jod.reviste.ubbcluj.rojod.reviste.ubbcluj.ro/Home_files/JoD1.1.pdfPROGRAM’!!...

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Volume 1, No. 1, December 2009

EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor-in-Chief

Assist. Prof. Monica Diaconu

[email protected]

Executive Editor

Lect. Adrian Costache

[email protected]

Editors

Lect. Adela Pop- Cîmpean

[email protected]

Assist. Pro

[email protected]

Assist. Prof. Casian Popa

[email protected]

ADVISORY BOARD

Prof. Alina Pamfil

Assist. Prof. Mirela Albulescu

Assist. Prof. Livia Suciu

Assist. Prof. Cosmin Prodea

Lect. Silviu Regman

Lect. Raluca

PROGRAM

The Journal of Didactics (JoD) is an academic journal published in electronic format by the Chair of Didactics of the Human Sciences (Faculty of

Psychology and the Sciences of Education) and the Department for the -Bolyai -Napoca (Romania).

JoD is envisaged as a medium for disseminating the research in the human and exact sciences and as an open space for the academic exchange of ideas between researchers and educators (at both university and pre-university level) from Romania and abroad. In this sense, the Editorial Board of JoD

encourages the publication, in English and Romanian, of:

# articles and qualitative and quantitative studies in the field of didactics;;

# reviews of recent significant publications from Romania and abroad;;

# translations into Romanian of landmark text from the (more or less) recent history of the field;;

# comments and analyses of the ideas expressed in the pages of the present journal or of current issues regarding the Romanian and foreign educational

politics and policies

Because didactics itself is a cross-border discipline between the different sciences of education, social and human sciences, the Editorial Board of JoD

strongly encourages inter- and multi-disciplinary approaches.

JoD is published three times a year in March, October and June. The manuscripts can be sent to [email protected]. Each text received for publication is subjected to double blind peer-review by the Editorial

Board. Unpublished manuscripts will not be returned.

: : Problem-Learning Philosophical and Didactic Perspectives on Problematization Nicoleta Mar!ian & Livia Suciu………………………………….………………………………….1 The Problem-Solving Pedagogical Method in the Study of History Elena Boia…………………………………………………………………………………..………………13 Problematizarea. Metod" interactiv" în studiul #tiin!elor Adrienne Kozan………………………...…………………………………….………….............25 Utilizarea metodei problematiz"rii la Geografie Eliza Dulam"……………….………………………………………………………………….………...37 Problematizarea în didactica educa!iei fizice Cosmin Prodea & Remus V"id"h"zean……………………………………..……………...56 Selectarea textelor literare în #coala primar": un demers complex #i problematizant Alina Pamfil………………………………………………………………………………..……………….62 The Problem-Solving Approach in Teaching Literature Cristina S"r"cu!……………………………………………………………………….…………………79 Problematizing, a Modern Teaching Method Anca Porumb………………………………………………………………………………………………86 The Use of The Problem-Solving Method in Teaching Norwegian Raluca Petru#………………………………………………………………………………………………93 Problematizarea. Utilizarea metodei în didactica universitar" Monica Diaconu & Mu#ata Boco#………………………………………….………………….104 The Didactic Status of Problem-Learning and the Conditions of Possibility of Its Application Adrian Costache……………………………………………………………………………………….133 Anca Nedelcu, Fundamentele educa!ei interculturale. Diversitate, minorit"!i, echitate (Polirom, 2008) reviewed by Adela Pop-Cîmpean…………………………...……………………………...147 An Overview of Primary and Secondary Education in the United States Ryan Conley…………………………..………………………………………………….…………...149

: Problem-Learning

1 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Philosophical and Didactic Perspectives on Problematization

Philosophical and Didactic Perspectives on Problematization

-Bolyai University

[email protected]

Livia Suciu, Assist. Prof. PhD, -Bolyai University

[email protected]

ABSTRACT:

KEYWORDS: problematization, problem, solution, paradigm, prejudice, event, emancipation, integrism, relativism, problem-situations, addressing the problem, building the problem, debating hypotheses.

What does to problematize mean? What is a problem?

In order to approach the pedagogy of problematization we must first begin with a few landmarks in the philosophy of the problem and problematization being aware that, as Michel Fabre points out, on the one hand knowledge

influences pedagogy while on the other hand knowledge already has pedagogical meaning (Fabre, 2009).

This is especially so nowadays in times of world crisis when the following paradigm of the problem problem is finally used in the attempt to establish dialectics of the known and the

In order to approach the pedagogical method of problematization we started out with a first philosophical didactic perspective that Gilles Deleuze proposes because it deconstructs two big paradigms that were adopted in traditional approaches of problematization (focused on solutions or on already given problems ), which nonetheless prove to be prejudices since they ignore the problematization process itself. We then pointed out the emancipatory function of problematization, the approach to problematization as solution to surpassing cultural crisis, because it avoids both the limitation to only one solution as well as the relativization of all solutions that Michel Fabre suggests. I furthermore took under consideration the methodological didactic aspect of problematization, considering that philosophical suggestions were exploited in the field of didactic methodology;; I scrutinized the construction of problem-situations and the operations that problematization involves (addressing the problem, building the problem, debating hypotheses) in order to emphasize in conclusion the problematization specificity in studying religion, as it reveals to us the transcendence of the problematic component.

2 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Philosophical and Didactic Perspectives on Problematization unknown as long as the problematic situation establishes a break in experience, although not everything is

(Fabre, 2009, p. 7). However, even in our daily life we have to adapt continuously to new, problematic situations that require us to learn continuously. Thus, the paradigm of the problem guides us towards learning. According to Greek etymology, the problem signifies what is already there in front of us and prevents us from moving on;; while obstacle or stake is the translation of the term according to Latin etymology. Michel Fabre explains that

project (enigma) at the same time hindering it (obstacle) or making it compete with other projects

(Fabre, 2009, p. 8). These connotations of the problem were also transferred to the field of education, especially since school adopted the problematization method, which is used by educators to build educational content around certain problems while students are concerned with solving the problems. However, Fabre notices that interrogative thinking and problematization have been left out of traditional educational paradigms since meaning was usually reduced to its reference and problematization was reduced to solving problems. A new epistemological and didactic paradigm has recently gained ground because of the rupture between science and action, theory and practice: practice is not a direct and homogenous consequence of theory;; theory may not legitimize action and practice is not blind but already

impregnated with reflection. Therefore, we are currently faced with a new epistemology and pedagogy oriented towards the theory-practice complex and towards problem building not only problem solving.

Thus, Michel Fabre suggests that we should explore the philosophy of the problem and problematization put forward by Gilles Deleuze since

preoccupations and work, provides a new view of pedagogical engagement. One of

of thinking must be generated by learning and that this image should surpass the old dogmatic image of

therefore a philosophy of invention and

(Fabre, 2009, p. 174).

2. Prejudice and fighting prejudice in problematization from the philosophical pedagogical perspective of Gilles Deleuze.

The theory of problematization suggested by Deleuze is confronted with two big paradigms that in time have exploited the problem-solution ratio: a) the natural paradigm, according to which nature reveals itself in various ways and therefore starts from already given solutions;; b) the cultural paradigm, which is oriented towards the human possibility of solving problems, therefore it regards problems as already existing. Thus, Deleuze insists on two important prejudices that have gained ground in

3 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Philosophical and Didactic Perspectives on Problematization the traditional approach of problematization:

a) The first prejudice considers that solutions are already given;; therefore questions are already molded on answers. Deleuze asks whether it would be more appropriate to express meaning in interrogative form rather than in other forms. For instance, is it more adequate to say <Does God exist?> than to say God- (Deleuze, 1995, p. 241). It is indeed easier to use interrogations, although Deleuze insists that the question is already molded on the answers that we are going to receive. Interrogations only double a sentence that we assume already exists as answer and solution. The question formulation is predetermined by possible answers. Questions are formulated according to possible answers so that the one who asks is able to formulate questions based on the answers they wish to receive. We can only observe that according to this perspective, the question is already subordinate to the answer and the problem is already subordinate to the solution. Interrogation and prolematization actually take place in the predetermined space of a certain community, science or common sense that predetermine problematization. Returning to the above-mentioned example, we should underline that when we problematize about God we actually evoke a reality that cannot be defined, designated, sought or known. The question <Does God exist?> contains the verb <to exist> and a question starting

with <does..?>, while God, as Jean-Luc Marion indicates, belongs to another horizon, <without being> that cannot be included in a <what is it?> type of question. We have to free ourselves from the idol of ontological problematization of God in order to find another dimension of problematization that is open towards the horizon of the being and does not answer the <what is it?> question.

If we notice that on the one hand this disadvantage of interrogation and problematization is given by the

on the other hand, the disadvantage of

field. Interrogation only dissects the problem, the question is only a

problem;; therefore the solution can only

community problems are dismantles by questions and then rebuilt in sentences that act as answers, according to common knowledge doxa.

Del

have to stop molding problems and questions according to appropriate sentences that serve or may serve as

(Deleuze, 1995, p. 242). On the contrary, we should find the genesis of the thinking process and admit that problems exist beyond sentences and that they cannot be covered by answers in the form of sentences. Modeling the shape of problems according to shape of sentence answers is an illusion. Problems do not copy or mold various possible answers. On the contrary, the truth is

4 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Philosophical and Didactic Perspectives on Problematization produced within problematization and is not reduced to an answer in the form of a sentence. b) Another prejudice regards problems as being already given and advocates that the process of thinking only begins with searching for solutions

a childish prejudice the teacher asks us to solve a problem and the result of our efforts is then regarded as true or false

(Deleuze, 1995, p. 243). This social and cultural prejudice is everywhere in tests and contests, which transform the problem into an obstacle while solving the problem makes us winners. Thus, we do not realize that our thinking is only employed for searching already-given solutions and answers and that we do not actually take part in the problematization process. Truth and false are reduced to answers and solutions, therefore we miss producing the truth by problematization. Nevertheless, truth and false already

ion. Problems are not already formed;; they are always about to be formed by placing them in certain symbolic fields with the help of interrogations. The theory of problematization must change the traditional approach that regards problems as true according to their resolvability. In fact, things are different: a problem is resolvable if it is true. Truth does not depend on solutions but on the problematization process as such. Truth does not depend on the extrinsic criterion of resolvability but on the intrinsic criterion of problematization. This vicious circle of thinking was broken

by the mathematician Abel who, as

in which resolvability must be found within the problem. Instead of randomly searching for a resolvable equation in general, we have to determine problem conditions that progressively specify fields of resolvability so that the <statement contains the core of the solution>. The solution problem ratio has radically shifted as this is a bigger revolution (Deleuze, 1995, p. 278). The solution is therefore generated by the conditions of the problem. It is not only what we do not know and find out from solutions that matters but also the objectivity of what we do not know or think yet. This lack of science is no longer perceived as negative but as a rule. It no longer

the dimension of resolvability but to the fundamental dimension of problematization. Deleuze concluded that

transformed and we no longer have the classical situation featuring a teacher and a student in which the student can only understand and follow a problem if the teacher knows its solution and consequently makes the proper

ratio as well as knowledge and sufficient (Deleuze, 1995,

p. 278). c) Reversal of the problem / solution ratio. Modern pedagogies have shifted away from searching for solutions and solving problems towards student participation in the process of producing

5 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Philosophical and Didactic Perspectives on Problematization problems. The focus has thus moved from resolvability to problematization, from solution to problem solution always has the truth it deserves

(Deleuze, 1995, p. 244). Consequently, the solution depends on the conditions of the problem and not the other way around, as regarded by traditional views according to which problems are derived from major preexistent solutions. The truth of the problem is not reduced to a possible solution and is not defined by

Therefore, problems must not be -given solutions but

at the same time, problems that have already been given should not be solved. We should rather invent, produce, and build problems.

conclusion that the theory of problematization has to deal with the following two illusory prejudices: 1. the natural illusionon preexistent sentences, logical opinions, geometrical theorems, algebra equations, physical hypotheses,

2. the cultural illusionproblems according to their <resolvability>, ability to be solved (Deleuze, 1995, p. 248);;

Both approaches, the one towards already given solutions and the other towards already given problems, are illusory as they both belong to the

problem that generates the truth within the thinking process, thus ignoring the

production of truth via the problematization process. Truth does not mean adjusting a problem to an exterior solution but the interior production of the problem that has already conditioned the solution. We must avoid these already mentioned dangers to homogenize what is hoped for, or to leave something out, absolutely separate<problematic> the problem as a whole

(Deleuze, 1995, p. 275), so that we should rather assume the problem-solution complementarity: the transcendence of the problem is part of the solution immanence while finding a solution is related to the transcendence of the conditions of the problem.

In fact, Deleuze distinguished among three stages of the problem: a) the problem as transcendental instance;; b) the area of the conditions of the problem that define their implementation into immanence;; c) the immanent representation of the problem in an area of resolvability and solutions. On the one hand, we notice the transcendence of the conditions of the problem in relation with its solutions. The solution is only the result of what we understand by

problem, i.e. building a systematic field that guides and encompasses searches and dissolved by their solutions, since

(Deleuze, 1995, p. 262). On the other hand, Deleuze explains that although problems remain transcendental, they are also immanent given the fact that they do not

6 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Philosophical and Didactic Perspectives on Problematization infiltrate them: problems are not legitimate unless related with their conceptual solutions and they are not legitimate unless related with

lem is both transcendental and immanent in

(Deleuze, 1995, p. 251). According to Deleuze, problems remain both transcendental and immanent, as well as subjective and

mean a highly important species of subjective events, but also a dimension of objectivity as such, invested in these

(Deleuze, 1995, p. 262)wrong to perceive problems as transitory and subjective states that our knowledge should go through by virtue of its actual

<the problematic> was a state of the world, a dimension of the system, even

(Deleuze, 1995, p. 429). Therefore, Deleuze stated that our

(Deleuze, 1995, p. 431), towards that problematic, transcendental, beyond sentence and below meaning element that we always miss.

The transcendence of the problematic element is actually embodied in the real relations of solutions. The transcendence of the problem is expressed in various symbolic fields and solution areas such as mathematics, physics, biology, psychology, sociology, religion, etc, although the problematic element remains both undetermined and transcendental. We have to start from the theory of problems in order to follow the genesis of various scientific fields, from the conditions of the problem to

solution cases, from the virtuality of the problem to the currently available scientific solutions. d) Reversal of the learning / knowing ratio. Deleuze made the distinction between learning and knowing, which was similar with the problem - solution distinction. Thus, problems are created by learning, while knowing is limited to possessing conceptual solutions. The one who learns deals with problematization and contributes to the genesis of problems. While Deleuze placed science in the

learning was perceived to be closer to problematization and culture. Although learning is rather an intermediary between problem and solution, unfortunately it has been used for acquiring solutions and knowledge;; therefore learning remains outside its essence, the same as the philosopher

who, as Deleuze explains, only had science. If science is oriented towards cases that can be solved, it leaves out

resolves and that generates various cases of resolvability. Learning focuses on this problematic aspect. According to this perspective, learning means combining what we already possess with an that have not been previously

(Deleuze, 1995, p. 295), that will transform our world. It is from this viewpoint that we may interpret a new theatre, a new novel or a new pedagogy, such as a problematic theatre of multiplicities and not of character and

7 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Philosophical and Didactic Perspectives on Problematization

open problems and questions that stimulate the viewer, stage and characters in the real movement of learning related to the unconscious, whose ultimate elements are still the

(Deleuze, 1995, p. 295). Another example is provided by

new language of interrogations, which, as Deleuze explained, does not take into consideration general doubts or skepticism but rather discovery of the problematic and of the question as transcendental horizon or core <essentially> belonging to beings,

(Deleuze, 1995, p. 299). The problematic is discovered in theatre, music, literature, philosophy or pedagogy alike. Questions only develop these

determined in the diversity of solutions and sciences. e) Reversal of the rationality / events ratio. The problematic domain is not constituted of abstract, theoretical, or rational essence, but is rather, as Deleuze pointed out, found in affective events and tones. Unlike in the rationalistic approach, oriented towards the problem of the essence expressed by

attempts to determine the undetermined field of the problem but fails to do so in contradictions and aporia, we are advised to use other questions such as

investigate the essence but the events, the accidents, the multiplicity. It is under this prejudice that brings the problematic

field back to the rational essence with

the theological prejudice that asks this question is situated, given that <what is it?> is always God. However, we cannot delimitate it at the level of abstract conceptualization. Therefore, the problematic field does not belong to

Deleuze the problem belongs to the area (Deleuze, 1995, p. 290).

Instead of hanging on to ordinary solutions by trying to solve problems that seem unsolvable, we should rather focus on the occurrence of the event of the problem itself in order to represent it in the novelty of a solution in our world. This is so because, as Olivier Reboul explateach knowledge and values that do not depend on subjectivity and that

(Reboul, 1989, p. 79). 3. The pedagogy of problem-situations.

