What Is Problem Solving?

Author(s): Michael E. Martinez

Source: The Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 79, No. 8 (Apr., 1998), pp. 605-609
Published by: Phi Delta Kappa International
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20439287
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 WhatIs Poblem Solving?

BYMICHAEL E. MARTINEZ

Errors arepart of theprocess of

problem solving, which implies
that both teachersand learners
need to bemore tolerantof them,
Mr Martinez points out. If no
mistakes are made, thenalmost
certainly no problem solving is
takingplace.

To think is constantly to choose in view

of the end to be pursued.'

E VERY educator is familiar with

the term "problem solving," and
most would agree that the abili
ty to solve problems is aworthy
goal of education. But what is
problem solving? Its meaning is actually
quite straightforward: problem solving is
the process of moving toward a goal when
the path to that goal is uncertain. We solve
problems every time we achieve something
without having known beforehand how to
do so.We encounter simple problems every
day: finding lost keys, deciding what to
do when our car won't start, even impro
vising ameal from leftovers. But there are
also larger and more significant "ill-de
fined" problems, such as getting an edu
cation, becoming a successful person, and
finding happiness. Indeed, the most im
portant kinds of human activities involve
accomplishing goals without a script.

MICHAEL E. MARTINEZ is an associate

professor in theDepartment of Education, Uni
versity of California, Irvine.

Illustration
by
Mario
Noche APRIL
1998 605

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 Problem solving is a ubiquitous fea problem solving again, novel elements or want to be. We can't be sure of what lies
tureof humanfunctioning.Humanbeings new circumstances must be introduced or around the next corner or that the direc
are problem solvers who think and act the level of challenge must be raised. Some tion thatonce seemed so promisingwill
within a grand complex of fuzzy and shift problemsolutions,however,can neverbe pay off. Progress toward important goals
ing goals and changing means to attain reduced to algorithms, and it is often those is incremental, and each move is informed
them. This has always been true, but it is problemsthatconstitutethemost profound by our repertoireof heuristics.Because
doubly so today because we live in a time and rewarding of human activities. The of the possibility of false moves, we need
of unprecedentedsocietal transformation. tomonitor our progress continually and
When circumstanceschange, old proce switch strategies if necessary.
dures no longer work. To adapt is to pur
suevaluedgoals evenwhen circumstances
and perhaps the goals themselves -
The Power of Heuristics
are in flux. Because the pace of societal If heuristics are the problem solver's
change showsno signsof slackening,citi
zens of the 21st century must become adept
Problemsolving best guide, itmakes sense to elucidate them
as much as possible. First, each learner
problem solvers, able towrestle with ill must know what heuristics are and must
definedproblemsandwin. Problem-solv involvesan be aware of their power. Second, each learn
ing ability is the cognitive passport to the er must have both general and specific
future. of a
interaction heuristics at his or her disposal. General
There is no formula for true problem heuristics are cognitive "rulesof thumb"
solving. Ifwe know exacfly how to get from person's
experience that are useful in solving a great variety
point A to point B, then reaching point B of problems.They areusuallycontent-free
does not involveproblem solving.Think andthedemands and apply across many different situations.
of problem solving as working your way Specific heuristicsareused in specialized
through a maze.2 In negotiating a maze,
you make your way toward your goal step
of the task. areas, often specific
professions.
subject domains or

