The claim that “I teach problem solving” is a common one for mathematics, chemistry and physics teachers, among others. And the claim is usually thought to be readily understood without needing to be amplified or specified in any way. However, if we think about what a problem is (one definition being: “Whenever an individual encounters a situation where there is a goal and they do not know how to reach that goal, they have a problem.”) it should be clear that the claim needs to be more specific to be meaningful. This definition makes it clear that problems vary widely in many different ways. So what is common to the process of teaching problem solving and why do physics teachers include a focus on problem solving in there pedagogical toolkit?