We observed the impact of the problematization method within the educational system and found the same focus on the link between the numerous problems that we are confronted with in our daily life and the importance of learning through problem-situations as <enigmatic> learning via events, experimental facts or daily events. People caught in a problem-situation have to learn by using their own intelligence, wonder, involvement, exploration that their own knowledge is made of so that they actually become <researchers>. Although the problem-situation is given to the learner as a task

8 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Philosophical and Didactic Perspectives on Problematization that has to be completed, its effectiveness is not generated by the solving of the task but by surpassing an

The pedagogy of problem-situations is practically responsible for the following education functions: a) the erotic functionthe enigma that generates the desire to

(Deleuze, 1995, p. 286)

b) the didactic function: it strives to allow the enigmatic approach of the problem c) the emancipatory function: it allows every individual to create their own procedures for solving a problem.

function of problematization in order to -

function. Therefore, we shall focus on the

pedagogic perspective of Michel Fabre, who questioned the role of education in this era of cultural crisis and suggested that problematization be interpreted as emancipation. Since we currently live in a problematic world that continuously questions our landmarks, beliefs or

pointed out, in a psychological, social and ideological problematic role of education can only be that

people to enter this problematic universe seems to be the task of the modern

(Fabre, p. 1). In this context, M. Fabre suggested education via problematization as a solution for successfully dealing with the crisis. This

solution avoids both integrism

Modern educational models have grown old in this era of cultural and educational crisis but we should rather perceive this as a chance of renewing thinking rather than a tragedy. Integrism still focuses on strictly literary thinking, on a solution isolated from the context, as an answer detached from the question, blocked in absolute certainty and concerned with problematization. Inversely, relativism exacerbates the problematization of any answer. It turns any solution into a problematic one, so that all solutions finally have the same value. Integrism blocks itself at the obvious level of solutions and excludes problematization, while relativism blocks itself at the figurative level of problems and exacerbates problematization.

However, we should find a common problematization that avoids both extremes. Fabre suggested the problematizing dialogue, which opens towards a new pedagogy and ethics,

cognitive decentration but an equal

surpassing solutions (always different) in order to return to the problems that

differ among people, cultures and religions, problematization remains the

acknowledgement of common problematics, beyond the different

9 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Philosophical and Didactic Perspectives on Problematization solutions, is the ideal in intercultural

(Fabre, p. 6). Finding a common problematic does not mean annihilating differences in generalized

cannot be dialogue among individuals and cultures without the right and power to question, to problematize and to

(Fabre, p. 7). Our emancipation is based on this right to problematize. Thinking shifted towards problematization avoids both the limitation to only one solution as well as the relativization of all solutions, since problematological thinking distinguishes

is there beyond all our answers and what

(Fabre, p. 8). 4. Building problem-situations in the teaching process.

problematization was extrapolated to teaching by Michel Fabre and Agnès Musquer (Fabre, Musquer, 2009), who suggested focusing on building problem-situations, since in such situations the educator may build an entire scenario, an entire plot starting from one idea and thus help students problematize without problematizing in their place. In such problematic-situations, the student must build an entire statement from elements that have already been provided, either by extrapolating this situation or other situations that have to be looked for or invented. Starting from a certain questioning, the student must build the data of the problem but also the conditions, principles and rules that

govern the problematization process and enable the creation of hypotheses and solutions so that within the problematization process the student is faced with new data and the continuous reconstruction of the initial problem. According to the analysis carried out by Fabre and Musquer, the following are operations required by problematization: a) addressing the problem;; b) building the problem;; c) debating hypotheses.

a) Addressing the problem. In this stage the problem-situation is incompletely formed. The problem may be formulated directly by the educator with the help of an indicator that guides questioning either according to certain

order to search for conditions (how may

also be formulated indirectly, when the educator assumes wrong representations and solutions that students already have and combat in order to approach the problem-situation using anticipatory critique that leads to the reformulation of the problem. Students may be warned by

conclusion, the aim of addressing a problem is for the students to express their representations and the possible obstacles, which they are confronted with and must overcome, in order to break away from the old representations.

b) Building the problem. Often the conditions of the problem

are only suggested. After students break

10 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Philosophical and Didactic Perspectives on Problematization away from the old representations, the educator may begin building the problem with a suggestion

condition of the problem but rather guides, opens a path for finding

suggestion, which may artificially trigger searching for the data and conditions of the problem, there is also induction, which triggers research using only the elements and conditions presented in the problematic situation. The problem may be built by induction, when data are used

deduction, when conditions are used to research and structure data (from a certain thesis or formula).

There are also problematization scenarios in which the conditions are provided directly, such as when the educator, after having destabilized the

provide students with at least the explanatory principle needed to understand and reconstruct the problem, if the not answer itself.

c) Debating hypotheses. According to the data and conditions of the problem, students are helped to either produce or criticize hypotheses.

In the case of producing hypotheses, solutions are usually anticipated when the educator offers a

suggests that another solution is possible

educator may also anticipate the content of solutions by underlining the importance of some data or suggesting

certain data structuring, similar with a riddle that helps students discover the solution.

In the case of criticizing hypothesessolutions is attempted. Hypotheses are analyzed according to the conditions of the problem. However, the solution must be valid according to these conditions. Students may also be invited to justify their answers by searching the conditions of their validity or even by creating obstacles that act as anti-conditions or false motivations. Hypotheses may be criticized not only according to the conditions of the problem but also according to the data of the problems. By processing already provided data the educator anticipates the obstacle that students are going to be confronted with and formulates certain objections. The educator may also use new data and extra information such as counterexamples. Thus, the problematization process is either oriented towards solutions or towards building and rebuilding the problem. Knowledge is not the first thing needed in order to problematize;; on the contrary, in order to acquire various knowledge we have to perceive it as the answer to certain problems, therefore we have to reproblematize and rebuild. This is especially so as we are dealing with specific problematization issues in philosophy or theology where answers cannot be categorized since questions generate other questions. In such fields, problems are addressed to me as an individual for whom there are no more factual, informative or explicative

11 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Philosophical and Didactic Perspectives on Problematization answers but a bunch of normative and formative answers with universal value.

5. The specificity of problematization in the study of religion

As far as the study of religion is concerned, problematization may be an essential element in teaching for developing skills. The notion of skill involves other notions: orientation towards action, inventiveness, ability, strategy, integration skills.

The following are a few implications of such perspectives for the teacher of religion:

1. Regarding knowledge as resources: making students acquire skills means regarding knowledge as resource that the individual has to be able to use correctly in a given situation in order to solve a certain problem or carry out a specific task. Thus, teaching no longer means teaching students successive

but, on the contrary, students are taught by example to do something that they do not know yet. This requires that the teacher be involved in the action by underlining the usefulness of knowledge and showing how it may be applied in real life (the usefulness of the experiential approach ( 1998, p.

77);; the teacher puts himself in the shade in order to let the student learn by exercising;; the teacher no longer offers a ready-made content but teaches a minimum amount of knowledge in order

to build the skills required for focusing on a given topic).

2. Teaching with the help of problem-situations. A problem is a real and complex situation whose solving requires multiple knowledge and successive operations. Teaching does not mean placing students in front of problem-situations that they have to solve. A problem-situation may take the shape of a stage play, biblical research, prayer or interpretation of a religious picture. The

e there four

about the origins of the world: the Bible (Herbreteau, 1989, p.137).

3. Creating or using means of teaching other than the classical ones. Problem-situations must be relevant for life. This is why the teaching material must be extracted from life situations

only. Therefore, the teacher has to find real objects, elements and means that may become teaching material.

4. Adopting flexible planning. Making students acquire certain skills by solving problem-situations involves both planning and improvising. The acquisition of skills is always an adventure. Therefore, the teacher must possess the ability to: plan the teaching process and be open to changes;; detect the essential,

required for acquiring skills;; successfully combine teaching based on problem-situations with classical teaching organized around a well structured and fixed content.

12 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Philosophical and Didactic Perspectives on Problematization In the religion teaching field, the method of problematization best fits the

what is being transmitted to them in a way that favors autonomy and the expression of personal belief (Fossion, 1990, p. 27). This model combines Christian doctrine with existential

elements integrating them as significant cultural elements in which students may find meaning for their own life. Thus, elements of existential and Christian doctrine meet, confront and initiate a dialogue in catechesis thus highlighting the search for meaning.

Bibliography:

Deleuze, Gilles, Fabre, Michel, Philosophie et pédagogie du problème, Vrin, Paris, 2009. Fabre, Michel, Entre intégrisme et relativisme: la problématisation comme émancipation, p.1 (http://sofphied.asso.free.fr/cariboost1/cariboost_files/michel_fabre_txtpc.pdf).

Fabre, Michel, Musquer, Agnès, Vers un r-problèmes, Spiral-E-Revue de Recherche en

Education, No. 43 (45-68), 2009.

Fossion, A, , Bruxelles, Lumen Vitae, 1990.

Înnoirea catehezei. Elemente de metodologie, Cluj-Napoca, Presa

Herbreteau,H., Pédagogie scolaire et pédagogie catéchetique, în Catéchèse, 1989. Herbreteau,H., La pratique enseignante: son sens et ses enjeux, Hatier Pédagogie, Paris, 1997.

Reboul, Olivier, PUF, Paris, 1989.

13 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Problem-Solving Pedagogical Method in the Study of History

The Problem-Solving Pedagogical Method in the Study of History

Elena Boia -Bolyai University

[email protected]

ABSTRACT:

KEYWORDS: didactics of history, the image of the United States, communication, Transylvania.

Gaining the attention and especially the interest for history is a certain provocation for the professors. The yet great volume of information comprised in the school curricula, the exaggerated number of chapters

persapproach towards the national history and the ignorance or the superficial treatment of its ties with the universal history, corroborated with the reduction of the history classes to one or two the

most on a week, all expose to the same

of which is represented until the end by

even repulsion towards the discipline. The solution of the enunciated problems is by consequent only at the grasp of the

or failure hinge upon him, upon his strategy laying down, of such methods and means that would drive towards the

The problem solving may reveal as one of the most important pedagogical methods as it addresses the central question of pedagogy: by what means may we affect the representations of a human person in such a way that he or she could gain knowledge about the object of their learning that would be unknown to them until then? The analogy with other objects which would have already been known, the procedure which is currently used when new knowledge is involved, is limited and even obsolete in the case where the learnable object is so new that there is a consistent gap towards every familiar knowledge. At this point, the relation towards what is undetermined gets into discussion and the entire answer may depend on the abilities of the professor for appealing to the unconscious and for transmitting the access to that which is linked to semantics and contains other differentiated relation to reality then the illusion of the communication of pure and mechanical information as in cybernetics.

14 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Problem-solving Pedagogical Method in the Study of History understanding of data multiplicity, and not to their simple seizure.

The present study is dedicated to the solving problem pedagogical method and to the circumstances linked to its use at the history classes.

The concept of problem

In his well known work About Pedagogy (1803), Immanuel Kant pointed out that the human being is the only one that needs to be educated in

the human being may become human through education only. He is nothing else but what education makes out of him (Kant, 2002, p. 17). The maxim reveals its signification merely at the moment where we direct our attention towards the essence of pedagogy itself.

Human thought is grounded upon the unifying of the internal and external diversity of facts. This unifying makes up the privilege of our aprioric knowledge structure. That is the one which makes possible what we generally name by experience. Experience, at its own turn, has the advantage of offering us a horizon of familiarity, a determination where nothing comes to menace our comfort of knowledge, where novelty is every time decomposed in terms already possessed by the totality of our knowledge about the surrounding reality ending, then, in analogical evidences. There are, nonetheless, sequences where that which is cut before our own eyes may place itself beyond every usual

analogy, beyond every already known, familiar issues and, as a consequence, we see ourselves compelled to make a supplementary endeavor contemplating the gain of access to that which until then was fancying to us as an immediate knowledge. This discovery of the new constitutes an adventure and the take over and the fashion by which we face it may be related, finally, to our capacity of finding ourselves beyond our own already given frontiers.

Problem, solving problems come to us in their old Greek etymon problèma

to probàllo,

That which you throw before yourself or that which is thrown before you that which life or others throw before yourself , this suite of obstacles which you put or are put before yourself, the suite of things which welcome thee without cease, that you confront or that which provoke thee all of these are problems. Our lives are nothing, in the end, but this collection of problems, of obstacles that ourselves or others throw before us in order to go past them (Liiceanu, 1996, p. 207).

As it is known, Plato asserted the idea according to which there is no strict sensible knowledge since, without having anything in common between myself and the object that I will know, something intelligible that should mediate between I and the object in order to open to me the path for a mutual concord, I may not have any criterion towards that which is

15 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Problem-solving Pedagogical Method in the Study of History before myself. In this order of thought, any attempt to make a forward step towards the object would mean, in fact, a step forward towards something that does not present anything intelligible or tangible. The possibility of concrete knowledge becomes, therefore, conditioned by the existence of an ideal act of knowledge, laid beyond the limits of experimental knowledge. An act which contains within itself its entire diversity that we, as knowing beings, have to span. As such, in order to arrive to the

strange to us, and nevertheless existent within our very world, we only have to remind us to place ourselves in an anamnetic disposition1.

problem is discussed at the level where we perceive the novelty of the object, at the fashion by which it is given to us in its concrete not only the difference in knowledge, but its overtaking also through the anamnetic effort to which we may be capable of being the subjects.

Since we discuss the pedagogical problem solving, and namely that which is encountered in the history discipline, we will appeal to a concrete case in order

America did practice slavery until the second half of the XIXth century, in what measure could we still talk about the existence in the mentioned period of the country of a democratical political regime, of a modern law state where the

1 See Plato, the Phaidon and Menon dialogues.

human rights and liberties are sacred

The obstacle and the difficulty that we meet in this case have as their ground our ideas about the ideal of democracy and that of the state governed by the rule of law, our idea concerning the modernity and the juridical and political rights of the individual. We find these brutally, flagrantly and horrendously contradicted by the practice of slavery, of servitude of the African populace. Logically, the two camps of signified democracy or the state governed by the rule of law and slavery contradict each other. Nonetheless, in the historical reality they coexisted. Without posing the problem of the relevance of one of the aspects in favor of the other consequently, say that the state governed by the rule of law was in that measure developed for the inhabitants of USA as the existence of slavery would have been a negligible accident, for half of the Southern states lived at its expense, and more, after the abolition, the person with an African origin continued to be discriminated until the second half of the XXth century. We should rather make reference to the American libertarian anarchism2. This is one of the factors which could have justified slavery in a culture that was

2 We remind the assertions made by Charles

so much in love with liberty, that they allow themselves having a little too much liberties towards it (Dickens, 1998, p. 351)

16 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Problem-solving Pedagogical Method in the Study of History necessary, then, also to point out the relevance of the economic aspect for the population of the over the Atlantic Republic.

Just as little could we annihilate the reality of the political democracy and of the juridical American justice by saying that it was nothing but a form without content as long as this type of administration was essential for the

which it would have been impossible to abolish slavery. The logical contradiction, the tension and even the cleavage from within the North-American society is capable of revealing itself, consequently, as a problem to which we cannot find any answer on the grounds of what we already know concerning the already studied and implied concepts of this issue.

A solution that we encounter regularly when our reason finds itself thrown on the grounds of an unknown horizon, is that of looking for antecedents, similar cases in order to, through analogy, through imitation, could we say, solve also the difficulty which just sprang. Nevertheless, if the problems would be solved this way, we could say that they would never be solved at all. More precise, if the solving problems method would be the approach by which we would reduce that which we

we know, we would do anything else but to repeat the already known aspects and, consequently, we would never learn something absolutely new.

Coming back to the question of the anamnesis, we may observe that things changed dramatically. The consideration after which to learn supposes only to apply or to awake already known matters, purely and simply, to that which is new, has no value at all.

However, something must be

eleate paradox regarding the knowledge of the object and the realization of learning is applied on the opposite sense of that which has already been discovered. Hence, if something is known, what way is it known as to admit the new? And, if the new is already learned, in what way might it be a qualitative difference towards what is already known as its learning not to be a simple repetition?

The pedagogical paradigm of the problem solving offers us an acute materialization of these hard solving difficulties.

The didactical problem solving, the historical problem solving

In any problem, asserted

something given, known and something missing, meaning something hidden, the idea of solving dwelling... in the find of the unkown elementthe above mentioned assertions, the researcher defined the problem as being

17 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Problem-solving Pedagogical Method in the Study of History a structure of insufficient dataproblematized learning as an operation

the research for these data and the demonstration that they are trueclarification gi

the subject comprises by his

reflects upon the mutual ratio between the known elements of this structure, discovers, then, the missing elements as well as the unknown ties of the given elements. By this method, the subject completes the structure ( , 1978, p.