by step, making some false moves but Probablythemost powerfulgeneralheu

moving closer towardthe intend
gradually ristic, alluded to in the maze example, is
ed end point. What guides your choices? "means-ends Essentially,theheu
analysis."
Perhaps a rule like this: choose the path ristic is this: form a subgoal to reduce the
that seems to result in some progress to discrepancy between your present state and
ward the goal. Such a rule is one exam necessity of problem solving to all that is your ultimate goal state. Phrased more col
ple of a heuristic. A heuristic is a rule of important about being a person cannot be loquially: do something to get a little clos
thumb. It is a strategy that is powerful and overstated. er to your goal.
general, but not absolutely guaranteed to In addition, problem solving is not an Problemsdefy one-shot solutions;they
work. Heuristics are crucial because they advanced process that is reserved solely must be broken down. Means-ends analy
are the tools by which problems are solved. for mature learners. Indeed, people of all sis accepts incremental advancement to
By contrast, algorithms are straight ages can and must be solvers of problems. ward a goal. The method is not fail-safe,
forward procedures that are guaranteed to Perhaps young children are themost nat of course, because positive results are not
work every time. For example, you have ural problem solvers. Because they con guaranteed with any heuristic. However,
in your long-term memory algorithms that tinually face circumstances that are nov if all goes well, this heuristic will help
enable you to tie your shoelaces, to start el, they must adapt. It's their "job." And move you incrementally toward your ul
up your car, and perhaps even to cook an they are amazingly good at it.Moreover, timate goal. You apply it again and again,
omelet. Barring broken shoelaces, a dead young children don't fret about failure the trying to reduce the discrepancy further.
battery, and rotten eggs, these algorithms way that school-age children and adults By means of this less-than-direct path,
serve you very well. An algorithm may tend to do. They take detours and setbacks you find your way to the ends you seek.
even be so automatic that it requires very in stride because they know intuitively that Such a search is not simply a process of
little conscious processing as you carry such obstacles are a part of the problem trial and error, because the steps taken are
out the procedure. solving process. Still, we need to encour not blind or random. Rather, the applica
Now here is an important consideration: age problem solving in children. When tion of a series of tactical steps leads you
what constitutes problem solving varies ever possible, this involves letting children ever closer toward the goal. Mistakes made
from person to person. For a small child, find their own ways of reaching their goals. along the way must be accepted as inex
tying shoelaces will indeed require prob Good parents and other caregivers know tricablefrom theproblem-solvingprocess.
lem solving, just as cooking an omelet en when to stand back and let a child figure The benefits conferred by means-ends
tails problem solving formany adults. Thus things out and when to step in and offer analysis may be as much emotional as in
problem solving involves an interaction the right amount of help. tellectual. If a large and complex problem
of a person's experience and the demands Armed only with our heuristics, then, seems daunting as a whole, perhaps one
of the task. Once we have mastered a skill, we engage in a process of heuristic search. can summon thewill to accomplish a small
we areno longerengagedinproblemsolv Like findingone's way throughamaze, piece of it.And thatsuccess canmotivate
ingwhen we apply it.For a task to require we move closer, haltingly, towhere we one topersist.Thus startinga taskcanmake

