К. фил.н. Черемисина
Харрер И.А.
Томский политехнический университет, Россия
Techniques for improving problem-solving skills in English
The purpose of
the paper is to explain how certain problem-solving techniques can be used in
the learning process, when students are exposed to doing group projects in
English. First of all, we need to clarify some features of mental activity
which make the creative problem-solving efficient. And secondly, we’ll specify
two commonly used techniques for solving problems: brainstorming and the SWOT
analysis.
Engineering
students are familiar with doing group projects. They learn to do engineering
projects in Russian which has become a standard practice and is regarded as
compulsory part of engineering curriculum. Students also learn English and one
of the efficient ways of learning a language is to do a practical activity.
Moreover, when students are set a group task, they will have to communicate
with each other and apply certain techniques that are aimed at solving a
problem task. The motivation is high if students are supposed to solve some
job-related problems. These may include modernizing a university computer
network and installing wireless network which will enable students and academic
staff use the potential of IT for educational purposes. Or alternatively,
students can be asked to make a plan for a language learning centre, or arrange
some entertaining event or make a presentation of their department and present
it to the visiting academics from a partner university. No matter what the
problem is, we need to learn how solve it effectively. In our paper we’ll focus
on how problem-solving techniques can be used at English lessons and help
students develop certain soft skills required by modern employers.
In order to
understand which activities help us make the creative problem-solving
efficiently, we need to give an overview of how the two sides of the human
brain function [1]. In principle, the left brain is responsible for analyzing,
abstracting, calculating activities. It also deals with planning step-by-step
procedures, verbalizing and making logical, rational statements. The right
brain, in its turn, is known for its ability to understand metaphors, is able
to create new combinations of ideas and makes gestures to communicate. The aim
of the creative problem-solving is to encourage the right brain process and the
following techniques should make it possible to improve students’ abilities to
solve problems.
First, students
should choose the most appropriate time and place for creative thinking. For
some people it is better to start work early in the morning, while others are
more efficient at midnight. Atmosphere is no less important to find oneself in
a comfortable environment (alone, listening to the music or working in
silence). Second, a combination of different communication processes helps to
facilitate the mental process, which means that students should discuss the
problem, create its graphical representation (draw it on paper or produce a
computer-generated image). And finally, it is important to learn to reframe or
reformulate the problem so that it can be approached from a different angle or
aspect and spaces and voids in an object become more evident rather than its
solid parts.
Mention should be
made that problem solving and decision-making are important skills for business
and life and they are closely connected with each other. Problem-solving often
involves decision-making, and decision-making is especially important for
management and leadership. Although decision-making is more natural to certain
personalities, all students should focus on improving the quality of their
decisions. People that are less natural decision-makers are often able to make
quality assessments, but then need to be more decisive in acting upon the
assessments made.
Brainstorming with a group of students is a powerful technique.
Brainstorming creates new ideas, solves problems, motivates and develops teams.
Brainstorming motivates because it involves members of a team in bigger
management issues, and it gets a team working together. However, brainstorming
is not simply a random activity. Brainstorming needs to be structured and it
follows brainstorming rules.
Brainstorming places a significant burden on the facilitator to manage
the process, people's involvement and sensitivities, and then to manage the
follow up actions. Brainstorming improves the organization, performance, and
developing the team [2].
Brainstorming
process should consist of the following stages:
1.
Define
and agree the objective.
2.
Brainstorm
ideas and suggestions having agreed a time limit.
3.
Categorise, combine and refine.
4.
Analyse
effects or results.
5.
Prioritise
options/rank list as appropriate.
6.
Agree action and timescale.
7.
Control
and monitor follow-up [3].
The teacher (or facilitator) should plan and agree the brainstorming aim with the team. They should
ensure everyone participating in the brainstorm session understands and agrees
the aim of the session (e.g., to formulate a new job description for a debug
technician; to formulate a series of new promotional activities for a new
engineering degree (major) to be introduced; to try out a new assessment system
of students’ learning achievements; to suggest ways of improving internal
communications within the university, to organize a city tour in English, etc).
The facilitator is responsible for keeping the brainstorming objective simple
and allocating a time limit. This will enable him to keep the random
brainstorming activity under control and on track.