50).

But the essence of problem solving consists in that, by its use in the classroom, the professor does not transmit well established cognizances, instead it puts the pupils in the position of search, research and discovery. Problem solving supposes, consequently, the update of older cognizances and the gain of new ones, fact which justifies its particular formative qualities.

The central element of the method, the initial point is represented by the identification of the problematic situation. As we have seen above, a question or an assignment becomes a problem only when it proposes something radically unknown, something that lacks a comparison, an obstacle which, in the present case produces in the mind of those interested a tension, an uncertainty, an astonishment, it stimulates their interest and brings them about to implicate themselves until the response is found

ties that which they already know to that which is totally unknown to them.

Consequently, in problem solving learning a central initial role devolves to the professor. It is to him that it falls not only the assignment of correctly formulating such difficulties or of establishing a plan of action, but also the obligation to verify in what measure the pupils dispose of the theoretical necessary premises to their solving. In history, for example, the professor has the duty of assuring himself that the pupils know those facts, events and processes absolutely necessary to the clarifying of the given situation. The chances of tracing true problematic situations arise in direct proportion with

of his master of the discipline and to the development level of his psycho-pedagogical competences.

In the problem solving process there have been identified multiple stages. Some specialists speak of four (Gagné, 1975, p. 189), others speak of six (Cerghit, 1976, pp. 108-109) stages. Three of them are essential: the exposure of the problem, its solving and its verification. In the teaching of history it is recommended to avoid the direct passage from the definition to its solving and the introduction of the so-called preceding stage (Krystyna Kuligowska). This supposes the fact that the teacher verifies if the pupils detain information about the events and the historical processes taken into question, and, nevertheless, the degree in which they understood the signification of what has

18 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Problem-solving Pedagogical Method in the Study of History been told ( , 1978, pp. 31-32, 133-

134). The solution is justified on the

the fact the solving of historical difficulties does not have as its ground the experience on day to day basis, but the explanations before received either from the professor, either from the manuals, encyclopedias and other types of bibliographical references. We may take the example of the following

How do you explain the burst of the revolution wave which enfolded Europe in 1848?

verifies if the pupils know not only the internal situation of the states engaged in the revolutionary events France, The German Confederation, The Habsburg Empire, The Romanian Countries , but also the ideologies and the political streams that were proper to that century. It is the same with the

Imagine yourselves

Neither in the present case exists some correspondent of reality that would deliver them ideas and which finally would drive them to the solution of the

the updating of information regarding the raised issues do not offer them any answer, but only eases them the way towards the dropping down of the raised obstacles, towards the transformation of the unknown to that which is known.

Historical problems

Because of its character, of the fact that it takes upon the study of peoplthe earliest of times to the present, because in human reality the materialization of the fact amasses the contradiction, the opposition, the conflict, and more precisely, as incarnated, history represents a favorable domain for the application of the method, an inexhaustible source for the creation of certain difficulties. The analytical glance upon this domain where we become conscious of all these systems of inexhaustible oppositions shall know to search and even to find in the measure where it will make an appeal to the semantic structures of science and culture, the superior significations and the fundamental principles of historical life. Barely through the unclutter of such fields of superior signification human history begins to unveil its meanings and to open for the interpretation in depth the events that marked it. Thereby it is possible to surmount some of its deficiencies as, for example, the exaggerated focus on the factual knowledge in the detriment of the general orientations regarding the processes which take place during several historical periods ( , 1978, pp.

144-145). The encumbrances, the drawbacks, the deterrents must be elaborated in such a manner that they would help pupils to master the notions and to offer them a general orientation in the historical processes and phenomena

19 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Problem-solving Pedagogical Method in the Study of History and, at last, a certain autonomy in the appreciation of the events that took place during all the centuries.

It is, still, maintained the condition that they would be adapted to the age and individual particularities of the pupils.

The surest path to illustrate the above said, is the appeal to a few examples. We shall turn back, at first, to that example regarding the United States and the practice of slavery. Essential in order for the pupils to have the possibility to find of at least one hint for an answer is for the professor to present them in time and adequately the state of affairs. Especially because this problem

simple mention of some details concerning the political system of the Republic and eventually in the assertion of some opinions regarding discussed reality, but relates to the understanding of the North-American culture as a

-the historiorder to attain such a result, the pupils must follow several stages.

We believe that the most important is the knowledge of the facts themselves, in the way they exist. In this manner we will set free the entire problem solving from the addition which

contradiction clearing the ground for the depth analysis. Moreover, through this prior knowledge it is obtained a first contact with the subject as it is and it is attained the property of terms.

The emphasis of the existent differences between the young republic

imperative. The first, a state without history, deprived of traditions with a culture traversed by the shudder of absolute change and, consequently, of the absolute contradiction a state where everyone manages to do whatever one wants (from the establishment of the most bizarre societies, clubs and organizations (Boia, 2009, chapter

Unite) The latter, instead, countries with a distant past and grounded on a culture which has behind itself an entire burden of symbols. Just as necessary are the mentions of the Protestantism characteristics which, by its fundamental divorce, not so much from the Old

tradition, of the idea of tradition as it is3, drives people into appreciating more the rupture, independence, the absolute value of the individual will and not necessarily the sacrosanct respect of the principle of the social equality especially when the free will of the Protestant came against the lack of individual consciousness of the African descended from a culture which did not proclaim any universal revelation.

3 Traditio

further the terms of a culture, its symbols, its practices and significations does not mean the inscription in the ossified fixity of some more or less contingent determinations and their adoption as a perpetual reference system. It is instead about identity within change, about novelty in that which is ancient, about that is unknown within that which is known.

20 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Problem-solving Pedagogical Method in the Study of History

It is not useless to remind for that the primacy of the economic factor in the

pragmatism often driven to its extremes and which came from the same passion for individualism. Fact which possessed the ability to encourage the use of slaves in order to gain a cheap and swift profit.

We shall take then the case of the lessons regarding the conquest of Dacia by the Romans or those about the First World War. Here too the professor may formulate several problematic situations. We of If the Romans quitted Dacia during the years 270-275, how do you explain the fact that we speak today a Latin originated language? Taking into account that the Romanian royal family was the descendent of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen dynasty, what were the causes which drove it to join Romania to the Antante and not to the Central Powers during the First World War?the same time, during the recapitulative class of cognizances with interest to the great geographical discoveries, the pupils may be invited to imagine themselves the destiny of the world in the case where it would have been deprived of the exploits of the renown navigators. Essential in all three examples is that the pupils be guided to bestow a special attention to the importance of those happened and not to the details tied to the said facts. Of course, their difficulty degree is not an exceptionally elevated one and may be more used to the general school classes.

In high school, instead, a gradual increase of the difficulty level is

Haw do you explain the chain collapse of the communist regimes (1989)? During the XIXth century the United States, a no more than a century old Republic, gained and even depassed economically states with a distant historical past. How do you argue for this astonishing progress? As the sentiment of the belonging to a nation has developed to the Romanians only in the XIXth century, what could have determined Michael the Brave to unify the three Romanian provinces? As it is known, women have acquired the right to vote only in the first half of the XIXth century. Thus, can we speak about a true social equality during the period from before its sanction?variants. Just as well they may be invited

If the North and West European zones were during the XIXth century rather economically developed, what has determined so many millions of people to quit their country and to immigrate towards America? Through the present

channeled toward the examination of the cause-effect ratio or toward the deep understanding of differently principles and notions.

Thus, we may assert that the problem solving method responds in a

orientation, not to the memorization of

but towards the capture of their essence and causation. The effect being felt in

21 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Problem-solving Pedagogical Method in the Study of History the deeper assimilation of cognizances and, from there, to the seizure of the difficulty that has been aimed by the problem solving method.

The problematic transfer

The second phase or stage of the problem solving method and that is not only tied to the essence of the pedagogy and to its fundamental purposes, but is also the zone where the problem solving method reveals its essence is the principle asserted in the beginning of this article related to the anamnesis.

To remember appertains to passed, determined and known facts. Having before someone something unknown means the suppression of every determination of the empirical remembrance. It is left to us place for another kind of remembrance, a remembrance of the unknown if the paradox is allowed to us. In this point pedagogy intersects the territory of two fundamental sciences: philosophy and psychoanalysis.

At the precise point where philosophy uses the concept of supernatural, psychoanalysis articulated that one of unconscious 4 . In fact, 4 The unconscious is the sign of the presence in the human being of a fundamental difference. This is completely opposed by ratio to what usually is thought that it must be understood by unconscious. Regularly, because the unconscious activities are represented to the appearance of the mechanical reactions of the objects or even of the cybernetic systems, it is believed that the

psychoanalysis talks to us already for as long as a century signifies exactly the achievement of a difference within the undetermined void of a subject. Barely from this point forward identity, the seizure, the distinction become possible together with language and thought. Thus, a good achievement of a distinction or of an identification of a concept (actions which may be perceived in their profound complementarity) pertains each and every time of a good reduction or analysis of everything that we already know of all determinations to something undetermined. Barely the access to undetermined, hence, to the unknown may bring us something simultaneously new and intelligible in our knowledge. Our anamnesis is a profound act of reduction and of unification of this reduction precisely through the fact that, as tradition has already told us, we are ourselves unknown 5 . We may achieve

unconscious is, in fact, the sign of the absolute determination of the subject who cannot, thusly, belong to himself. Nothing more false. The liberty of the subject pertains to the fact that he escapes to the immediate and may pass beyond the simple presence or the simple intuition, towards language, thought, imagination thus, towards a plurality of plans the richness of which already suggests the presence of the infinite. (For the development of the concept of unconscious, see Jacques Lacan,

Raport la Congresul

, ed. Univers, also Charles Melman,

sans gravité. Jouir à tout prix, éd. Denoël, 2005.) 5 See The Catholic Encyclopaedia, vol. 11, by Charles G. Herbermann, From online edition Copyright 2003 by K. Knight, used by permission, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/herbermann/cathen11.html, pp. 1459-1461 [last date accessed on the 17th of July, 2009].

22 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Problem-solving Pedagogical Method in the Study of History the above mentioned reduction only because we are ourselves grounded through a radical reduction that transcends every computation, namely every reference to numerable or to analogy.

problem solving method must thusly uphold upon the actualization of the difference, upon the interiorisation of this unknown against which his intellect collides.

The formal thinking cannot use such terms. Following formal logic, the perceived contradiction in the particular history of the United States of America is not possible to be solved. The administration of such a conflict within itself appears as merely a systematic aberration, as a historical deficiency pertained only to human meanness and obtuseness or to any other circumstances deprived of any tie to the American culture premises. The two contradictory facts are radically disjoint that the explanation that they still coexisted may not pretend, in the terms of formal thought, but by the search of some contingent explanation of their ties and concurrent contemporaneity within a society as the North-American one.

The formal thought may not understand, therefore, that there exists a necessary, not contingent, link between slavery and the American culture of the XVIIIth-XIXth century, that, in fact, the radical libertarian ideal implies through its own definition its own opposition dialectics ending in slavery the

American case or in terror the French Revolution case.

Resuming the entire span of the problem solving method, we point out that the solution of the detailed case is that of making the pupils understand the inner, necessary, semantically tie between the concepts of absolute liberty or of that of absolute difference the

tradition, from continuity and anarchy, or the reverse of that, totalitarism or terror the case of the American slaver

In this point it is arrived, however, only if the professor shall

terms, by their very novelty imply an analysis, thus a first renouncement of that which was already known until the encounter of the irreducible point of that novelty and by relation to which it is established a link or a continuity of a totally different order than that of an analogy analogy that pertains to the essence of the imitative, reproductive thought, that puts the pupil in the posture of the dogmatic receptor who is not truly formed in the pedagogical sense, but only informed, in a rather mechanical sense. And, nevertheless, that the remembrance or the anamnesis does not pertain in its essence to any term designated by knowledge but in the place where it is necessary the identification of that which novelty is not when the pupil remembers the known facts of the American history, he does it

landscape that which is already known

23 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Problem-solving Pedagogical Method in the Study of History and may not offer him an answer to the perceived problem. Then it is understood that the remembrance in the sense of anamnesis is that of the unconscious itself by that, following the word of the psychoanalysis, the unconscious is structured as a language (Lacan, 2000, pp. 41-67), but a language with means which go beyond the bivalence of formal logic and admit the dialectic of the opposed that we meet in the philosophical semantics. Barely arrived here we understand that certain ideas which materialized in the history of certain people could direct to the contrary of that which they proclaimed by their ground principles.

*

In favor of the problem solving method plead a suite of advantages, Fromm the simple fact that it may be applied indifferently of the school cycle, of the discipline or of the didactical process stages and until the profound modifications that it operates at the level

every aspect makes it indispensable to the modern teaching. A special attention must be awarded to its formative

The reception of a new problem or the understanding of a problem raised by someone else constitutes the initial point in the process of independent thinking ( , 1978, p.

32)from early ages, in the case of the discipline of history, from the fourth grade may have beneficial effects. The

entire personality, captures his attention, the interest for the solution making of the proposed themes and even love for the past. Everything begets from the

attained, it helps to the development of curiosity and, in parallel, creates the

enquire, but also his courage in the defense of his own points of view.

On the other hand, the method has a positive effect at the level of the

As the main premise of the difficulties solving is represented by the cognizances

ization and restructuration. This fact facilitates the deep and logical learning. The aspect is then equally doubled by a certain degree

with the surpass by his own effort of the obstacle, of the imposed limit.

Thus, the use of the problem solving method detains an essential role in the history classes. The method helps the youngsters to understand easier the fashion by which the human society evolved from the oldest times until the present, and simultaneously, drives them towards the seizure of the determinants factors of this evolution.

24 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Problem-solving Pedagogical Method in the Study of History

Bibliografie

Boia, Andreea Elena, , Cluj-Napoca, 2009

Cerghit, I., 1976, pp. 108-109.

Gagné, Robert M., 1975, p. 189. Dickens, Charles, Martin Chuzzlewitt351.

Herbermann, Charles G., The Catholic Encyclopaedia, vol. 11, From online edition Copyright 2003 by K. Knight, used by permission, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/herbermann/cathen11.html, pp. 1459-1461 [last date accessed on the 17th of July, 2009].

Kant, Immanuel, Desore pedagogie, trans.

Lacan, Jacques, Raport la

septembrie 1953

Liiceanu, Gabriel,

Melman, Charles, , éd. Denoël, 2005.

Wincenty, , trans.

25 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS

Some aspects of an interactive method: problematization is presented. Today education is a pre-condition of achievements of individuals and communities. So

and for this objective, the interactive strategies are relevant. The paper points out some theoretical aspects of this method and some application in the study of chemistry.

Adrienne Kozan, Assoc. Prof. PhD, Babe -Bolyai University

[email protected]

ABSTRACT:

KEYWORDS: problem-solving method, questioning, creativity, descovery, chemistry

1. Introducere

metodologic deasigurarea bunului mers al procesului

cercetare în domeniul pedagogiei experimentale o constituie metoda de

, artizanul propriilor

metode activ-interactive,

elevi.

c

interactive acele metode care duc la promovarea Caracterul interactiv al unei metode este

critic, gândire creatoare, etc.

-un anumit context

dezavantaje, dintre care unele pot fi inerente, iar altele pot fi generate de


În figura 1.

Din punct de vedere istoric, metodele de

educativ.

bazate pe criterii diferite.

Metode bazate pe

multimedia

Metode de cercetare a

(de explorare)

(de comunicare )

oral -‐

Expozitive

-‐ descrierea

-‐

-‐ prelegerea

-‐ instructajul

Conversative

-‐

-‐

-‐ problematizarea

-‐ dezbaterea

-‐ asaltul de idei

METODE DE


umane (Cerghit, I., 1980).

Alegerea unei metode depinde de factorii obiectivi (obiectivul didactic

lecfactorii subiectivi

profesorului, resursele psihologice ale clasei). Nu trebuie uitat ca la baza

comunicarea comunicare

carrezultatelor finale. Rolul principal în

elev, îi revine profesorului (Naumescu, A., 1997).

Important este comportamentul

-sociale ale clasei,

-o

2. Problematizarea

a crea în mintea elevului o stare

probleme pe cale logico-

Problematizarea este metoda de

gerea datelor problemei;;

Reorganizarea comportamentului

ipotezei de lucru;;

problematizate atunci când :

-

impuse de rezolvarea unei noi probleme;;

- -un

date;; - Elevu

probleme din punct de vedere teoretic

-

-

-

Din punct de vedere genetic se pot delimita în cadrul acestei metode 3 momente succesive (Nicola, I., 2002):

/


-modul

-

- în care

-

independent, profesorul fiind acela

acest proces. un moment tensional.

elevilor. un moment rezolutiv.

problemei într-creatoare, transferul nespecific,

din

ce bazate pe

profesorului este un act de descoperire,

In etapa de proiectare

ui, este

care va fi vehiculat în activitatea

informationale (capitole, subcapitole, teme, subiect

2004).

stabilirea obiectivelor instructiveducative elaborarea planului tematic (Naumescu, A., 1997) .