606 PHI DELTA KAPPAN

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 the effort self-sustaining. Sometimes when of disks from the first peg to the third.
we tackle a difficult project, it's as if we Working backward helps us understand
are trying to start a car on a cold winter that at some point we must find a way to
morning. We encounter resistance. Once place the largest disk at the bottom of the
begun, however, the task becomes mar third peg. Working backward from there,
ginally easier and doesn't require a con we would infer that all the smaller disks
stant exertion of will to sustain it.At some would eventually need to be placed on the Workingbackward
point, we "cross theRubicon" - we reach middle peg, according to the rules, so that
the point where it seems more difficult to the largest disk is free tomove. That step makes"nextsteps"
stop than to carry on to completion. That also has logical precursors, and so on.Work
iswhen a problem-solving activity becomes ing backward makes the problem more plainerthansimply
self-sustaining and bears us along by its manageable and its solutions much more
momentum. "Just do it!" is not solely a efficient than following a less reasoned wishingandhoping
great marketing slogan; it can also be seen approach.
as a directive to disregard the ominous
hulking problem that looms ahead and
Or take another example. My daugh
ter came home from school with a story
thatdreams
will
simply take the first step. about a provocative exchange between a
Heuristics are usually picked up inci teacher and a student:
materialize.
dentally rather than identified and taught
explicitly in school. This situation is not Teacher: What do you want to be
when you are an adult?
ideal. A curriculum that encourages prob
Student: Iwant to be rich.
lem solving needs to provide more than
Teacher: No, but what do you want
just practice in solving problems; it needs to be?
to offer explicit instruction in the nature Student: I don't care. I just want toas rough and approximate can become art.
and use of heuristics. Herbert Simon has be rich. In fact, successive approximation seems
written: to be an important heuristic in producing
This student certainly had a clear goal outstanding creative works of all kinds.
In teaching problem solving, major inmind, though some might question its This model is relevant to many pursuits
emphasis needs to be directed toward value independent of themeans for achiev other than writing. Inventions, theories,
extracting,making explicit, and practic
- ing it. In any case, the student has some stories, recipes, and even personal and
ing problem-solving heuristics both
serious "working backward" to do. If his group identities start out rough but are re
general heuristics, likemeans-ends anal
ysis, and more specific heuristics, like goal is to be rich, what kind of career might structured and refined over time. Think of
applying the energy conservation prin allow him to achieve it?Becoming amovie the bicycle, whose various designs over
ciple in physics.' star? A Wall Street investor? An entrepre the decades have metamorphosed toward
neur? A criminal? Some combination of greater efficiency and lighter weight. Suc
What are some other heuristics? One these? If an entrepreneur, that might im cessive approximation accepts the design
that is probably familiar to most readers ply that majoring in business in college process as problem solving, a series of zigs
goes by the name of "working backward." would be in order. In turn, that goal might and zags toward something better.4 Not
First, consider your ultimate goal. From suggest that tonight the student should study only is such a process compatible with hu
there, decide what would constitute a rea his mathematics a little harder than is his man information processing, but aware
sonable step just prior to reaching that goal. custom. Working backward makes "next ness of the principle can sustain a half
Then ask yourself, What would be the step steps" plainer than simply wishing and baked idea that initially seems raw, wild,
just prior to that? Beginning with the end, hoping that dreams will materialize. and foolish but is just possibly the germ
you build a strategic bridge backward and A third heuristic seeks to solve prob of an eventual marvel.
eventually reach the initial conditions of lems through "successive approximation." George Polya's advice was "Draw a
the problem. Initial tries at solving a problem may re figure."5 In that spirit, I offer a fourth and
An illustration of the use of this ap sult in a product that is less than satisfy final example of a heuristic: portray the
proach can be taken from the Tower of ing.Writing is a good example. Few ac problem at hand in an explicit "external
Hanoi problem. A number of disks are complished writers attempt to write per representation." List, describe, diagram,
placed on a peg in an arrangement like fect prose the first time they set pen to pa or otherwise render the main features of
this: per (or fingertips to keyboard). Rather, the a problem. This heuristic has several im
initial goal is a rough draft or an outline portant features. First, it allows us to rep
or a list of ideas. Over time, amanuscript resent more complexity than we can hold
is gradually molded into form. New ideas inmind at once. Depicting a problem on
are added. Old ones are removed. The or paper, whiteboard, or computer screen re
ganization of the piece is reshaped tomake lieves short-term memory of the burden
The rules are simple. Only one disk it flow better. Eventually, a polished form of representing the problem and allows
can be moved at a time, and a larger disk emerges that finally approximates the ef the processing capacity of our brains to be
may never be placed on top of a smaller fect that the author intended. directed toward solving it.An incidental
disk.The goal is tomove theentire stack Given timeandeffort,what startedout benefit is thatoften the very attempt to

