Educational Psychology: Effective Teaching, Effective Learning by Elliott, Kratochwill, Littlefield Cook & Travers
	Chapter 8 Summary
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Thinking Skills and Problem-Solving Strategies

The need for thinking and problem-solving skills dominates our lives. Individuals must analyze problems in the workplace, at school, as a parent, and in many other daily situations. Good problem solvers have indentifiable characteristics, including positive attitudes toward problems, concern with accuracy, and having an ability to dissect a problem and analyze its individual parts. Though some students will solve problems more quickly than others the problem-solving ability of all students can be improved. Teachers can help students improve their critical thinking and problem-solving skills in a variety of ways. They can utilize Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives when designing curriculum activities and questions. They may also present new concepts and problems in ways that appeal to a wide range of learning styles. Transfer refers to the ability to use past experiences to help understand new and challenging situations. When educators teach for transfer, students are encouraged to use their prior knowledge and experiences to solve new problems and construct new meanings.

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