The next step is to manage the actual brainstorming activity.
Brainstorming enables people to suggest ideas at random. The job of facilitator
is to encourage everyone to participate, to dismiss nothing, and to prevent
others from pouring scorn on the wilder suggestions as some of the best ideas
are initially the daftest ones - added to which people won't participate if
their suggestions are criticised.
During the random collection of ideas the facilitator must record every
suggestion on a board or flip-chart where all can see it. It can be helpful to
set a time limit – e.g. 10 minutes. At
the end of the time limit or when ideas have been exhausted, the facilitator is
recommended to use different coloured pens to categorise, group, connect and
link the random ideas.
The ideas get condensed and refined by making new headings or lists. The
facilitator can diplomatically combine or include the weaker ideas within other
themes to avoid dismissing or rejecting contributions. One should always keep
in mind that brainstorming is about team building and motivation too, that is
why the facilitator must avoid having the reverse effect on some people.
With the group, he then goes on to assess, evaluate and analyse the
effects and validity of the ideas on the list. The next step will lead to
developing and prioritising the ideas into a more finished list
or set of actions or options.
Finally, the facilitator gets the team implement the actions agreed from the brainstorming. The team needs to agree
what the next actions will be, and then agree a timescale, and who is
responsible. After the session the facilitator circulates notes, monitors and
gives feedback. It is crucial to develop a clear and positive outcome, so that
people feel their effort and contribution was worthwhile. When people see that
their efforts have resulted in action and change, they will be motivated and
keen to help again.
Activities for a brainstorming session:
·
What new opportunities of using IT
for learning purposes can you think of?
·
How can we make the public transport
attractive to more people and make them leave their cars at home?
·
How many different purposes can your
team think of for a coffee machine (smart phone, ipad, any modern gadget)
usage?
·
What should be done to motivate
students speak English one day per week at the university?
·
Which steps should we take to get
students keep the university buildings tidy and eco-friendly?
·
Which advantages and disadvantages
of an electric car can you think of?
The SWOT analysis is an extremely useful tool for understanding and
decision-making for all sorts of situations in business and organizations. SWOT
is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The SWOT
analysis headings provide a good framework for reviewing strategy, position and
direction of a company or business proposition, or any other idea.
Strengths are those positive aspects of the project, which the team can
build upon, for example through doing innovative work or creating new products.
Knowledge and skills of team members are valuable assets in the project.
Weaknesses are those deficiencies in the present skills and resources of the
team which need to be corrected and action taken to minimize their effect on
the project. Opportunities usually arise from the nature of the environmental
change. The team needs to be sensitive to the problems of managing a project
and responsive to change in the planned activities, products or outcomes.
Threats are the converse of opportunities and refer to external developments
which are likely to endanger the operations of the team, for example the drop
out of the team member.
SWOT analysis is a powerful model for many different situations [4, 5].
The SWOT tool is not just for business and marketing. Here are some examples of
what a SWOT analysis can be used to assess: a company (its position in the market,
commercial viability, etc), a business idea or technological innovation, a
potential partnership, personal career development - direction, choice, change,
etc., education and qualifications planning and decision-making.
Whatever the application, students need to be sure to describe the
subject (or purpose or question) for the SWOT analysis clearly so they remain
focused on the central issue. This is especially crucial when others are
involved in the process. People contributing to the analysis and seeing the
finished SWOT analysis must be able to understand properly the purpose of the
SWOT assessment and the implications arising.
Problem-solving skills can be developed in the context of doing group
activities. Among the techniques which can be effectively used for solving
certain educational or simulated (job-related) problems are the following:
brainstorming and the SWOT analysis. In the paper we have discussed how they
can be used in the learning process. Being exposed to practicing these
problem-solving techniques, students will learn how to cope with realistic
problems in their professional area and be creative.
References:
1.
Drew S., Bingham, R. The Student
Skills Guide. Gower Publishing Ltd. 1997. 294 p.
2. Free training in traditional brainstorming
and advanced brainstorming [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим доступа: http://www.brainstorming.co.uk
3. Brainstorming process [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим
доступа: http://www.businessballs.com
4. SWOT Analysis [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим доступа: http://www.businessballs.com
5. SWOT Analysis [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим доступа: http://marketingteacher.com