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Problem Solving Unlocked through Social Interaction

Sarah Grozier

Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College

EDUC 2108.01 Teaching Mathematics and Technology

Dr. Lillie R. Albert

September 13, 2023

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In her book, Children Solving Problems, Stephanie Thornton takes the position that social

interactions, especially the sharing of a task and collaborative learning, are crucial for developing

childrens’ problem solving skills. Thornton uses several pieces of evidence to support her position

of the importance of social interactions in problem solving, including multiple levels of knowledge

being present within a group, direct collaboration with a skilled partner, explaining an explicit

purpose for problem solving, and individual growth of confidence that can follow successful

problem solving all backed up with research by Bruner, Wood, Vygotsky, Rogoff, and others. This

paper will analyze Thornton’s major assumptions about the positive impacts of social problem

solving and how she supports such assumptions, discuss my own experience as a learner, and

interpret how these ideas can be applied to the classroom in the future.

One of the primary assumptions that Thornton applies to her thinking as to why social

interactions are crucial to developing mature problem solving skills is mixed-level groups or

partnerships. Thornton claims that in a group setting where partners do not have equal skills or

knowledge a conflict may result where each person challenges the others perceptions of the

problem, method for solving, or the solution. She supports this conclusion with research from Doise

and his colleagues that suggests such conflicts can force children to change the way they originally

thought, which is also supported by Piaget. (95) Thornton then goes on to say that these conflicts in

strategy may be beneficial to stretching children’s thinking and understanding but that they are not

necessarily the most effective part of multilevel group collaboration. The most effective part of this

shared problem solving strategy is the shared decision making that comes from collaboration. The

combining of what both people bring to the table to solve the problem results in a joint decision

making that can provide a whole new scope of feedback to both children that would not have been

presented without their shared decision making. (96) This could be beneficial for educators to make

note of when creating assigned groups. Having students with different strengths can produce new
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skills for both students. However, it is also important to make sure that there is no dominant student

because that takes away from the shared experience. This could potentially be avoided by creating

and discussing expectations for group work with students before beginning a group task.

In a similar vein, Thornton's next piece of evidence is about working specifically with

someone who is more knowledgeable about a subject when solving a problem to stretch and

strengthen their skills. Thornton uses evidence from psychologist Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky’s

research found that a child’s skills are linked to how much support or guidance they receive from

their environment, particularly the people in their environment. By communicating with a more

knowledgeable partner, usually an adult, the child is provided with a more concrete structure that

can guide them through a problem allowing the child to solve a problem or complete a task that

would normally be beyond their capabilities (97). Bruner and Wood coined the term “scaffolding”

for this kind of adult supported problem solving that leads to development of new skills. Vygotsky

proposed that the most effective form of scaffolding provides just the right amount of support for

the child that is beyond what they can do on their own but still within a range where the child can

learn and understand what they experience.(99) He called this range of scaffolded instruction the

“zone of proximal development.” Pratt and Wood both separately deduced the idea that the best

scaffolding that a parent or adult can provide is both directive and demanding while also being

sensitive to the areas the child needs support.(100) Wood expanded this concept of the best

scaffolding by noting that it includes both verbal instruction and demonstrations. Barbara Rogoff

took this one step further and named successful scaffolding techniques guided participation,

specifically when both the adult and the child share in the decision making, similar to how Thornton

describes effective multi level group problem solving. I think that children naturally turn to adults

when challenged and parents take naturally to scaffolding their children in new tasks, but it is

crucial for parents and teachers to understand how to guide their child just the right amount for tasks
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that are out of their child’s wheelhouse. The parent or teacher should be participating in

decision-making but not overruling the child and their thought process. Teachers may use

scaffolding to support students one-on-one so that students can comfortably expand their skill set

and learn without added pressure to impress peers.

Thornton’s final two points contributing to her beliefs that social interactions facilitate the

development of mature problem solving skills and higher cognitive functions are giving worthwhile

purposes to solving problems and the confidence that stems from successful problem solving.

Thornton claims that it is easier for children to learn skills that they will use everyday and to solve

problems that they understand the purpose behind. I can remember in elementary school struggling

with solving problems that involved percentages. I had resolved that I just could not do them and it

would not matter because when would I need them. However, I soon learned that percentages were

used very often in real life situations, especially in the service industry and that information gave

me a new perspective and drive to figure out how percentages worked. A defined goal results in a

more organized problem solving process because it can provide a starting place. Margaret

Donaldson and others believe that children and adults alike are more driven to solve a problem if it

has a meaningful purpose. Teachers should keep this in mind when introducing new topics and

when assisting students who are struggling. In terms of confidence in social problem solving,

children are more likely to find success when they believe they are capable of solving a problem as

Robert Hartley’s study expresses. Other studies focus on the impact that previous failure can have

on future success in problem solving. Thornton suggests that to alleviate this problem, adults and

parents should try to convince children that they are capable and skilled at a task they may have

faced challenges with in the past. However, this can be difficult as most children are socially aware

of what their status is at particular tasks and an attempt to convince them otherwise could be

patronizing. In elementary school, I knew that the group that I was put into for math was gifted. My
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group in fourth grade was not even doing the same lesson as the rest of the class, we were doing

sixth grade math instead and everyone knew. Even in high school some of my friends expressed

frustrations with math because it was always challenging and it was hard to convince them they

could do it. Because of the difficulty with convincing children they are better at something than they

might think, Thornton proposes another suggestion for parents and teachers which is to use

feedback as a way to build confidence, specifically positive feedback and minimal criticism. Where

criticism is necessary Thornton says that constructive and light criticism are best to continue to

develop a child’s confidence in the classroom and beyond.

Social interactions in problem solving are crucial for the development of higher cognitive

skills and more mature problem solving, as Stephanie Thornton highlights in her book Children

Solving Problems (1995). Some of the best ways to use social skills in problem solving involve

mixed-level groups, collaboration with a more skilled partner, defining a meaningful purpose to

problem solving, and fostering confidence in a child’s abilities. In my future teaching career, I plan

to use the ideas that Thornton outlines to develop strong problem solving skills in my students by

being intentional about how students are grouped during collaborative activities. It is not conducive

to learning if a student is always paired with peers of equal, higher, or lower ability than themselves.

This variety of skills can help each child to develop new skills to add to their toolbox for problem

solving. I also plan to be intentional about providing opportunities for one-on-one scaffolding and

guided participation when possible so that instruction can be tailored to each student and their

needs. I hope to be able to provide positive feedback and praise for everyone when they are tackling

a problem that is challenging for them and minimizing criticism, except when absolutely necessary

to foster a confidence in problem solving.

Reference

Thornton, S. (1995). Children solving problems. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press