Din punct de vedere psihologic,

M., 2004) .

Îdidactice,

stimulatoare, pentru toate fazele (Naumescu, A., 1997):

problemelor;;


rea

acestora;; elaborarea strategiei de investigare;; resurselor materiale necesare;;

efectuarea experimentelor chimice;; emiterea de ipoteze;; analizarea acestor ipoteze;;

didactice bazate pe problematizare presupune din partea profesorului o

-o

constitui un punct de plecare în

problematizate (B

Intrucât eforturile pe care le presupune rezolvarea problemelor de

este deosebit de important ca în

asigure intrunire

A., 1997):

luarea în considerare a resurselor psihologice ale clasei, a nivelului de

ilor, a

problemelor;; luarea în considerare a factorilor care

problemelor

probleme;; ansamblul resurselor materiale

cercetare a elevilor: -

culegeri de probleme, tabele, manuale;;

-

laborator, dispozitive fie

Etapele metodice parcurse în

2004):

sesi

- profesorul sau elevii descriu

-

-


de cercetare;; ceea ce presupune: - problematice;;

-

care ar putea sprijini procesul de rezolvare a problemei;;

- formularea ipotezelor de

- testarea / verificarea ipotezelor emise.

inteleelevilor. Semnificativ nu este cantitatea

curajului în argumentaunor opinii personale (Nicola, I., 2002).

Dintre formele concrete prin care

se vor cita:

- Este tipul de problematizare care

incluzând un sistem de probleme teoretice sau practice ce se cer

-o lucrare de laborator, aplicarea unui procedeu

u

-o, elevii

cursul acestui proces de rezolvare se

ointeresare,

descoperire sau redescoperire. (Naumescu, A., Corpodean, C., 2001).

Întrebarea

dificultate sau complexitate, abordând o

pr

conflictuale, determinate de întrebarea ie a trecerii

-


acumulate de el pâ

(Ionescu, M., Radu, I. 1995). Problematizarea

produc un conflict intelectual sau

complex, de exemplu, stabilirea structurii electronice a unui element chimic în

tor (Postelnicu, C., 2002).

efectuate în laboratorul de chimie pun

care apoi sa le verifice atât pe cale

2002).

poate trece la d

de lucru, multiplicate pentru fiecare elev.

lipsi elevii de caietele lor;;

se poate recurge la proiectarea lor

problematizate pot fi de mai multe feluri

ivitate în colectiv, asigurându-se corectitudinea rezultatelor prin folosirea tablei, a retroproiectorului,

fragmente, numai prin activitate

sunt destinate

interesul elevilor pentru acest obiect -

ale

abordate sub aspect teoretic sau practic în forme accesibile elevilor. Pot avea ca scop fixarea, verificarea

etape ale

cuprind materia care constituie baza


folosirea lor impune

ale eleorganizare a clasei, în vederea

nivele: -

-

- nivelul C, avansat: cuprinde sarcini de lucru pentru elevii

superioare.

mijloacelor audio-vizuale. Mesajele vizuale pot fi transmise prin intermediul

sau cu ajutorul unor programe

- i formulate

profesorului de a exploata cât mai

impune propria

instructiv educativ devine unul de

a elevilor, de sprijinire a acestora în

i (Nicola, I., 2002):

problematizarea are un efect formativ

predarea tuturor obiectelor de

asigurând astfel formarea unei


Fiind o metoda activ-

problematizarea este promovamult în perspectiva realizarii unui

inseparabile ale sale, deoarece ceea ce

2002).

3. de aplicare a problematizarii în studiul Chimiei

(clasa a XI-a )

-

I. Sesizarea Intr-

- Profesorul:

-

- Profesorul: comune

-

- Profesorul: specifice

- de oxidare (oxidarea aldehidelor cu soluri

Tollens [Ag(NH3)2]OH

frontal,

aldehidelor

Ipoteza A: grupare carbonil, deci va prezenta


carbonilici.

Ipoteza B: are

IV. reguli, etc

unui experiment cu caracter de cercetare, efectuat de elevi, organizat în grupe (3-4 elevi într-

Denumirea experimentului

Sarcinile de lucru

Oxidarea formaldehidei cu reactiv Tollens

Într-

azotat de argint 2% peste care

hidroxid de sodiu hidroxidul de argint, care se

amoniac 2%. În reactivul Tollens astfel preparat se introduc 2 ml

-o baie de -600C .

În scurt timp,

eprubetei,

AgNO3+ NaOH AgOH+ NaNO3 AgOH+ 2NH3 [Ag(NH3)2]OH HCHO+ 2[Ag(NH3)2]OH H-COOH+ 4NH3+ H2O+ 2Ag

final -

conexiunilor, ajung în final la uconcluzie:

În acel

de sodiu conduce curentul electric, iar

Clorura de sodiu este o

polii de semn contrar spre ionii cristalului.

de tip ion-

conduc curentul electric (sunt electr


Î

electricitate.

Cum

organice în ordinea: CH3-CH2-CH3 < CH3-CH2-CH=O < CH3-CH2-CH2-OH < CH3-CH2-COOH

Propan propanal 1-propanol acid propanoic

Punctele de fierbere cresc cu

moleculei.

culare mai mari

deoarece moleculele lor nu sunt asociate pri

4. Concluzii

Dintre avantajele î

-

Problemele pot fi valorificate atât la

de plecare în trezirea interesului elevilor

Problemele dau cadrului didactic

-problema elevii

care sunt corelate. dezavantaje în utilizarea

care amintim:

Timpul problematizare presupun activitatea

volum mare de timp. Un timp de lucru prea mare poate determina o oarecare

elevilor;; activitate de restructurare, sistematizare

procesului de rezolvare a acestora;;


Bibliografie

Cluj-Napoca

Cerghit I., (1980), ,

Cluj-Napoca

Tipografia Garamond, Cluj-Napoca

Cluj-Napoca

-Napoca

- -Napoca

Nicola,

Postelnicu,

,


, Assoc. Prof. PhD, Babe -Bolyai University

[email protected]

ABSTRACT:

KEYWORDS: problem, conditions, causes, heuristic, solution, argument

problematizarea are

-matizarea este consideracercetare deoarece marile descoperiri

au pornit de la identificarea unor probleme, iar rezolvarea lor s-a

tocmai identificarea problemelor cu care

arguteoretice sau practice, iar aceste

apropierea demer ,

pentru a facilita adaptarea într-o

realizarea acestui deziderat se poate

-

- -

blocate (temporar) de un obstacol, a lizare

-

Problematisation can be a research method, an independent didactic method or a heuristic problematised learning context. As a didactic method, it involves solving problem situations containing contradictions between previous knowledge about reality and the new information that students acquire. The didactic approach focusing on problem situations solving may have several phases: identifying and presenting problem situations or deducing and describing them together with students;; analysing problem situations and restructuring information;; researching;; phrasing hypotheses and comparing solutions;; selecting the best solution;; presenting and augmenting the best solution;; confirming or infirming the solution. In order to exemplify we present two problem situations and the didactic approaches for solving them.


noile inforelevul, provenite din surse diferite (manual, profesor, realitate, colegi etc.).

-pro -

incompatibile între ele;; pe de o parte,

necunoscutul cu care este confruntat

necesita o rezolvare prin problematizare, aceast ,

percepe ca pe un obstacol ce ar trebui

staincertitudine sau o nedumerire asupra

-

, de completare a lacunelor,

- ,

o dificultate, care, date fiind anumite

namente

problema ca

rezolvarea d

p. 32- -

-

contradictoriu asupra problemei (o

-

empirice ale

expuse de elevi (nu între elevi);;

or

tehnici etc.);;

cognitiv al elevilor;;

abordarea anumitor aspecte;;

unele cazuri particulare;;


-menelor, proceselor, evenimentelor etc.

obiect, fenomen, proces, eveniment etc.,

moduri de abordare, moduri de rezolvare, teorii etc., aspecte teoretice sau practice;;

În momentul în care profesorul -

propune elevilor spre rezolvare.

-componente:

sau implicite datele problemei, care intro-

o întrebare- , care induce -

Întrebarea-jurul unui obiectiv-obstacol sau a unui obiectiv-dificultate, astfel încât

-

cognitiv. Obstacolul poate fi un dezacord cognitiv în planul achizi

Exemplu: te mai

-probl

Gradul de dificultate -

de dezvoltare a gândirii, reselor elevilor.

Gradul de

caz.

Gradul de nedeterminare, de nespecificare pro

ionare.

Caracter atipic

problemele complexe nu se pot rezolva prin aplicarea unei singure proceduri, ci

demersuri.

Caracter opac, întrucât nu permite -

Rezolvabilitatea. O -ce-


rezolvare.

. Rezolvarea unei - -o demon-

le (De ce

Rezultatul. -

tatul

-

ressau prac

stârnite atunci când subiectul turile sale de

onsistente

sistente sau contradictorii este denum

-obstacol. Pentru rezolvarea problemei, elevul

are, dar pentru completarea elementelor necunoscute are nevoie de cercetare. Rezolvarea

-ectuale, uneori dublate

de acti atul îl

va parcurge apoi un demers euristic în

-

necunoscu

primul rând, a-identifica elementele necunoscute prin

(Albulescu, 2004, p. 79). Pentru r -

pentru confirmarea sau infirmarea

-

se sau a unor reguli înv

ansamblul de factori care intervine este

- intelectuale diverse: de identificare, de

anticipare etc. Din punct de vedere

operatorii ale gândirii divergente, nile creatoare,


- -un demers

contraargumentebi

rezolvare.

- pentru Profesorul va parcurge în mod

1) - . -

repertoriul propriu sau din alte surse.

2) Documentareaeste a de -fi -rezolvarea acesteia (identificarea modului de rezolvare a

strategii de rezolvare). Infor

-un sistem unitar.

3) Identificarea unor variante de rezolvare. O s -rezol care având

propune sau impune pe aceasta elevilor.

4) . -

levi, profesorul le va pune la

reviste, filme, fotografii, le va oferi

adrese de website-uri, calculatoare,

5) - , care

-

-

autoinstruire cu caracter problematizat;;

- -

-mod flexibil mai multe etape.

Exemplu 1

Activitatea profesorului în

1) - sau

--

-lizarea adverbului ,,


milioane de ani, aia,

2) (manualul, )

3) Precizarea criteriului de acceptare a -

nute de argumente corecte.

4) solicitate de elevi.

5) -

Ce se ?

centimetri pe an. Procesele orogenetice

unui munte terestru este de 8848 m.)

mult?)

(problema)

în fiecare an, într-000 m, dar în

altitudine.)

Ce se cere-

tudine.)

6) Documentarea

-formarea munselecanterior)

suplimentare de la profesor sau de la -a

s-s- -cu 1.000.acest proces este din interiorul

7) profesor (Unele prosocietate sunt determinate de mai multe cauze. Procesele nu se produc

intensitate, ritmicitate etc.)

8) noi (analizarea

-

(Procesele prin csunt: ero


ilor, a apei rezultate din topirea

declivitatea, când scade coeziunea rocilor etc.)

9) (gruparea, ordonarea, selectarea

10) Formularea ipotezelor

produc

ploile, apele

procesele chimice etc.

11) confirmarea/infirmarea ipotezelor

-a doua ipoteze i)

începerii, durata, vperioadele glaregresiuni marine etc.).

-a treia

interni

12) legi, principii, teorii

orogenetice au stagnat în anumite perioade.

coborât în anumite perioade.

u avut

oceanelor din apropiere).

13) Compararea variantelor de rezolvare - (Se anali -

14)

externi.

15)

16)

elevilorelevi s

-

prin efort intelectual propriu.

44 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Exemplu 2

1) -

apropiere de Ocnele Mari, s-a produs un dezastru. Oamenii au observat cum se for

în ea.

sondele care scoteau saramura din -a

2500 m2 -

-au -au

:

plece în

alt loc.)

oamenilor? (Nu.)

2)

integrate;;

descrierea aspectelor vizibile

care s-producerii, efectele;;

identificarea cauzelor care au

denumirea fenomenului produs.

, pentru a-i

Unde s-

Când s-2001.)

distrugerea terenului, a caselor, a

-un pârâude sare.)


etc.)

casele, sondele, oamenii,

vege râului etc.)

3) -

-

Care este întrebarea la care ar trebui -a format

De -a format acea pâlnie

gol subteran.)

a curs lava;; de unde au extras oamenii resurse minerale.)

, cum s-a produs -a extras sarea.)

câte patru ce s-

mijloace de detaliu, articole din ziare,

nicio infor

-media pentru a-i

-rului. Pentru a explica ceea ce s-a

nevoie de unele oare:

lacurile pe masive de sare.

În majoritatea desenelor, ca rezultat a procesului conform celor

povescare s-

întrebarea: Care dindoar unul

au

de la geologie cum anume s-au format

-a depus pe fundul

-

t în riorul

studentei de la geologie. Ea a desenat pe

sedimente


s-au înclinat în apropierea sâmburelui de

straturile de sare sunt cutate sau

Fig. 1.

sare se localizedepre

-(din clasa a XII- siunea

ei s-a scufundat în

sarea s-

lor siunii

presiunea a crescut, iar straturile plastice -au

ridicat la marginile depresiunii unde

sedimentare de deasupra, le-au deformat sau le-au (diapirul)

nta a explicat cum a fost intro

crearea unui mare gol subteran, -

un moment dat, s-a pr

-

s

-a realizat prin

mântului împiedica umezirea acestuia, la partea

-o. Ulterior, sarea din partea superioa s-a umezit, con -

- -În momentul în care a fost expus acest scenari

e

47 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS A fost o concavitate sau mai multe?

S-

--a construit

ceva deasupra?

Saramura s-a format în mod natural sau artificial?

Fig. 2.

În concluzie, ce s-a întâmplat în

1) pomparea apei în mai multe locuri în interiorul diapirului;;

2) s-

cu ajutorul sondelor;;

-a unit între ele, iar tavanul s-a surpat.

-a produs murii era

nu s-a respectat standardele

sprijin, motiv pentru care s-

caute dovezi pen

4) Formularea problemei (diagnosticul) este una dintre etapele cele mai

problemei.

Care este, de fapt, problema -a prodproblema o constituie, de fapt, riscul ca

5) Stabilirea alternativelor de rezolvare a - -

multe la care se ajunge prin

provocatoare:

-

rezolve?

-


nu a epuizarea listei de alternative.

6) . -a lucrat pe grupuri în etapele de

rezolvare, atunci fiecare grup a prezentat grupului mare rezultas-a lucrat frontal, atunci s-au expus pe s tarea

--a tr

contra -a ri:

Care sunt argumentele pro/contra

s-

propuse

Argumente

pro

Argumente contra

Distrugerea

unor

- costuri

relativ mici

- nu se poate anticipa

exact ce se va

întâmpla

- nu se poate controla

ce se va întâmpla

Umplerea

cu material

solid

- s-ar

elimina

riscul

tavanului

- costuri foarte mari

-

utilaje, mult material,

timp

-

economic

Extragerea

saramurii

- apa nu ar

mai veni în

contact cu

tavanul

- este

sarea

- n

unirii laterale a

7) . -

vot, fiecare student votând una sau mai -

- -a

s-a revenit asupra argumentelor care au

-

mod, în seminar nu este nevoie ca opinia stud rurilor

mult mai bune decât cele la care s-a

-


licate deja.

8) . În mod logic, o -

factori, generalizarea este dific

Care este contextul în care s-a petrecut -

-problem

Ce s-ar putea face pentru prevenirea -

Ce s-tuturor acestor sit -

-

finale.

- Se po -pro

care pot fi rezolvate cu elevii. Pentru

formulare s-

i--

oare. Deoarece elevii nu au întotdeauna

-individual sau în grupuri mici. Pentru

or de timp,

-proîntregii clase, iar profesorul va dirija prin

-bilitatea de-a face co -mente.

s

nu Soarele

vântul

Cu cât ne apropiem de Soare ar trebui nile de

câmpie este mai cald decât pe vârful aproape de

Soare. De ce?

50 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS în regiunile în care bat alizeele vânturi

care sunt specifice vânturile de vest, care

ea acestor

foarte mari, aerul situat în

-a extins

vecine. De ce?

