When students encounter problems in their everyday school lives, their approach is not much different. They tend to tackle problems based on their previous experiences. These experiences can range from recognizing a ‘‘problem’’ as very similar to one previously solved to taking on a homework exercise similar to exercises presented in class that day. The student is not doing any problem solving—rather, he or she is merely mimicking (or practicing) the earlier encountered situations. This is the behavior seen in a vast majority of classrooms. In a certain sense, repetition of a ‘‘skill’’ is useful in attaining the skill. This can also hold true for attaining problem solving skills. Hence, we provide ample examples to practice the strategy
applications in a variety of contexts.