Children solving problems

Description

Problem-solving skills evolve through experience and dynamic interaction with a problem. But equally important--as the Russian psychologist L. S. Vygotsky proposed--is social interaction. Successful problem-solving is a social process. Sharing problem-solving tasks--with skilled adults and with other children--is vital to a child's growth in expertise and confidence. In problem-solving, confidence can be more important than skill. In a real sense, problem-solving lies at the heart of what we mean by intelligence. The ability to identify a goal, to work out how to achieve it, and to carry out that plan is the essence of every intelligent activity. Could it be, Thornton suggests, that problem-solving processes provide the fundamental machinery for cognitive development? In Children Solving Problems she synthesizes the dramatic insights and findings of post-Piagetian research and sets the agenda for the next stage in understanding the varied phenomena of children's problem-solving. Contents ......Page 8 1 / Why Children’s Problem-Solving Is Interesting......Page 12 2 / A Historical Perspective on Children’s Problem-Solving: Inference and the Development of Logic......Page 17 3 / Conceptual Tools for Solving Problems: Inherent Skills and Information......Page 43 4 / Working through a Problem and Discovering New Strategies......Page 73 5 / The Social Context of Children’s Problem-Solving......Page 104 6 / Conclusions......Page 130 Notes......Page 140 Suggested Reading......Page 148 Credits......Page 150 Index......Page 152