Presiunea aerului este mai mare când

decât la baza lor, presiunea este

titate

ele au temperaturi diferite. De ce?

titate

de timp,

transparent, în zilele senine apa lacualb

altitudinea,

medie anu-

C. La Ecuator temperatura este mare,

murile estice ale Americii are temperaturi mai mici decât

stice ale Europei. De ce?

acesteia?

condensarea apei pure, uneori ploile sunt acide sau bazice. De ce?

raze

foarte rar

acumulate în straturi acvifere, la mare


ua, ,

temperatura scade la circa 5 C în timpul

Temperatura aerului scade în

cu 6,4 C la 1000 m, ceea ce face ca în

mici. În tim

temperatura este mai mare, iar în depresiunile situate la altitudine mai

de la altitudinea de 3000 m. În

la Polul Sud este mai frig decât la Polul Nord. De ce?

-

-est cantitatea de

Cu

România la altitudini de peste 1000 m, dar în Finlanda se extind de la 0 m

în România, care este ext4 38' în latitudine, clima nu este

rea, la

-,

climatul este arid. De ce?

Aceas-

exportatoare de produse agroalimentare, iar cele care au o supraf

sunt nevoite s -men

agroalimentare.

României i-produse agroalimentare pentru 70 milioane de oameni, , România

Se cun

glaciare,

Fluviile care se var -

52 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS În sudul Asiei mareele au amplitudine mare,

pro

180-fenomen?

lui Arctic sunt permanent blocate de

Luna, singurul satelit natural al

axei sale, noi vedem mereu

re decât în zonele de

fapt?

mdepozite de lamelibranhiate. Cum

time

de mare capacitate. De ce?

itativ,

are siderurgia

ce?

a Poloniei este câmpie, agricultura este slab

câmpiile, extindere mare. De ce?

Germano-

-a petrecut relativ

valurile morenaice sunt mai extinse decât în Germania. De ce?

Pe cursul inferior al fluviilor, în câmpie, apei scad,

Câmpia Poloniei, pe cursurile inferioare,

Lacurile glaciare sunt situate în în Polonia

cele mai multe lacuri glaciare sunt


, în perioadele ddin apropierea vulcanilor sunt preferate

-pro

algoritm cunoscut, ci ca o rezolvare obleme, deoarece fiecare

mai multe moduri. În rezolvarea -

r, deoarece recompensa o

capacitatea de a se concentra asupra

-

schemele operatorii ale gândirii, capacita

-

cu totul nou;;

gândirea

c

de contextul în care le folosesc;; balast steril,

ci ele sunt aplicate în rezolvarea pro-blemei;;

curiozitatea, spiritul de explorare,

nu mai memopasiv, ci le construiesc prin efort intelectual;;

seminarii are multe avantaje deoarece

caracteristice;;

-


anticipare a evenimentelor, de organizare, de conducere, de cooperare în e

Concluzii

Problematizarea este o cercetare descoidentificarea ulor s-a concretizat în descoperirea unor

, când se -

ot fi organizate ca un , euristic, când se propune elevilor sau

-

Demersul didactic de rezolvare a unei - -

dezvoltarea

-

--

urile

55 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Utilizarea metodei

Bibliografie

Albulescu, Ion, (2004), creativitate -Napoca

Metode euristice în studiul chimiei-Napoca

Cluj-Napoca

, Editura Clusium, Cluj-Napoca

(2008), Metodologii didactice, Editura Clusium, Cluj-Napoca

Okon, Wincenty, (1978),

, în Revista de pedagogie

-Dan, (1999),

56 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Problematizarea în d

Problematizarea în d

Cosmin Prodea -Bolyai University

[email protected]

-Bolyai University

[email protected]

ABSTRACT:

KEYWORDS: didactic, method, the problem-solving approach, physical education

a transforma subiectul, participant la actul instructiv-educativ, din observator

acestui obdes pe metodele folosite în procesul de predare-

-rolul de actor principal el trebuie ajutat -

pe ca

The trend of modern didactics is to transform the subject, participating in the educational act, from the observer of own development in key player of his own transformation. Formal framework through which students will learn to capture different relationships between prior knowledge and new knowledge through personal developed solutions can be the problem-solving approach. This will require students to mobilize intellectual and physical resources. The Didactic of Physical Education, as other sciences do, the problem-solving approach must go through specific stages. These specific steps are:

- Stage I: is the situation-problem analysis and formulation of questions to clarify it;;

- Stage II, which has a strong analytical nature, requires careful analysis of the shape of skill;;

- Stage III, - Stage IV, which has a highly synthetic role;; - Stage V, which will eliminate the means with the lowest influences in skill learning.


poate constitui problematizarea care va oblig -

(Buruc 2000, 157).

-

etarea

efortului personal 2006, 346).

(De Bono 2003, 242)

colab. 2004, 141) pentru a ajunge la ceea ce ne dorim.

problemelor fiind baza gândirii

2003, 242).

în care s

colab. 2004, 141), iar acestea vor

- astfel,

care se va confrunta studentul (Jinga,

Capacitatea cadrelor didactice de a

prin

va cuprinde un ansamblu de -

antreneze aptitudinile creat

elementelor semnificative pentru Cadrul didactic îi

aplicând pe parcursul procesului, ori de

predare-


rea

etape specifice. Pentru a ne putea expune mai bine punctul de vedere vom apela la un exemplu practic, exemplu pe

cadrul domeniului nostru de studiu.

ste: < Cum

ind de necesitatea de a ordona

cunoscut la necunoscut.

-

- de alegere dintr-un ansamblu de acte motrice cunoscute pe acelea care sunt

-

- de sesizarea a di

actele motrice, etc.).

-e a

realiza independent, în grup sau frontal.

Etapa I -

clarificarea acesteia. Trebuie început prin

procesului didactic, in exemplul nostru,


abaterilor de la regulament.

Exemplificare: Care este obiectivul

-a executat

le individuale sunt clarificate cu ajutorul colegilor. Rolul

etapa a II-a care

Cârstea 2000, 53). Problematizarea propriu- unerea problemei în subprobleme, divizarea

Exemplificare: Care este ordinea actelor motrice care compun deprinderea

deprinderii?

În etapa a III-a se vor analiza

deoparte.

Rolul profesorului este de a veghea,

or nota toate

puncte de vedere subiective evident argumentate cât mai riguros.

-pia

Exemplificare: se pot

specifice membrelor inferioare? Care

realizarea unei desprinderi de la sol cât mai eficiente?

Etapa a IV-a

propriu de

singuri la concluzii corecte. Încrederea în


Faza 1 -‐ ex. 1

-‐ ex. 2

-‐ ex. 3

Faza 2 -‐ ex. 1

-‐ ex. 2

-‐ ex. 3

Faza 3 -‐ ex. 1

-‐ ex. 2

-‐ ex. 3

Faza 4 -‐ ex. 1

-‐ ex. 2

-‐ ex. 3

Faza 5 -‐ ex. 1

-‐ ex. 2

-‐ ex. 3

Faza 6 -‐ ex. 1

-‐ ex. 2

-‐ ex. 3

Faza 7 -‐ ex. 1

-‐ ex. 2

-‐ ex. 3

În etapa a V-a

Pentru ca instruirea prin

-

(Buruc 2000, 157).

Pe întreg

-back pozitiv la

(Jinga, Ist :

- ;;

- -:

-

pentru rezolvarea problemei. Implicarea

:

-

-convingeri;;

- fiecare student are posibilitatea de

care îi sunt utile în construirea noilor :

-

-

devine profu

necesare la finele acestei faze de aplicare

În ultima parte a strategiei de instruire prin problematizare propunem

fiecare student va primi o deprindere

61 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Problematizarea în Didactica e

Bibliografie

Alexei Mircea. 2005. Atletism: tehnica probelor. Cluj-Napoca: Editura Presa

Buruc Maria. 2000. Arad: Editura Servo-Sat. Cârstea Gheorghe. 2000. Editura Anda. De Bono Edward. 2003. rtea Veche.

Cluj-Napoca: Editura Dacia.

Manual de pedagogie. ALL.

-Ovidiu. 2009. Profesorul d esucces: 59 de principiide pedagogie


Alina Pamfil, Prof. PhD, Babe -Bolyai University

[email protected]

ABSTRACT:

KEYWORDS: literatur pentru copii, problematizare, text, lectur , lizibilitate

Una din mizele majore ale studiului

(descifrare/decodare a literelor, silabei,

1), procesul

1 -

dintr-un

I-IV:

vede

dimensiune ce înscr- liant între


de text2

exclusivitate, asupra unor criterii ce pot informa corect selectarea textelor:

-un

nu numai autorilor de m

n

, incluzând ambele tipuri de

astfel ambiguitatea celor doi -Vrânceanu, 2001, p. 196).

2

constitui o unitate de comunicare. În studiile de

conexiunile temporale, lexicale...;; b. superstructura

planuri ale textului permit crearea unor tipologii

macrostructura l global

Cuq, 2003, p. 236-237).

Pornind de la aceste premise,

demers problematizant, relativ extins,

textelor în clasele primare. Demersul

repere/parametri. reperele ce permit selectarea textelor din

în paginile aîn jurul unui concept pe care îl numesc

Circumscrierea conceptelor de

-,


structurarea scenariilor didactice consacrate lecturii.

corectarea unui discurs curricular prea

interoga din punctul de vedere al valorilor pe care le transmit.

textului literar

textul literar ca suport al lecturii. Obiectivele vizate prin programele de

realizarea acestui deziderat începe în

structurarea strategiilor fundamentale. E vorba de strategia de a construi sens la

i text sau de a-

Pentru formarea acestor strategii,

-au consacrat, de-a lungul timpul, drept cale

textului non-literar, didactica primarelor

suport lingvistic privilegiat în formarea

discipline.

deopotr

pentru a transmite mesaje psihologice, i nu

tratarea textului literar ca loc al

acelei perioade în care lectura se

(contea

criteriul de ierarhizare a textelor este gradul de accesibilitate.

cititoril


impune

devine simultan intrare în culturii.

textul literar ca obiect cultural.

cu mult obiectivele formulate de

descifrare a textelor. Dintre acestea

literaturii de a releva, prin calitatea

posibile de mare complexitate: lumi a

nucleul cultural comun la nivel de

lor permite, în timp, structurarea unui

-

aceste categorii poate informa corect a doua modalitate de interogare, de

selectare a textelor: selectarea lor din

primelor texte oferite elevilor spre eforturile de

in statu nascendi pus în pericol.

rânduri, propune drept conc

lizibilitatea componentei lingvistice a textului;; 2. relieful clar al structurii

cititorului.

III. 1. Lizibilitatea

pr


Conform acestor parametri se poate

cuvinte ce c

pronume).

În programe, lizibilitatea este

altrefer atât la rescrierea/repovestirea textelor literare dificile, la procurarea sau

consacrate lexicului.

Prorescriere se impune, în primul rând, în cazul textelor literare cu lexic dificil

ce

textului literar

iar în cazul textelor greu lizibile,

(Dornan, Rosen, Wilson, s.a., pp. 73-110)

op

Ghiozdanul fermecat de Katia Königsberg

compuse în acest mod. Subliniez, de

clare

elevilor.

de Maria, într-o zi (n

rezultatul întâlnirii Mariei, la un semafor,

necunoscuta îi atinge ghiozdanul cu o -

mboane.


-

III.2. Structura textelor

textelor

povestirea, legenda etc.) sunt mai accesibile decât cele descriptive sau

prin

splata ei) cu simboluri remodelate (ghiozdanului greu la plecare

-

-

t exprima, întotdeauna, ceea

(Hanauer, 2008).

Capacitatea elevilor mici de a trece

ghicitori un tip de text structurat frecvent prin transfer metaforic. În ceea

s

sau animale umanizate.


Exemplific prima categorie, cea a textelor ce produc zâmbetul, cu Ce bucluc e în papuc din Cocostârcul Gât-Sucit ptul

compun volumul al Luciei

versurile lor, transferul metaforic este explicit, transparent: metaforele

- -

prin poeziile

(vol. Poezii-copii Surâsul

lirica pentru copii.

Ce bucluc e în papuc

Ce bucluc e în papuc

În papucul

La intrarea în papuc,

-

Zâna n-a dereticat

-a intrat

-a dormit pe jos, sub pat.

Vara,

Noaptea,

La bunici

Nu dorm dezvelit

Cri, cri !

Podul

Azi am fost pod!

Într-

Atunci am întins degetul


- -n obraz

- -

De ce n-am, precum ciuperca,

Surâsul

Altfel, de ce mi-ar surâde?

III.3. Problematica textului

U

specifice 3

integral

--

interioare

teme, ci de perspectivele din care acestea sunt abordate;; perspective marcate de subiectivitatea creatorului, de

ui

3 În , un studiu ce

predominante, Vistian Goia circumscrie o serie de -

povestirilor cu animale, sau lumile romanului de aventuri (Goia, 2000, pp. 14-16). În La littérature de jeunesse, Cristian Chele

realului (ex.: problemele

enigmele, aventurile feerice);; (Chelebourg, Marcoin , 2007, pp. 90-117)


mea, selectarea textelor pentru elevii

Amintiri din

pot fi reduse, semnificativ, prin

-un mod în care copilul nu o poate face. De

doar acele

a naratorului se aude vag sau deloc.

primul text poate fi oferit elevilor mici în

imposibilul pe care numai copiii le

-

eu, în

dragi

este greu-

-ar fi pe lume ceasuri,

Timpul n-ar mai trece, zic...

-ca-

-

De n-

-

-al patrulea pitic:

De n-

sâmburi n-

-ca-

-al treilea pitic:

-ar fi pe lume

Nasuri, n-

-

-al doilea pitic:

-ca-


motanul când era pisic

-

-

-

-

Nu avansez

ce se înscriu greu în aria de cuprindere a elevilor mici.

privi

Unul din locurile comune ale studiilor

edificare4

de tipuri de texte mituri, basme, ce

modele comportamentale.

rezum doar la a sublinia necesitatea de a

care l

4 educ

or cultMarcoin, 2007, p. 64-

81).


d

textelor ce trimit spre lumea oamenilor

global din Puiul - pofida

motoului, din lumea animalelor în cea a oamenilor, decât cu riscul de a perturba setul de valori, oricum în formare, al

p -o de-umane;; un tip de comportament exclus

refer, de asemenea la responsabilitatea ntele o are pentru copilul

Dar problematica textului,

de valori acronice sau care

literar: ipostazieri

mici este o proprietate ce are, în viziunea

Cuantificarea valorii formative se poate realiza, în clasele primare, prin interogarea modului în care textele ce

- liant

IV.1. Texte -

În linii mari, nucleul literaturii pentru copii cel care a legat

poate fi reprezentat, în primul rând, prin basme,

moralizatoare oricât de bine nu face

5.

5

Literatura pentru


împlini prin parcurgerea unor drumuri -

traversarea unor praguri fizispirituale (proba durerii, a fricii, proba

reintegrarea eroului/eroinei în lumea de unde a pornit sau integrarea în lumea

-un

manifesta).

Putem invoca, de asemenea,

care aceste texte schematice, dar

- elei-

copii.

, în (Onojescu, Pamfil, 2006, pp. 18-27).

numai, locuite de animale, plante sau R

Jonathan Livingston etc.) 6 , fie prin

, Aventurile lui Tom Sawyer, etc.) 7

problemele specifice primelor vârste.

Alegoriile literaturii pentru copii

sunt constru

este indiscutabil. Alegoriile permit

prin intermediul unor registre ce

-

6 Termenul provine din grecescul allos agorein literar prin care, vorbindu-se despre un lucru, se

Le dictionnaire du littéraire, Paris, Puf, 2002, pp. 8-9). 7 Sensul prim al cuvântului este conservat în

Le dictionnaire du littéraire, ed. cit., p. 388).


Saint-

(reprezentate de Cezar Petrescu sau Gellu Naum prin istoriile cu Fram sau Apolodor), dificultatea de a accede la o

în formele/treptele de zbor pe care le

literatura pent

cu personaje-animale sau -obiecte, istorii încheiate printr-

exact trecerea lor în limbajele moderne ale benzii desenate sau desenului animat.

Spre deosebire de alegorii,

texte cu dimensiuni adeseori considerabile, definite prin complexitatea

Dimensionate istoric, psihologic, social,

un

sugestiile referitoare la perioada -a.

pentru copii cuprinde nu numai texte

-orizare sau prin

texte lirice. Dintre caracteristicile acestei arii textuale, selectez metafora în dubla

metafora instituie un alt tip de vedere

-

-o opiilor;;

Transcriu, de asemenea, un fragment din -

Simt (sau poate numai mi se pare)/

Minune).

În proximitatea acestui centru ce


(Bunicul despre cele patru rase);; a doua

personalimportante (

).

problematicii, ci la nivelul modului de

Iat

varianta unei alegorii dimensionate ironic;; un registru gustat de copii din

Ziua în care a fugit somnul

într-

-

este coca de cozonac. Are un cap oval, cu

întotdeauna are într-casetofon cu cântece de adormit copiii,

este singur pe lume;; mama lui, Odihna,

una din zonele de interes ale copiilor de Bronto,

Valentin Nicolau, cartea spune povestea

face într-u monologul

interior al personajului principal.

lumea l

aventurile lui Bronto

V. Concluzii

Concluziile acestui studiu se


CRITERII DE

PARAMETRI DEFINITORII SPECIFICE

Criteriul Lizibilitate (lungime, lexic

Sunt oare lungimea textului, lexicul

accesibile?

