educational world, but its merit holds true. Remembering, understanding, and applying content are the first three stages of thinking, while analyzing, evaluating, and creating are those higher levels we are encouraging our students to reach. Of course, it’s valuable for a student to independently come to a conclusion, but for that student to have the ability to explain his/her reasoning to another person and evaluate how the solution was obtained, is an impressive and crucial skill. We do this in our math instruction and across all of our other subjects. We use actual puzzles as well. I’ve been having the most fun watching people solve the metal “brain teaser” puzzles I have in my room. Those physical puzzles are perfect for the down time before school starts, in between classes, or if students needs a quick break to concentrate on something concrete, while cooling off from something else going on in their minds. Most students have been successful with these puzzles and their mindsets have changed. If we don’t know how to solve something and it’s difficult for us, we may deem it impossible and give up. However, our students have viewed these puzzles (and academic “puzzles”) as challenges they’ve accepted, therefore solving them feels like a game. Sarah and I said over and over again in our parent-teacher conferences on Thursday how curious our students are. Watching a student reach their “aha moment” is phenomenal. Humans have an inmate problem solving instinct and our students have certainly shown us theirs. Whether our kids are tinkering with puzzles or working as a team, we are seeing them begin to shift into the higher levels of thinking skills and are very proud of them. Please remember, you’re never too old for puzzles, have a look at our staff. Comments are closed.
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Sarah Mariner
Ms. Mariner earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Science from Colorado State University, and was awarded a teaching certificate through the University of Alaska, Southeast. Her varied background includes being an environmental education field instructor in Massachusetts, Colorado, and Baja, Mexico. She also served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. Archives
April 2021
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