Seminar Series | Building Bridges for All Students, with Problem-Solving Education

Abstract

Education (in K-12, college) for Problem Solving (in Engineering, Science, and other areas) has a wide scope, including most things in life, when we choose broad definitions:  Education is learning from life-experiences;  a Problem is an opportunity to make things better, in any area of life;  and we do Problem Solving whenever we make things better.  I've developed a model for Problem Solving (as an extension of my PhD work on Scientific Method) that can help students improve their abilities to solve problems and make things better.  This model will help students recognize how they use a similar process – they Generate Ideas, and Evaluate Ideas by comparing Predictions, Observations, Goals – for most things they do in life.  This similarity will help them build two-way bridges from life into school, and school into life, to motivate their proactive Personal Education.  Because it's important for individuals and for society, we should ask "How can we use our ideas for problem-solving education in ways that will help all students improve their problem-solving abilities, as part of our efforts to produce better diversity, equity, and inclusion?"

Biography

I'm an enthusiastic educator who enjoys discussing ideas with other educators.  Improving our education — by designing better ways to teach & learn, so we can improve our thinking and doing — is one of the most important things we can do.  And it's fun.  I've continued studying education after earning a PhD in C&I from U of Wisconsin, following degrees in Chemistry (BS, MS) and History of Science (MA) from U of CA-Irvine, U of WA, and U of WI.  My PhD project was developing a model for Scientific Method and using it to analyze science instruction;  later it was generalized into a process-model for Problem Solving (for Science-Design plus General Design that includes Engineering) and I've developed a comprehensive website – about Education for Problem Solving – to explore ways of using my model (and other models) to help students improve their problem-solving abilities in all areas of life.  One motivation for moving from Madison to Columbus, in May 2022, was my goal of networking with other educators and doing cooperative collaborations to improve our education.   {full bio and wide variety of web-pages}