Structura

Este textul

un model descriptiv sau narativ canonic?

textului Este oare

textului adecvat orizontului de

Criteriul

culturale categoria

-liant

Se înscrie textul, prin

mesaj global în categoria

aspecte

umane?

categoria

Se înscrie textul, prin

mesaj global în categoria

prezentul copilului cititor?

Demersul didactic descris în aceste

criteriu ce vizde dimensiuni intrinseci discursului

produce efect estetic.

adecv

b. adecvarea textului la orizontul de

lui la mize formative

criterii -estetice în , criteriul valorii estetice se

sine qua non

perspe

textului din punct de vedere estetic: un

câteva linii.


obiecte estetice. Afirm, în continuare,

în m

teze

(precum portretul Ilenei Cosânzene

pragurile/probele simbolice pe care le

care textul le c

sens. În aur

multipl

-

istoria mezinului de-i reda

fiului iubitor.

genera efect estetic este al doilea semn

lingvistice uni

o

imaginar (ex.: tehnica suspansului, formulele mediane ale basmelor;; tehnicile de amplificare a metaforelor


punctuale, pe de o parte,

ansamblului, pe de aa aminti tehnicile rafinate prin

artistice dobândesc atributele

fantasticului, eroicului, ui etc.

Opresc aici desenul sumar al dimensiunii un

parcurs didactic ideal pretinde, mai întâi,

formele de adecvare conturate în paginile acest studiu.

78 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Selectarea textelor literare în

Bibliografie

Bidu-Vrânceanu, Angela,2001

Chelebourg, Cristian, Marcoin, Francis, La littérature de jeunesse, Paris, Armand Colin 2007

Cuq, Jean-Pierre coord., Dictionnaire de didactique du français, Paris, CLE International, 2003,

Dornan, Selecting, Assessing, and Introducing Texts and Materials, în Multiple voices, multiple texts, Reading in the secondary content areas, Boynton/Cook Publishers, Heinemann, Portmouth, NH

Goia, Vistian, Literatura pentru copii ,Cluj-Napoca, Editura Napoca Star, 2000

Horowitz, Rosalind, Talking Texts, How Speech and Writing interact in School Learning, Mahwah, New Jersey, London, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, 2008

Onojescu, M., Pamfil, A., , , Cluj-

79 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Problem-Solving in Teaching Literature

The Problem-Solving in Teaching Literature

, Assist. Prof. PhD, Babe -Bolyai University

[email protected]

ABSTRACT:

KEYWORDS: problem-solving approach, primary-school literature, problematizing questions

A. Defining problematization- a survey

Apparently, it is difficult to link problematization strategy to an approach of analysis and interpretation of a literary text. The main reason that explains this incompatibility is the specific difference between the sciences so called real and the science of literature. The former operate by exact data while the latter relies on imaginary and imagination which are impossible to quantify with objectivity. Judging a literary text by means of problem-solving strategies remains a complex task.

The definitions of problematization

underline several important aspects. First, the practice of problematization method requires a typical scenario. A problem-situation mainly needs two components. On the one hand, there is the knowledge concerning a definite topic that someone acquired in advance. On the other hand, there is the element of surprise and mystery that should be added to this theoretical background. The polish scholar Wincent Okon argues that a problem is a structure that contains insufficient data. Thus learning by problematization means to search for this data and to prove that it is true. When a person strives to solve a problem, he/she focuses on the whole

This article tends to clarify several aspects concerning the use of problem-solving pattern for teaching literature in primary schools. Our approach does not touch upon the difficulties that the research could meet in defining problematization as a method, or as a didactic principle. First, we try to point out a few constants that are found in the problematization theoretical approach. Second, this approach wants to offer practical solutions for dealing with problematization in teaching literature for children of primary school age. We shall focus upon the potential mistakes that a teacher could do when one analyses an epic text by the use of problem-solving method.

80 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Problem-solving approach in teaching literature during primary school structure of the problem. One analyses the mutual relation between the elements of this structure, and discovers the missing items and the hidden link between the known data. The subject completes the structure. The whole project demands an active spirit from those learning how to have a conscientious attitude towards the problems they solved. (Okon 1978, 50).

The scholars Robert M. Gagné and Leslie J. Briggs describe the steps of a problem-solving approach underlying the principle of circularity. In order to solve a problem, the subject combines the old acquired rules and the new one, that he uses to solve the present problem:

brought together by the individual to achieve the solution to his problem. And when he has solved it, he has learned a new rule, more complex than those he has used in combination. The newly learned rule will be stored in his memory

(Gagné and Briggs 1974, 46). The process of discovering the best solution to a certain problem has to accomplish three stages: performance (the new strategy should solve similar problems), internal conditions (the subject investigates by subordinate rules and learnt abilities), external conditions (the problem is completely new, and the verbal guidance is missing). It is essential that scenario discovery of the solution validates three stages: performance (new strategy must operate in similar cases), internal conditions

(subject investigates by subordinate rules and learnt skills), and finally, external conditions (the situation-problem is completely innovative and guide word missing). (Gagné and Briggs 1974, 44)

Modern approaches of problematization in Romanian research continues on the concentric pattern that creates a situation-problem. We do not seek to exhaust the topic, and consequently we sketch a diachronical synopsis of the contributions in the problematization research. I. Cerghit fixed distinguishing marks of the method in his volume published in 1976 (Cerghit 1976). A question becomes a problem if it causes a state of wonder that is able to issue an epistemic feeling to which the subject is trying to find solutions. The professor resumed this definition in the volume reissued in 2006. A situation-problem designates a contradictory situation resulting from simultaneously experiencing two realities (both cognitive and motivational) mutually incompatible. On one hand, there is past experience and on the other hand there is the element of novelty and surprise, the unknown that the subject confronts, which opens the way to search and discovery, to intuition of solutions and some relations apparently absent between old and new. They say the question becomes a problem when it generates a state of curiosity, of bewilderment, of surprise or uncertainty, of anxiety before an obstacle to be conquered, before the theoretical or practical difficulties hard to overcome, to

81 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Problem-solving approach in teaching literature during primary school be solved, and before the novelty of unknown. (Cerghit 2000, 156)

The scholars in Cluj continued the line already outlined in problematization research. Thus, for the authors of the volume Teaching experience and creativity, a topic becomes a problem if it provokes a reaction of surprise. (Ionescu and Radu, 1987) The volume Strategy of teaching and learning defines problematization as a cognitive interaction between subject and object whose specificity is given by the following three features: "There are certain gaps in the pupils' knowledge system;; it causes need knowledge;; activity is aimed at removing an area of uncertainty, at discovering knowledge or ac1992, 84). The algorithm to solve the situation-problem involves several steps: perception of the problem itself and the first indices to solve it. (Now teacher describes the problem, exposes the facts, explains certain causal relationship, etc.);; depth study of problem data and restructuring. (It is a moment of independent activity);; searching for possible solutions to the problem;; analysis of conditions, formulating assumptions and checking them;; getting the final result and its assessment on the basis of comparing various versions

Basically, teaching research reveals a constant scheme for construction of a situation-problem approach. There are two invariants with creative potential in this model. On the one hand, the model functions on the basis of successive

gathering of information and knowledge that helps student to find an appropriate response to the problem. On the other hand, challenge and novelty remain absolutely indispensable ingredients. But what brings originality and variation consists more in the specificity of every discipline than in the very stages of the method.

Didactics specialized in the field of Romanian language and literature in primary schools and published after 1998 do not pay attention to problem-solving case, and place it on the side of traditional teaching-learning strategies.

the recent book of Alina Pamfil, Romanian language and literature in primary school-complementary perpective (Pamfil 2009) ignore problem-solving approach in teaching literary

Teaching the Romanian language in primary schools is the only exception. Its fifth reprinted edition in 2009 considers problem-solving pattern still relevant in analysing literary text at primary school level. His perspective is influenced by Polish scholar approach in the volume previously quoted and follows the line

this case consists in the subtlety with which it marks the difference between true and false problem-questions: "If the answer to some questions posed by the teacher is entered in the text or can be easily revealed by covering some sources of information without establishing new connections, we are faced with false

82 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Problem-solving approach in teaching literature during primary school

B. Poblematization as a method to study literary texts in primary grades

We start to describe the particularities of the problematization method using the fairy tale Blue Horse (Ziedonis, 1989) as a case-study. The Lithuanian writer's fairy-tale relates the history of a blue horse, whom the trade union of the horses elects to be the immortal horse of dreams. The analysis of this text can predict a set of questions that create false problems. A question aimed for defining or characterization of the character Who is the horse? or How does it look like? raises no creative effort from the student, but rather encourages him to reproduce data provided by the literary text. (Potential answers: The ponny is an immortal animal, and He is blue and He has blue wings, respectively). Also, both questions that refer to the main character's actions What does the horse eat?, How does he live? or Why is it difficult to see him? may not constitute real problem-situations. Answering them does not imply the existence of an element of novelty, but only reproduction of data offered by text. The pony eats blue-bell

umbrellas. He lives alone and is immortal. People can see him quite rarely because he lives in that blue horizon where they look full of hope.

Stylistic analysis as well creates possible cases of misunderstanding a solving-problem approach. The task of naming the figure of speech from the title (blue fairy tale) or from the syntagms defining the main character (blue horse) will not promote creativity. Naming the figure of speech in this context involves nothing but matching knowledge about epithet with the reality of the text written by Imants Ziedonis. Identifying these syntagms as epithets comes at the end of an approach of recognition and not of invention.

Formulating a solving-problem task requires simultaneous access to the poetic and the referential function of language (in Jakobson's terms). In other words, resolving this problematizing question demands notice of the central allegory of the text in fact, the blue horse stands for imagination but also for the expressivity in discourse. Thus, we mention a question as a possible problematizing-context for this fairy-tale: Why is the world blue for everyone who rides the Blue Horse? (Potential answer: Because one can imagine it blue). The person who luckily rides the Blue Horse sees all the world in blue: white rabbits are blue, white mushroom is blue, and bird cherry blossoms are blue as well. First, the answer to such a question meets the imperative to cause surprise to the reader. It assumes, by the syntagm the world is blue, a distance between the physical reality and the fictional one. Consequently, the search for solutions needs an interpretation approach the world is blue to the rider

83 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Problem-solving approach in teaching literature during primary school that rides the Blue Horse not because of the world itself, but due to his own imagination that helps him colour the universe. The key information that gives an hermeneutical indication concerns the fact that poets are the only persons who can bridle the Blue Horse usually the Blue Horse allows only the poets to bridle him. But, who knows, if you find a handful of blue oat...What do you say, do you have a handful of blue

This problematizing itinerary will only reconfirm the mechanism that Okon suggests in the volume previously quoted. The Polish scholar reveals that the intellectual effort implied by problem solving within the area of humanist disciplines comprises three levels. A problem of humanist type involves

of concrete situations, patterns and notional structures. (Okon 1978, 137)

The first level, that of concrete situations, circumscribes the deployment of narrative. Problematizing questions may relate in this case to the relationship between fiction and discourse, namely the gap between narrative logic and its representation in logical discourse. The Lithuanian tale does not facilitate such an approach. Narrative sequences are placed in a linear sequence without benefit of narrative technical artifices analepsis and prolepsis. The identity between narrative time and discourse time make it difficult, if not impossible, to formulate a problematizing question at this level.

Where a text for children is concerned the model immediate to readers is represented by the main character (or characters). The problematizing intervention of the teacher may focus on the hero. Without formulating questions whose answer involves repeating text data, a situation-problem can be created through a comparative task questions like How does Blue Horse look like ? or Whom does Blue Horse resemble? Its solution combines the details collected after careful reading the text with additional readings taken by students. Students' intellectual effort goes through the distance from the operation of

literary characters encountered in reading. A possible answer may be brought by comparing the character to Romanian heroes of fairy tales: Blue Horse resembles to the supernatural horse of the Romanian fairy tale Harap Alb. If the former eats only blue flowers, the later eats only hot embers. The Blue Horse is ridden only by poets, the other one only by Harap Alb.

On the level of notional structures the reader can build the concept of imagination through the analysis of the tale. Problematizing questions have the highest grade of difficulty because the possible solution does not refer to any detail of narrative construction or character. The question that I suggested (Why is the world blue for everyone who rides the Blue Horse?) can be answered by bringing together creativity and experience of previous readings.

84 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Problem-solving approach in teaching literature during primary school Didactic scenario in teaching literary texts to primary school pupils may rely on a problem-solving pattern but it should not overuse it. Problem-questions can be raised in studying literary epic texts in reading comprehension approach after the sense of words was explained.

The benefits of using this method to study the mechanism of the art of literature, par excellence a mechanism of the imagination mainly consist of three elements. First, the method relies on the dialogical principle of communication teacher makes a question to which students will find an answer. From the point of view of readers the problem-solving approach meets child's questioning nature. By using dialogue as an exemplary form of human relationship it maintains and enriches chicuriosity, which is the specific particularity of this psychological and biological development level. Second, questions-problem formulated on the basis of a literary text may encourage the child to browse other literary texts or to return to some texts he/she has already read in order to succeed in finding appropriate detail to decipher the literary puzzle. Third, problematizing a literay text at this age stimulates

abstract thinking and facilitates the connexion between details hidden in the message.

Approaching literary text by problematizing pattern reveals some drawbacks, however. The first lies in the bias and therefore lack of homogeneity of answers given to question-problems, which determines the difficulty of assessing them.

Besides, teachintervention proves to be complex. That is not due to the construction of the specific steps of problem-solving approach, but especially to the distinction between real and false problems. Keeping Umberto Eco's terminology, the distance between those two elements is in fact the distance between the critical interpretation and semantic of a text. (Eco 1996, 32). Semantic interpretation covers literal text size and it is configured by reading the proper sense of words. The false problem-situations aime this side of interpretation. However, critical interpretation looks for the meaning that is beyond the linear reality of the literary text and beyond the first meaning of words. The real problem-situation focuses on this type of interpretation.

85 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Problem-solving approach in teaching literature during primary school

Bibliography

Cerghit, Ioan, Methods of teaching (

Cerghit, Ioan, Methods of teaching (

Gagné, Robert M, Briggs, Leslie J., Principles of Instructional Design, Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc, 1974.

Ionescu, Miron, Radu, Ion, Cluj-Napoca, Dacia, 1987.

Strategies of teaching and learning (Strategii de

Eco, Umberto, Limits of interpretation ( , romanian translation

Methodology of teaching Romanian language to primary schools ( i limbii române în clasele primare)

Okon, Wincenty Problem-, romanian translation by Constantin

Pamfil, Alina, Romanian Language and Literatura in primary school

perpective complementare), Paralela 45, 2009

Didactic of Romanian language and literature in primary school (2005

Ziedonis, Imants Coloured tales (Basme multicolore), romanian translation by Ion

86 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Problematizing, a Modern Teaching Method

Problematizing, a Modern Teaching Method

Anca Porumb, Lect. PhD, Babe -Bolyai University

[email protected]

ABSTRACT:

KEYWORDS: teaching methods, the classification of methods, problem-learning , autonomous thinking, feed-back

A. Theoretical points

1. Teaching/ learning foreign languages in Romania

It has already been some ten year since we began to make the difference between the traditional and modern didactics. Ever since, the concepts of traditional and modern contest their efficacy in the process of acquiring a foreign language. The partisans of the traditional method claim that writing correctly from a lexical and grammatical point of view in a different language is

rules or schemes or knowing how to declaim words out of context was the only way of acquiring a language. The oral had no place among the activities proposed by the teacher because explaining the language was more important than speaking it.

As everywhere in the wide world, the era of the industrial revolution had a great impact, especially on teaching foreign

after having completed the twelve years of study, have radically changed. The passive acquisition of a language has no use any more. By all means, we must move from the explicative-informative method to explicative-formative one, which provides the habits and abilities development in a foreign language. Once aware of the harmful effect of such a method purely theoretical, the specialists chose to find solutions in order to make the teaching/learning process useful.

