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\title{Should problem-solving skills be taught in HE courses?}



\author[1]{Nephtalí Garrido-Gonzalez}%
\affil[1]{School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Sussex. Brighton, United Kingdom.}%


\vspace{-1em}



  
  \date{May 03, 2024}


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Problem-solving ability (to be able to recognize what the problem is,
develop a methodology to approach it and try different paths towards the
final solution) is one of the most important to develop for a
professional at any scientific and technological area. We often~hear how
we not only need to know the theory and understand the concepts but also
develop intuition, abstraction capacity and ingenuity aimed to search
for solutions and applications. It is, however, not an easy or
straightforward ability to develop. There are many~layers and process of
thought required to be an effective problem-solver and it cannot be
expected that all students will develop them unaided~\cite{Bolton_1997}.

That, however, begs the question; is effective problem-solving a talent
with which some people have a more innate affinity than others, and
should a physics course actually focus on teaching those skills rather
than just evaluate whether the students understand a concept or the
theory behind a physical phenomenon? Currently, the way this need is met
at most University courses is by giving the students a general lecture
on the theory, some example problems and then given coursework or
workshop problems of increasing difficulty where they are expected to
develop the skills necessary to solve them on their own, by practice
alone.~

~During my experience both as a~student and as a tutor, I've seen this
method tried again and again, but with the result being that
problem-solving is one of the areas where students struggle the most.
One of the factors I have seen to affect the way a student's
problem-solving ability and development is their overall opinion when
facing a difficult problem. Studies suggest that first-year students in
physics have a more negative opinion from the start when facing a
challenging problem, compared with PhD students or
faculty~~\citep{Mason_2016}. This suggests that their overall~attitude
when solving a problem will eventually result in them being afraid of
making mistakes, not understanding the essence of the methodology and
giving up problems after trying just to apply the straightforward
equations they were taught in the lecture examples.

A solution for that would probably be to encourage a more
trial-and-error workshop style lecture, where the students would not
only be trying to find the right answer, but they would be encouraged to
try different approaches without the fear of making mistakes. The
lecturer would try to be more of a mentor to guide discussion rather
than the source of knowledge on how the problem should be solved. And
should emphasize, as much as possible, the thought process needed to
solve the problem rather than the final result in itself.

I don't believe however that focusing a Physics course on teaching the
methods for problem-solving is a very cost-effective way to do things.
This is not to deny the importance of this skill on Physics degrees in
particular and science degrees in general, but to recognize that the
main objective of a Physics course is to teach Physics and concepts to
the students and that there's usually enough of that crafted into a
curriculum to be able to spare time trying to teach the students general
problem-solving approaches. On the other hand, it's not realistic to
expect that all students will be able to develop these skills on their
own just by giving them coursework~and challenging problems and working
with them by practice and without focusing on the methodology.

A possible way to reconcile both needs would be to implement an
independent course on problem-solving techniques and approaches during
the first~ or foundation year, where the students are taught the basic
skills of problem-solving (goals, logical~framework, time management,
asking sceptical~questions, etc.) in a non-graded, workshop-style
environment where experimentation and mistakes are encouraged rather
than frowned upon. Courses in the same spirit have demonstrated to
increase overall understanding and problem-solving capacity in
students~\cite{Bolton_1997}.

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