In this short course you will see how to use the thinkboard and Polya's problem solving technique to help your students with problem solving. You will learn how to apply the process, see the thinkboard in action, learn how to extract diagnostic information from students work  and  get some best practice tips along the way.   At the end of the course we have some free resources to get you started.

Course curriculum

  • 1
    Introduction and warm up
    • Introduction
    • Slippery Snail Practical Exercise
    • Slippery Snail Problem
    • Upload your workings for the Slippery Snail Problem
  • 2
    Theory and recommendations for using Polya's technique
    • Polya's Problem Solving Overview
    • Polya's Technique - The See Stage
    • See Stage Reflection
    • Polya's Technique - The Plan Stage
    • Plan Stage Reflection
    • Polya's Technique - The Do Stage
    • Do Stage Reflection
    • Polya's Technique - The Check Stage
    • Check Stage Reflection
  • 3
    Student examples, diagnostics and the Slipper Snail solution
    • See the thinkboard in action
    • Extracting diagnostics using the Thinkboard
    • Solving the Slippery Snail Problem
  • 4
    Wrap up, resources and your course certificate