This month, students at Dorothy Dodds have been and will continue to be learning and practicing the Problem-Solving Steps during their guidance lessons. Studies have shown that students who are more skilled problem solvers get along better with peers and have fewer conflicts and problems with aggression. Students can escalate conflicts by failing to consider the situation from the other person’s perspective. The perspective-taking skills learned earlier are an important part of the first of the Problem-Solving Steps, S: Say the problem. It is important for students to see a problem in a neutral way that does not blame the other person.
Once they’ve calmed down and stated the problem without blaming, students are ready for the next three Problem-Solving Steps. The second step, T: Think of solutions, builds cognitive skills and helps students avoid jumping at the first idea that comes to them, thus preventing hasty and possibly more aggressive responses. Emphasizing the importance of safe and respectful solutions builds prosocial norms and helps students employ perspective taking to think about the effects of their actions on others. The third step, E: Explore consequences, helps students think through cause and effect and avoid solutions that will cause more problems.
Please ask your children about the Problem Solving Steps and encourage them to use this strategy outside of school as well. Here are some good books that reinforce problem solving:
What do you do with a problem? By Kobi Yamada & Mae Besom
When Sophie Thinks She Can’t by Molly Bang
Talk and Work It Out by Cheri Meiners
Prudy’s Problem and How She Solved It by Carey Armstrong Ellis
What Should Danny Do? By Ganot & Adir Levy