Problem solving involves activities designed to eliminate or minimize problems. It employs the scientific method and involves students solving problems with teacher guidance. Good problems are thought-provoking, clear, suitable to student level, and practical. Problem solving can address social science issues like improving remote communities or material issues like increasing rice production. Advantages of problem solving include maximizing student participation, developing life skills and higher-order thinking. Steps include purposing, planning, gathering data, reporting, organizing, and evaluating. Algorithms provide guaranteed solutions while heuristics are mental strategies that may or may not work. Teachers should demonstrate algorithms and heuristics and have students apply them to problems.

1. Ero Dela Vega
III-21 BSE Biology
Problem-Solving Strategies

2. Problem-Solving Strategies
Problem solving is an activity or a group of activities
designed to attack, eliminate, minimize problem.
A teaching strategy that employs the scientific method
in searching information.
When used as method of teaching, the problem-
solving activities are done by the pupils or students
themselves under the guidance of the teacher.

3. Characteristics of Good Problems:
(Lardizabal, et al. p. 83)
1. A difficulty exists which needs a solution which is
thought provoking.
2. The problem is clear, definite, suitable to the level
of understanding the pupil, and of practical value to
them.
3. It is real, interesting and meaningful to the class.

4. Types of Problems that
Problem-Solving can solve:
Social Science Problems
Material problems including
Science and Industry

5. SOCIAL SCIENCE PROBLEM
These are problem in history, social studies,
psychology, government, anthropology, and
philosophy.
Example:
a. How can sex problems be minimized if not
eradicated?
b. How is the provincial government functioning?
c. How the socio-economic conditions in remote
barangays be improved?

6. 2. Material problems including
Science and Industry
These types of problem can be solved by
actually handling or manipulating materials that
are causing the problem or manipulating the
materials that are causing the problem or
manipulating materials or objects that may solve
the problem.

7. Examples:
1. How to increase rice production.
2. In Science, to prove that there is moisture
in the atmosphere, chunks of ice are
placed in a glass pitcher and watch for the
formation of moisture outside the pitcher

8. Advantages of the
Problem Solving
Method:

9. 1. Problem-solving gives the pupils or students
maximum participation in the learning process,
and so they learn by doing.
2. It trains the pupils or students how to gather
data or information relevant to the problem at
hand. They can use this training later on in life.

10. 3. It develops in pupils or students proper
attitude, especially scientific attitude, not
only in solving school lessons’ problem but
life’s problem as well
4. Problem solving develops higher level
thinking skills.
5. A keen sense of responsibility, originality
and resourcefulness are developed, which
are needed ingredients for independent

11. 6. The students become appreciative and
grateful for the achievement of scientists.
7. Provides cognitive, affective, as well as
psychomotor learning.

12. Steps in Problem Solving:
1. Purposing
2. Planning
3. Gathering of Data
4. Reporting
5. Organization
6. Evaluation

13. Algorithms
An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure that
will always produce a correct solution.
A mathematical formula is a good example of a
problem-solving algorithm
While an algorithm guarantees an accurate
answer, it is not always the best approach to
problem solving.

14. Teaching algorithms:
1. Describe and demonstrate specific procedures
and the situations in which each can be used.
2. Provide worked-out examples of algorithms
being applied, and ask students to explain what
is happening in each step.
3. Help students understand why particular
algorithms are relevant and effective in certain
situations.
4. When a student’s application of an algorithm
yields an incorrect answer, look closely at what
the student has done, and locate the trouble
spot.

15. HEURISTICS:
A heuristic is a mental rule-of-thumb strategy that may
or may not work in certain situations.
Unlike algorithms, heuristics do not always guarantee
a correct solution. However, using this problem-
solving strategy does allow people to simplify complex
problems and reduce the total number of possible
solutions to a more manageable set

16. Teaching Heuristics:
1. Give students practice in making ill-defined
problems more specific and well defined.
2. Teach heuristics that students can use in
situations where no specific algorithms apply;
for example, encourage rounding, identifying
sub goals, and drawing analogies