Beginning with 1960, in Romania, didactics, which wants to be modern, passes through a reevaluation period of

starting point of this measure will certainly be the different way of looking

The present study offers an overview upon the changes that took place in the approach of the didactic methods in the last twenty years. It reopens the discussion concerning the classification of the different didactic methods and, on this basis, it tries to circumscribe the peculiarity of problem-learning in the study of languages


the learner. He will be no longer a passive presence. On the contrary, the entire teaching process is centered on him. The learner becomes the central

a lot of Romanian specialists worked hard to make teaching methods taxonomy which is to be practice during a foreign language class: (Ionescu, Radu 2001, pp. 132-134)

a. Classification of classical methods:

- methods based on action : exercise, practical work, workshop, book wok;;

- iconic methods: demonstration, observation, trips and visits ;;

- symbolic methods: exposition, conversation.

b. Classification of classical methods according to the didactic goal:

- new lesson teaching methods, practice the acquired, forming new skills and habits: elicitation, conversation, demonstration, working with the textbook, observation, exercise;;

- verifying the acquired knowledge, verifying the skills and habits: oral and written tests;;

c. Classification of teaching methods:

- systematic knowledge presentation;;

- conversation;;

- problematizing;;

- demonstration;;

- experimental work;;

- exercise;;

- individual activity;;

- group activity;;

- verifying and evaluation.

d. Classification of teaching methods:

- oral communication methods: presentation method, questionning, debates, problematizing ;;

- communication methods based on inner language: personal thinking;;

- written communication methods: reading;;

- working on the reality methods (direct and indirect): systematic and independant observation, experimental work, demonstrative methods;;

- practical methods (authentic et fictive): exercise, case study, projects, play method, dramatizing;;

e. Classification of teaching methods:

- heuristic methods: explanation, conversation, problematizing, discovering, demonstration, independant observation, group activity;;

- algorithmic methods: exercise, algorithm;;


- stimulating methods: observation, oral questionning, written tests, docimological tests, exams ;;

f. Classification of teaching methods:

- knowledge communication methods (oral presentation and oral conversation) : explanation, description, information, debate, magistral course or discussion, colloque;;

- written communication methods: reading, textbook working;;

- reality research methods (directe and indirecte) : systematical and independant observation, experimental work, learning by discovering, demonstration ;;

- methods based on practical activity (real or fictive) : exercise, algorithm, practical activities, projects, didactical games.

2. Problematizing or the way to thinking autonomy

The desire to challange the learner to a dialogue with the teacher is a rule of the modern didactics. We could observe the variety of the proposed methods. Among them, conversation, questioning or problematizing are by far the most appreciated and practice in the partnership born between the teacher and his students. The last method will be the main subject of our study, which will try to explain and to give examples of using the problematizing way when acquiring a foreign language.

borrowed from the philosophy and it is Kudreavtev, in 1981, who speaks for the first time about the learning psychology. His theory comes from the idea that there are analogies between the instructive process and the scientific research. If the researcher is always trying to understand the phenomena and to enrich his knowledge, the learner will gain more autonomy if, instead of memorizing the information, he develops a productive and creative thinking. Practicing this method means a lot of

not a new thing to know that

motivation. What the teacher must pay attention to is choosing the problem. This one must not have a high degree of difficulty if we want the goal to be achieved.

For long time considered the main method of teaching, the problematizing method can be achieved in several steps:

1. the perception of the problem and the clues in order to solve it, where the teacher describes the problem and the students are willing to solve it;;

2. the study and the understanding of the problem trough an independent activity ;;

3. the search of possible solutions, meaning formulating and verifying hypothesis ;;


4. acquiring the final result and evaluation by comparing the differences.

Having these four steps the learner must get through so that he could find the final solution;; we suggest a practical example to finish the study.

At the beginning we mentioned the traditional didactics, which considered the grammar-translation method the best way to acquire a foreign language. Taking into account the fact that modern didactics has already admitted the grammar importance, our study is a challenge: problematizing a very moot theme in French grammar, using the Subjunctive Mood in Subordinate Clauses, a real nightmare for Romanian students.

B. Using Subjunctive Mood in Subordinate Clauses

As a method, problematizing will lead the

meaning to discover the situations which demand the subjunctive mood use. This is not an easy task at all, taking into account the fact that the problem does not exist in Romanian grammar. A comparative study will be of no use for the teacher to explain it better. On the contrary, this would be rather dangerous for the students.

So, the only possibility to communicate the new problem and then to develop their habits and abilities is discovering the rules by themselves.

First of all, the teacher must be aware of the fact that challenging the students to think requires a great effort from him, as he makes up and respects some conditions to formulate the problem:

- the teacher will provide the necessary items to find the final solution ;;

- the teacher will organize the knowledge already acquired so that the students could be led to the final result;;

- the teacher will always go back to the already known points.

Lesson type: mixt lesson

Subject: using subjunctive mood in subordinate clauses.

Skills: to discover the situations which demand the subjonctive mood use in the subordinate clause.

Lesson plan:

1. Problems to be followed: the new situations which appear in the subordinate clauses (the verb forms already known asked by the presence of a certain verb, expression or word in the main clause).

2. Knowledge necessary to solve the problem :

- rules to form the subjunctive mood ;;


- verb forms for the Present subjunctive.

3. Problems to be solved: Identifiez les formes verbales dans les phrases

emploi :

a. nisse plus vite son devoir.

b. Crois- ?

c. Il est possible que tu fasses une confusion.

d. Il est le seul qui sache la vérité.

e. jamais reçu.

f. courage de dire la vérité.

g. *Nous voulons connaître la solution finale.

The last example is given to the students with a very precise goal: to check their capacity of making the difference between the six situations where they

questions as a support, every sentence. The presence of the infinitive form will create a difficult moment of the lesson. Thus, we are now arrived to another part of problematizing. The students will learn about another useful rule for the correct subjunctive mood use: there must be different persons in the two clauses so that we could use the subjunctive mood.

Always remembering that the problematization during the foreign language class means pertinent questions of the teacher, who has the difficult task of forsawing some weak moments in the teaching/learning process, we must offer the students only the needed information because problematizing means after all the development of an independent and productive way of thinking.

4. Feed-back

After having discovered the mechanisms of using the subjunctive mood in the subordinate clauses, the students will be dragged along in different activities, each activity offering something new.

Example :

Mettez les verbes entre parenthèses au mode et au temps convenables :

1. Tu seras le dernier qui (jouir) de ce privilège.

2. *Nous espérons que nos amis

3. utile à ma rédaction.

4. meilleure attitude.

5. Il est possible que Marie (écrire) la

6. *Je veux (savoir) les détails.

7. Ils arriveront avant que tu (finir) le travail.


The sentences markes with asterisk will

understanding the differences in using the Subjunctive or the Indicative Moods.

1. Homework:

It will consist in one or two exercises which will cover the new situations discovered during the class concerning the subjunctive mood use in subordinate clauses.

Example:

Expliquez la présence du subjonctif dans les phrases suivantes:

1. Jean exige que tout le monde soit présent.

2. Tu voudrais que tes copains aient plus de courage.

3. il ait manqué le train.

4.

5. Il fut le premier qui donnât une réponse.

This study tried to show the importance of this teaching/learning method, both for students and French teachers. Discovering a rule, a mechanism is the best way for the students to develop their capacity of observing, analying and synthetizing the problems raised by the characteristics of each discipline. An inferential method of teaching process, problematizing makes the students have a very important role in teaching the problem, although the teacher is still the one who chooses it, formulates and controlls the lesson.

A formative method, problematizing will have an essential role in teaching and learning French language grammar, so rejected during the last decades when developing the communication skills has been the main concern of the didactics, forgetting an important aspect: mother tongue or foreign language, acquiring some grammar rules is the key of succes for the speaker to express himself correctly.

92 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Problematizing, a modern teaching method

Bibliography

Cuq, Jean-Pierre, Dictionnaire de didactique du français, Paris, CLE International, 2003. Ionescu, Miron, Radu, Ioan, , Ed. Dacia, Cluj-Napoca, 2001. Kudreavtev, T. V., Psihologia gândirii tehnice, Editura Didactica si Pedagogica, Bucuresti, 1981.

93 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Use of the Problem-Solving Method in Teaching Norwegian

The Use of the Problem-Solving Method in Teaching Norwegian

, Lect. PhD, Babe -Bolyai University

[email protected]

ABSTRACT:

KEYWORDS: brainstorming, creativity, individual work, learner autonomy, development, teacher-mediator, student knowledge

Modern didactics is in favour of an active method of assimilating knowledge and emphasizes the importance of the student's participation in the learning process. If traditional didactics considered the student to be a mere receiver of ready-made information provided by the teacher, the style proposed by modern didactics provides various opportunities of development, of stimulating creativity and of enabling a productive thinking.

The problem-solving method, together with other numerous teaching methods, belongs to modern didactics. Because this method emphasizes the uniqueness of each participant in the

learning process, develops cognitive thinking, urges interpersonal and intrapersonal communication and stimulates motivation, it is regarded as ''one of the most valuable methods of modern didactics'' (Albulescu, 2008: 51).

The problem-solving method generates a certain flexibility in the teaching process as opposed to traditional teaching which is directed towards the teacher's objectives which most of the times do not reflect the ones of the students'. Teaching can be compared to an instance of communication taking part between people who, under some circumstances (attendance in a classroom), consent to

This article tries to reveal the importance of using the problem-solving method when teaching the didactics of the Norwegian language. In the first part is constructed on a parallel between the teaching methods belonging to traditional and modern didactics and are presented the strengths and weaknesses of each of them. Afterwards are analyzed the factors that enable the use of the problem-solving method and are discussed the stages that a teacher should follow in order to reach, along with his students, to a favourable solution. The emphasis is laid on the students and on the opportunities and skills they develop during their active participation in this teaching method.

94 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Use of the Problem-Solving Method in Teaching Norwegian exchange information. On one side there are the students who receive new pieces of information from the teacher and on the other side there is the teacher who requests a feedback from his students. This feedback represents an evidence that they have understood the transfer of information. If this simple instance of communication, governed by established rules, does not take place, then both the teacher and the students will come to a standstill. Moreover ''strained relations or conflict rouse the students' feelings of aversion, generate a strained, tensed, unconfortable situation, which influences in a negative manner the teacher-student relation''(Albulescu, 2008:23).

In most cases it is the teacher who holds the key role in the classroom, the one who establishes the objectives, administrates time, structures the course's content and brings the new pieces of information. Having in mind Roland Barthes' concept referring to the " Death of the Author" , Earl Stevick (1998:35) plays a bit with these words and states that in some circumstances teachers monopolize the classroom to such an extent that we deal with the teacher's refusal to disappear.

The problem-solving method also provides a favorable circumstance for priorities to change. Reference is made to both the teacher's and the students' priorities. If traditional didactics constrained students to memorize a piece of information without this one being checked by the teacher to see if students have followed a logic thread to understand it, the problem-solution

method gives the teacher the opportunity to encourage students to get accustomed to an open, creative thinking, to ask questions related to the new pieces of information learned and to develop their communication and analysis skills. In this way the student no longer has the status of a mere receiver to whom is sent a ready-made piece of information. Instead, the student is rediscovering his creative dimension of personality, becomes a seeker of the inner truth that exceeds the dimension of ''believe, don't question it''. Students begin to have courage to state their own ideas and in this way the learning process acquires a personal dimension. Each student becomes unique, differentiating himself from his colleagues and the class is no longer a homogeneous unity which takes over a simple message sent by the teacher.

By using the problem-solving teaching method students have the opportunity to reach a solution on their own if the teacher provided in advance the frame and all the necessary pieces of information. In this way students begin to trust their reasoning, their analysis skills and gain their right to take part in discussions.

The students who learn according to the problem-solution method develop a holistic view of the learning process by analyzing situations from different perspectives (Wadhwa, 2005:10,14). The concern of this method is to enable the understanding and the finding of the problem that is to be answered rather than the solution (Ryan, Cooper,

95 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Use of the Problem-Solving Method in Teaching Norwegian 2008:310). The students are encouraged to pay more attention to the process of finding the solution rather than on the product itself .

Besides the beneficial effects that come out from the development of the cognitive and productive dimensions the problem-solving method provides the teacher with the opportunity to know his students better, to find out details related to their ambitions and thinking, motivational factors or reasoning and synthesizing abilities. These pieces of information are particularly important for a teacher who is not only interested in teaching, but also in the result of his actions. Thus the teacher can adapt his teaching style to suit the students' needs and to channel his efforts in an appropriate direction. If the explanatory / expository method does not provide the teacher with the opportunity to be aware of his students' personality, way of thinking or their goals, the problem-solving method on the other hand offers in a direct manner these clues. Therefore ''the teacher's role is to identify and stimulate the operations that represent for the students the foundation of an active assimilation of knowledge'' (Albulescu, 2008:27).

Another aspect brought into discussion by the problem-solution method is the students' creativity. There is no doubt that a teaching method focused on the development of personal thinking would trigger a cognitive effort that stimulates the use of some creative abilities and the finding of an intrinsic motivation in the learning process. In

this context students discover themselves through the situations they deal with.

Discussing about creativity one can state that this one must exist on both sides in the learning process, both on the teacher's and the students' side. The teacher will be able to draw the student's attention by providing a good coordination of the teaching process and by finding problem-solving situations that would arise the students' attention. On one hand all these require training, a good knowledge of the material that is going to be taught, but also a good knowledge of the students' abilities, because the effectiveness of teaching is reflected in the creativity shown by the students and in the opportunities created to support their productivity. On the other hand, the lack of creativity can generate boring courses, that are teacher centered and are characterized by one-way instances of communication. This situation arises because of the simple reason that ''determining students to learn by heart what has been taught is obvious easier than organizing, guiding, coordinating your personal work and leading them, in this way, towards a personal way of reasoning'' (Albulescu, 2008:22).

However, students should also try to be creative, and more than that, they should try to be unique and to appeal to their own way of thinking. The other students in the class will also benefit from their creativity because they will have the opportunity to know not only their teacher's views, but also their

96 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Use of the Problem-Solving Method in Teaching Norwegian colleagues' thoughts. The outcome of this sharing of ideas is a good collaboration between students. Thus the class will be more homogeneous. The students' creativity can be better observed when they are given the chance to express themselves. A student's creativity depends to a large extent on the level of trust in oneself. If the teacher creates a proper framework for expressing personal ideas, in which students feel safe, then they will undoubtedly want to express their ideas. The problem-solution method is sustained to a great extent by motivation. This is the reason why the teacher has to create situations that would trigger the students' interest and curiosity.

The freedom of speech gained from the implementation of this method enables students to escape their confort zone. This zone offered them safety and a worry-free situation as regards their stated opinions. Once students escape this zone they enter a "new, uncertain environment in which unpredictable situations might arise" ( Mehisto, Marsh, Frigols 2008:112). After students get accommodated to the requirements of this method they will appreciate it because this represents a way to escape routine.

The problem-solution method based on a critical thinking represents a suitable solution for extending the dimensions of learning (Mehisto, Marsh, Frigols 2008:139). Students are encouraged to develop a critical thinking, to establish links between new and old

information, to analyze situations and to offer reasonable solutions. In this way they are going to understand better the learning process, will develop wider limits for their thinking and will identify easily the importance of each stage.

The solution-problem method has some points in common with another teaching approach that favours interaction, namely brainstorming. The brainstorming represents a perfect strategy of gathering on a given topic as many pieces of information as possible. The data obtained can reflect what has been taught or could make reference to future acquisitions that have not yet been taught. There are various differences as concerns these two ways of gathering informations: different objectives, method of gathering data or their analysis. The rules of brainstorming refer to: the avoidance of giving verbal criticism to someone else's idea, to the neutral character of the language used, to the acceptance of all ideas (the crazier the better) and quantity that is more important than quality (Mehisto, Marsh, Frigols 2008:143). If brainstorming provides a wider and a more diverse perspective, the problem-solving method reduces that perspective and guides it towards a given objective, creating likewise more structured pieces of information. When teaching this method non-verbal language does not have to be neutral, criticism is encouraged because it provides the solution, but as regards quality or quantity, the first is desirable.

Adrian Ashman states that in order to find the solution to a problem we need

97 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Use of the Problem-Solving Method in Teaching Norwegian three components - one is motivation, one classroom management and the last one is general knowledge (Ashman, Conway, 1993: 21). He proved this theory by using a Venn chart. The idea that the author suggests is that by modifying the area of a circle, this will automatically have implications for the other two components. The learning process will have other characteristics and qualities if, for example, the circle of the motivation component is diminished. The circle with the classroom management will probably increase if the teacher is interested in having a good classroom management and teaching methods, rather than stirring motivation. If on the other hand, the teacher focuses on using students' general background, then classroom management and the students' motivation will have lower values. Ideally it would be to maintain a balance between these components providing in this way the basic conditions and the proper environment for

conducting the teaching process.

The case study that follows describes the use of the problem-solving method when

teaching Norwegian. On one hand there are the students who are going to be exposed to this method and the teacher is going to evaluate their knowledge. On the other hand there are the students who are going to learn how to use and apply this method while teaching during their pedagogic practice.

The easiest way to understanding is sometimes the personal experience. Likewise, during the didactics of the Norwegian language the problem-solving method is used because of two reasons: the first is that we want our students to understand the learning stages that take place during a learning process, and the second is because we want to use in an active way the knowledge acquired in Norwegian, because "although the problem-solving method was adopted (...) as an essentially pragmatic activity, defined not as an exercise in linguistic manipulation, but as a task which required the contingent use of language for its solution"(Widdowson 2003:124).