APRIL 1998 607

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 representtheproblem explicitly forces a ic mass, like a ton of cooked spaghetti. usually wrong to conclude that we must
problem solver to be clear about what it Rather, through the creation of various start over. The important question is al
is he or she is trying to do and about what subgoals, each of the pieces becomes man ways "What do I do now, given my goal,
stands in the way. A clearer representa ageable. The problem does become more my current position, and the resources avail
tion of goals and obstacles may by itself complex in one sense because the pieces able tome?" Getting off course along the
greatly simplify solutionof theproblem. themselves must somehow be borne in way is fully expected. Cool-headed reap
Another benefit of external represen mind. If a large goal is broken down into praisal is the best response - not mind
tation is that the medium chosen to por subgoals, then one cognitive challenge be less consistency, panic, or surrender.
tray a problem may help the solver see the comes goal management - keeping track
problem in a new way. In our heads we of what to do and when. Goal manage
A New Mindset
may understand a problem in words. On ment is probably amajor aspect of intel
paper, we may discover that a picture makes ligent thought. Patricia Carpenter, Marcel In pursuit of the goal of improving
more sense.Sometimeswords can distort Just, and Peter Shell regard goal manage problem-solving ability, I have advocated
themore direct pictorial representations ment as a central feature of problem solv the use of heuristics and have suggested
and so hinder problem solving.6 Pictorial ing. a few. There are countless others. Some
representations are used by experts in are general and apply to many problem
many fields and can be of considerable A key component of analytic intel situations, but most are specific and ap
help.7 ligence is goal management, the process ply in specialized fields. Heuristics are vi
Finally, anexternalrepresentation,un of spawning subgoals from goals, and tal, but they are not necessarily the most
like amental representation,is potential then tracking the ensuing successful and important aspect of problem solving.
unsuccessful pursuits of the subgoals
ly a "public document." The fact that oth Perhaps more powerful than any heu
on the path to satisfying higher-level
er people can see it might help a group ristic is an understanding that, by its very
goals.... The decomposition of com
reach consensus about the nature of a prob plexity ... consists of the recursive cre nature,problemsolving involveserrorand
lem. An obstacle that is prohibitive to one ation of solvable subproblems.... But uncertainty.Even if success is achieved,
person might seem trivial or irrelevant to the cost of creating embedded subprob it will not be found by following an un
another. Likewise, a common representa lems, each with [its] own subgoals, is erring path. The possibilities of failure and
tion might allow one participant to point that they requiremanagement of a hi of making less-than-optimal moves are in
out a significant opportunity that is un erarchy of goals.8 separable from problem solving. And the
seen by other members of the group. loftier the goals, the more obvious will be
The importance of monitoring subgoals the imperfection of the path toward a so
is an example of amore general phenom lution. The necessity of uncertainty is rec
Metacognition enon: one common feature of problem solv ognized implicitly whenever we commend
All heuristics help break down a prob ing is the capacity to examine and control someone for being a risk taker. It is not
lem into pieces. The problem as a whole one's own thoughts. This self-monitoring the taking of risks itself that is commend
is thus transformed. It is no longer a chaot is known as metacognition. Metacognition able; rather, taking risks is ameans to an
is essential for any extended activity, es end.What we actually applaud is the cour
pecially problem solving, because the prob age to adopt a difficult and commendable
lem solver needs to be aware of the current goal and then to enter the thorny thicket
activity and of the overall goal, the strate of problem solving where the only way
gies used to attain that goal, and the ef out is through heuristic search and nerve.
fectiveness of those strategies. The mind The willingness to suspend judgment
exercising metacognition asks itself, What to accept temporary uncertainty -is
am I doing? and How am I doing? These an important aspect of thinking in gener
self-directed questions are assumed in the al. John Dewey linked tolerance of un
application of all heuristics. However, in certainty to reflective thinking:
practice, teachers cannot simply assume
that students will engage inmetacognition; Reflective thought involves an ini
itmust be taught explicitly as an integral tial state of doubt or perplexity.... To
component of problem solving. many persons both suspense ofjudgment
Problem solving requires both the vig and intellectual search are disagreeable;
and the flexibility per theywant to get them ended as soon as
ilant monitoring
possible.... To be genuinely thought
mitted by metacognition. When solving
ful, we must be willing to sustain and
problems, means shift continually depend protract the state of doubt, which is the
ing on one's position relative to desired stimulus to thorough inquiry.9
goals. Even goals change as old goals are
superseded by new and better ones. Main How then is it possible to improve prob
taining flexibility is essential. Too often we lem-solving ability? First, we need to rec
"Making a D, son, is not coming in feel wedded to a chosen strategy and con ognize when we are engaged in problem
fourthout of 26." tinue to apply that strategy even if it leads solving and accept as natural, normal, and
When thishappens, it is expected the stepwiseanddiscursivepath
uswildly astray.

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 toward a goal through the application of is itself a difficult problem because doing (Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1916), p. 140.
general and specific heuristics. Second, we so contradicts our ingrained beliefs and ex 2. Herbert A. Simon, The Sciences of the Artificial

