Peer Problem Solving
As Whimbey and Lochhead (1999) have shown, student partnerships are
also a great way to build students’ skills as problem solvers. In a Peer
Problem-Solving lesson, each student is given a challenging, nonroutine
problem to solve. For example, the two students in a Peer ProblemSolving
pair might receive the two problems shown in Figure 13.2. Each
student is also provided with the answer to the other partner’s problem,
along with a set of tips for coaching the partner to the answer. Answers
and tips are shown in Figure 13.2.
Before meeting in player–coach partnerships, all coaches
(remember: every student is a coach) meet in small groups with other
coaches. These coach’s groups solve their player’s problem cooperatively
and generate any additional clues that they think might be useful
in helping their players solve the problem. Then, students form the partnership,
and one student becomes the problem solver. The problem
solver’s job is to solve the problem while describing his or her thinking
process out loud. The other student is the coach. The coach’s job is to
keep the problem solver talking, listen carefully to what the problem
solver says, and use what has been learned in the coach’s groups to provide
hints and help clarify the problem solver’s thinking. Roles are then
reversed for the second problem.