must not let anxiety take hold. Anxiety is pectations about teaching and leaming. But (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1981).
3. Herbert A. Simon, "Problem Solving and Educa
a spoiler in the problem-solving process. problem solving must be understood and
tion," in David T. Tuma and Frederick Reif, eds.,
It stalks right behind uncertainty, ready to promoted if the next generation is to be Problem Solving and Education: Issues in Teaching
pounce. Demanding and uncertain environ prepared for the unprecedented challenges and Research (Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum, 1980), pp.
ments, the seedbeds of all problem solv (i.e., problems) that itwill face. Yet great 81-96.
4. Charles E. Lindblom, "The Science of Muddling
ing, are fertile ground for anxiety. Uncer things are accomplished when great things
Through," Public Administration Review, vol. 19,
tainty is an integral part of the business of are attempted, and in our efforts we do not
1959, pp. 79-88.
solving problems. Those who cannot bear face total uncertainty. We have, in fact, our 5. George Poly a, How to Solve It, 2nd ed. (Garden
situations in which it is impossible to see experience and its dividend, our knowl City, N.Y: Doubleday, 1957).
the way clearly to the end are emotional edge, to support us. Heuristics and knowl 6. Jill H. Larkin and Herbert A. Simon, "Why a Di
ly ill-prepared to solve problems. edge are what Herbert Simon has called agram Is (Sometimes) Worth Ten Thousand Words,"
Errors are part of the process of prob the "two blades" of effective profession Cognitive Science, vol. 11, 1987, pp. 65-99.
7. Fred Reif and Joan I. Heller, "Knowledge Struc
lem solving, which implies that both teach al education, and he reminds us that "two ture and Problem Solving in Physics," Educational
ers and learners need to be more tolerant bladed scissors are still themost effective Psychologist, vol. 17, 1982, pp. 102-27.
of them. If no mistakes are made, then al kind."" Iwould add thatwhat is good for 8. Patricia A. Carpenter, Marcel Adam Just, and Pe
most certainly no problem solving is tak professional education is good for educa ter Shell, "What One Intelligence Test Measures: A
Theoretical Account of the Processing in the Raven
ing place. Unfortunately, one tradition of tion of all kinds at all levels. By combin
Progressive Matrices Test," Psychological Review,
schooling is that perfect performance is ing what we do know with our understand
vol.97, 1990, pp. 404-31.
often exalted as an ideal. Errors are seen ing of the problem-solving process, we 9. John Dewey, How We Think: A Restatement of the
as failures, as signs that the highest marks can move toward our goals - perhaps not Relation of Reflective Thinking to the Educative Process
are not quite merited. Worse still, errors unerringly, but by the sort of wending prog (Boston: Heath, 1933), p. 16.
are sometimes ridiculed or taken as ridic ress that is the signature of problem solv 10. It is not impossible to solve a problem without
error, but it is misleading to think that this experi
ulous. Mistakes and embarrassment often ing.
ence is the normal character of problem solving.
go hand in hand. Perfect performance may 1.Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon, The Develop 11. Simon, "Problem Solving and Education,"
be a reasonable criterion for evaluating al ment of Intelligence in Children, trans. E. S. Kite p. 85. K
gorithmic performance (though I doubt it),
but it is incompatible with problem solv
ing.'0
What so often counts most in schools
is the important but incomplete cognitive
resourceof knowledge.Fixed knowledge
and algorithms are easier to teach, learn,
and test than is the tangled web of process
es thatmake up problem solving. 'Iypically,
it is not before graduate school that prob
lem solving really becomes the focus of CREATE CLASSROOMS RHERE
an educational program. Even in graduate
school a student may not get to wrestle
STUDENTS WANT TO LEARN
with the true problems of a field of study WITH MANAGING TODAY'S CLASSROOM FROM ASCD
until the dissertation.
What can reverse this sorry state of af Imagineclassroomswhere Two videos with a Facilitator's
fairs? A better understanding of the na
ture of problem solving is a place to start. students follow rules and stay Guide demonstrate effective
Ultimately, we will have to change the cul engaged because theywant to. You classroommanagement strategies
ture of schooling. In theworkplace as well, can create this positive learning in elementary and secondary
we need to revise our attitude toward errors
- environment with schools, and a video for
at least toward those that are a reason
able consequence of significant problem ASCD'sall-new video i parents helps you gain
solving. (Errors in balancing the books don't series, Managing their support for these
count.) But if a job requires fluid intelli Today'sClassroom. new approaches.
gence - the ability to operate within the
flux of continually changing demands and
challenges - even the corporate culture
must accept and deal ~~~~~~K024 AII=l
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ml
with the multitude
of paths toward solutions and the neces AssOCIATION FORSUPERVISION
AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT __ _ I
sary existence of error.
1250 NORTHPITTSTREET : S
For educators to accept errors, uncer ALEXANDRIA,VA 22314-1453 _
tainty,and indirectpaths towardsolutions

APRIL1998 609

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