The use of this teaching method develops different characteristics depending on the intended objective. The methos can be used not only to improve the students' cognitive capacity but also the auditive, visual and understanding ones. Shalini Wadhwa ( 2005: 22,23) considers that the problem-situation method has numerous advantages because it identifies the students' strengths and weaknesses, develops empathy and communication skills, encourages group work and provides a rapid way of assessing the student.

Illustration 1: The necessary components for solving a problem-solution situation

98 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Use of the Problem-Solving Method in Teaching Norwegian The student's expectations could generate a controversial situation when they are first introduced to this method, because many of them prefer to have courses that are based on memorazing or just receiving ready-made pieces of information. The novelty of the interactive method "where students are responsible for their own learning can be overwhelming" (Tarone,Yule 1991:9). Mark Robson (Robson, Stockwell 2005:22) has though another perspective on the reader's passive state stating that" those who speak and those who write create texts which later on readers and hearers fill them with meaning". Likewise the passive state of a reader can be also regarded as an opportunity to receive information and not as a mere state of inactivity.

-Bolyai University both as required and as optional courses. At the beginning of the courses students do not have knowledge of the Norwegian language, but they might have had some contact with the Nordic myths, with the Viking's history or with Ibsen's theater, which constitute the first stage of motivation. The problem-solving method can be put into practice only after the students have acquired a satisfactory vocabulary and they understand various grammatical concepts so that they can express their own ideas. Didactics is introduced in the curriculum after learning for three semesters.

Since most students are aged between 19 and 25 years, the teaching methods based on exposure, reading or

repetition generate a lack of interest. A cause of this is that at their age they feel the need to participate in discussions and debates that stimulate their creativity and their personal reflection. In the first phase of learning Norwegian the students depend on the teacher, they read texts, listen to Norwegian in language multimedia classrooms in order to learn the accents of this language. Students become children again for a while and they constantly ask the same questions: what? how? why ? in order to be able to understand better the Norwegian language. By communicating during the courses the students are using in the first stage the language and thus they put into practice the acquired vocabulary, and in the second stage, their express their ideas which are going to be analyzed.

There are explained as follows three components that influence the development of the teaching method based on finding a solution to a given problem

Motivation

The teacher has to find the best appealing way to introduce a problem-solving situation. If this method take into consideration the students' interests and desires then its success is guaranteed. The created situations have to be on one hand appealing, should contain already known information, but on the other hand should also contain new information that shouldn't exceed the students' level of understanding. By

99 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Use of the Problem-Solving Method in Teaching Norwegian paying attention to these details the teacher will stirr the students' interest and they will be motivated in order to find hypotheses, to develop a creative and a critical thinking.

If younger students often have fluctuating and diverging states of interest, on the other hand, for a college student learning a foreign language, in this case Norwegian, produces other motivational effects. If in the beginning the students are preoccupied only with acquiring new vocabulary for a course, in time their objectives become more and more complex.

Organization

The active methods of teaching allow students ''to have control over their learning process'' (Ashman, Conway 1993: 10). Sometimes the teacher has to make difficult decisions as regards lesson planning, since '' problem-solving situations are not solved by applying an algorithm or some rules learned previously, but in fact they require the discovery of a combination of rules that

2006:154).

The students must be informed about the various stages of the teaching process because in this way they can channel better their attention. Thus ''the goals of learning should be differentiated and should take the form of special tasks: to remember for a time'' (Ionescu, Radu, 2001:62), to read, to write etc. In order to get to the expected answer, the teacher must be a keen observer and

identify the strengths and weaknesses of each student.

There should be no discrepancy between the theoretical and the practical classroom management. These two classroom management states interrelate. One without the other leads to failure. Moreover it is useless to have a good classroom management in theory if the teacher fails, in practice, to send to the student the intended piece of information. This is undoubtedly true because ''the success of teaching is given to a great extent by the success of the communication instance'' (Ionescu , Radu, 2001:39).

The stages of organizing a problem-solving situation ease the path towards obtaining the desired result. A learning process is effective when ''the student deals with the incoming information in an organized and sistematic way'' (Ashman, Conway 1993: 50). When the teacher structures the course he tries to take into account the students' needs and to anticipate their questions. This assumes, however, some detailed knowledge of each student's learning abilities because one is aware that each person has a different level of receiving or analyzing the new pieces of information.

The teacher must pay attention to the answers given by students, but he should not disclose the correct answer when they find themselves in a deadlock. The teacher can guide the students towards the correct answer by asking other helping questions that are structed

100 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Use of the Problem-Solving Method in Teaching Norwegian in such a way that they would stimulate thinking.

General backround (previous)

The productive activity is performed by assimilating the previous pieces of information with the new formed ones (Albulescu 2006:89). If the students' knowledge acquired in previous courses did not assimilate or were unclear, then the student feels insecure when it comes to expressing an idea. Thus creativity is based on student's level of understanding of the courses taught, on the degree of assimilation of information and non the least on the effectiveness of the teaching process. Pupils and students often complain that they can not put into practice some of the pieces of information taught. The goal of this problem-solving situation is to introduce information that makes reference to real world situations, where students will be able to use their knowledge. While teaching is taking place there should exist a connection between two worlds: the world of books and the real one. This identification with present time and the reality increases the students' motivation to take part in the teaching process since the solutions to the problem-solving situations can be applied in real life.

Kameenui (1998:144) agrees with this idea and states that even the students' daily life could be influenced by the analysis of these problem-solving situations. Students get to know themselves and their colleagues better, as learning is a global process that

involves the whole person. The problem-solving method encourages students to take a step forward and escape the world presented by course books. In the problem-solving solution both the pieces of information available to students and the solutions found by them may exceed the level of the classroom and could be applied in the real world.

Starting from Jack Richards (1991:153) statement that an individual is able to use a gramatical or phonological form in a certain situation (while listening to a story for example) but does not succeed in other situations (while being involved in an informal conversation for example) other researchers agree with him. They suggest that course books can not compete with reality in real time and that sometimes they depict perfect relations and situations that are unlikely to happen 2008:191). The problem-solving method provides this bridge between the real world and that of the classroom. Modern didactics, states M. Ionescu (2001:36), attempts to eliminate from the teaching process the discrepancy between theory and practice.

The goals of the problem-solving method:

critical, rational thinking

rousing motivation and curiosity

assimilaion of the pieces of information received (if the student

101 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Use of the Problem-Solving Method in Teaching Norwegian finds the solution as a result of a cognitive, personal process then the piece of information is better kept in mind)

independent thinking (the student succeeds to distinguish by himself the good and the bad assumptions)

Even if not all these goals are achievable and maybe the solution to the problem-solving situation is incorrect, this teaching approach becomes valuable due to the investigation proces performed by the student.

The stages followed by the students in order to solve a problem-solving situation are the following:

the understanding of the problem and of the first guiding indicators

thorough study, understanding the problem and restructuring the available data

finding possible solutions to the problem-solving solution proposed

obtaining and evluating the result ( Radu,

2001:141)

Starting from the idea that the first stage of the problem-solving situation is that of introducing an element of novelty that whould rouse curiosity, then one can state that the stages followed by this method are: the triggering, the tensed

2006:297).

The triggering stage is the one when the teacher introduces a problem-solving situation that requires to be solved. If the students have no privious knowledge that is useful for tackling the suggested issue, then the teacher will provide them with materials, articles, photos, access the internet in order to find the answer. Some possible questions could be: How do you increase a pupil's motivation? What about your own motivation? What is creativity and can we measure it?Argue for or against the following statements: The majority of mistakes one makes while learning a foreign language take place because of the mother tongue. Mistakes made while speaking a foreign language should be correct on the spot.

The tensed stage refers to the moment when the student is looking for information and for possible solutions. The student develops an active working style, trying to use both the additional pieces of information received from the teacher and his general background.

The additional materials introduced in the lesson are called authentic texts because they are written in Norwegian, by native speakers. The problem-solving situation motivates students to use texts that are not always tailored for the teaching in the classroom. Even if these authentic texts exceed the students' level of preparation this didactic method represents an effective way of enriching

102 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Use of the Problem-Solving Method in Teaching Norwegian the vocabulary and why not, even an incentive ''to think'' in Norwegian.

When studying Norwegian, the productive process has most of the times a personal character and not an imposed one. It is in the students' interest to participate in an active manner during the course and use the words learned recently. In addition, the creative activity developed due to a personal desire indicates a higher degree of motivation, which influences positively the learning process.

The solution stage does not necessarily end the discussion generated by the problem-solving situation. It can represent just an instance in which no other arguments are brought or in which a review is no longer needed, but the

discussion can be started again in other circumstances. On the other hand, if the students find the answer to the problem then that is the final moment of discussion. Prabhu ( 1994: 103) states that the relationship between a teacher and his students should be based on a constant and continuous contact. The problem-solving method provides the perfect environment for this contact to take place. One holds the key to a successful teaching, states Gunnar Handal (1987:45) when at the end of the course students will tell you that they have done it all by themselves. The problem-solution method provides this possibility of working independently, according to one's level and at one's pace.

103 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Use of the Problem-Solving Method in Teaching Norwegian

Bibliography

Albulescu, Ion, creativitate, Editura

Ashman A., Conway, R., Using Cognitive Methods in the Classroom, Routledge, USA, 1993

Pedagogie

, Editura Clusium, Cluj-Napoca, 2006

Ellis, R., Understanding Second Language Acquisition, Oxford University Press, UK, 1985

Handal, G., Lauvås, P., Promoting Reflective Teaching: supervision in action, SRHE England, 1987

Kameenui, E., Carnine, D., Effective Teaching Strategies that Accomodate Diverse Learners, Prentice-Hall, USA, 1998

Ionescu, Miron,Radu, Ioan, , Editura Dacia, Cluj-Napoca, 2001

Robson, M., Stockwell, P., Language in Theory, Routledge, USA, 2005

Roco, Mihaela, 2004

Tarone, E., Yule, G., Focus on the Language Learner, Oxford University Press, UK, 1989

Shore, C.M., Individual Differences in Language Development, volume 7, Sage Publications, USA, 1995

104 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Problematizarea.Utilizarea metodei în

Problematizarea. U

Monica Diaconu, Assist. Prof. PhD, Babe -Bolyai University

[email protected]

, Prof. PhD,Babe -Bolyai University

[email protected]

ABSTRACT:

KEYWORDS: problema, problematizare, context problematizant, univers problematologic, structura metodei, , demersul rezolutiv al problemei

- introductive

cale

-

celelalte componente ale instruirii. Astfel, ea:

care este în postura de a fi cel mai

a alegerii metodologice, atât din

perspectiva specificului disciplinei de

asemenea, nu putem ignora rolul

un moment dat, având în vedere efectele formative ale metodei asupra cadrului

pronind de la

încheindu-

Ceea ce poate constit

deosebitoare între utilizarea meodei în predarea-

disciplinelor socio-umane.

105 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Problematizarea.U privilegiat este impactul metodei asupra

metoda presupune cooperarea

implicate în procesul -un

realizarea optimumului prin programele de studiu;;

lucrul cu metoda presupune

implementacomportamente specifice studiului universitar. Aceste comportamente pot fi

de gândire formate în contextul lucrului consecvent cu ele, ca instrumente de

unei teme, a interoga problema, a

rezolva diferite tipuri de probleme, etc.) ea permite

a rolurilor profesorului în ipostaza de organizator al procesului instructiv-educativ, de inter-mediator, de ghid, de

ant

nicio cl

caracterul autoformativ manifestat prin

umente utile de lucru în studiul diferitelor discipline.

profesorului în contextul lucrului cu ele este aceea de autoevaluator al propriei

didaIonescu, 2003). Ea permite dezvoltarea

-auto-analiza obiective, în baza lor

a

caracter

participa simultan sau succesiv la realizarea mai multor obiective instructiv-

avându-

f formative -

106 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Problematizarea.U

predarea unei anumite discipline de studiu, în particular;;

vehiculate în

metodei, modelând-o între anumite -

-o

discipline;; pa

disciplinelor pentru care au optat;;

, în sensul în

resurselor metodologice într-un stil didactic

-un complex cauzal-

interinfl

sine. Metodele didactice sunt vehicule,

te. În acest

metodele de

eficiente: ceea ce le face efectiv performante este modalitatea prin care

i

unele concluzii articulate în raport cu unele

, din

Este vorba, în principal, despre:

contextuale suficient de flexibile a unor

la studiul disciplinelor umanului sau la studiul disciplinelor provenite din

este, apoi, vorba despre nevoia

versele studii realizate în urma


apel sistematic la complexe metodologice

rup de metode, considerate la un moment dat ca fiind

-

sistematic organizat în facultate, sub

este vorba, de asemenea, despre

compromiterea spiritului metodelor care au consacrat predarea-model a unor discipline, prin introducerea unui

-metodologic rigid, transformat deseori în scop în sine, în cadrul practicilor didactice, în numele unui pretins pragmatism eficient asumat.

lucru în sala de seminar sau în sala de curs. În sensul acesta, metodele nu sunt

care

-cognitive

prin co

elementele lor componente. Ea are rolul

unor caracteristici inexistente, dar compatibile cu schema sau în respingerea unor caracteristici prezente, dar incompatibile cu schema sau

valoric de referi

modelului de gândire sunt mai mari. Un

aproximare a câmpurexistente în jurul nostru cu elemente cognitive structurate. Regulile de

Sistemul valoric de cuprinde un set de valori

culturale, morale, religioase, estetice, etice, economice, juridice etc., pe care o

procesar


problematizare

constituie o modalitate de participare

întrebare-

- ,

- formularea de probleme;;

- acordarea de ajutor minimal,

- coordonarea procesului de fixare,

pretinse la nivel de studiu universitar. Ce

utilizarea metodei în contexte

gestionarea mode valorificare a metodei, în tot

educative, din perspectiva

respectiv: -

tipologia metodelor cu care -au familiarizat pe

parcursul studiilor universitare;;

-

a-i aplica, în mod contextualizat;;

-

priceperi, deprinderi etc.

intetico-rezolutive specifice tipului de


interdiscipinare semnificative pentru tematica problemei studiate etc.),

rea unor

acestora în termenii unor (socluri de)

trainice, durabile;;

pentru alegerea profesiei didactice (inclusiv) prin lucrul cu metoda de care

ea ei. poate fi

având specifice cum sunt:

-

reciprocitatea între cei doi

mesaje diverse, de comunicare

partenerilor, cu efectul corelat

mutualitatea între persoane (ego-

acestea.

Ac

o

un principiu didactic dinamizator pentru activitatea celor care

o ,

este cea de care ne vom folosi pe parcursul

Notele distinctive ale metodei

- problematizarea se instituie, de obicei, într-o

-

onestitate în demersul cognitiv parcurs


-umane, în mod

rii cu

în domeniul de studiu al diferitelor

- prin schimbul de idei generat prin

nevoia de contact cu gândirea interlocutorului, de

,

interpretare a unei probleme punctuale,

- problematizarea este în beneficiul reciproc al

supune corecturilor necesare, urmând

confruntarea de idei, argumentarea lor,

. De asemenea,

deci, de perspectivelor subiective, nefondate, unilaterale sau dogmatice;;

- unificare

provizorie a

-ref

problematizare se instituie într-de cercetare, într-o modalitate de lucru

--l

-un mod bine fundamentat;;

-

ce presupune deschiderea ei spre toate mod

socio-culturale. O astfel de deschidere are efect modelator asupra criticismului

-

eroare, care presupune deschiderea

disponibilitatea de a-i integra eficient

moment dat în dezbatere.

111 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Problematizarea.U Instrumente didactice (de predare-

-evaluare) utilizate în problematizare:

-

problematizante (cu caracter conflictual, caracterizate de o

probleme didactice (care presupun sesizare, descoperire, formulare,

unor aspecte cognitive contradictorii

conflicte cognitive);; - (corelate cu

aplicare de strategii prin care

o contradic

unui obiectiv-obstacol/ obstacol epistemologic generat de

problemei) sau al: unui obiectiv-dificultate (putem vorbi

teoretic-conceptual sau practic- )

obstacolului epistemologic presupune realizarea unui progres cognitiv;; de

pentru ca, prin nivelul lor de dificultate,

punct de vedere cogniti

-

-

i între subiectul

le pentru aceasta.

concret, în care are loc valorificarea metodei este cel care:

- -

formare;;

112 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Problematizarea.U - de modela

) -

presupune:

identificarea obiective

identificarea unui context

în contextul dat;; -

entificate;; selectarea celei/ celor care pot determina o stare de conflict cognitiv

-

i a

anticiparea demersului pe care îl

Criteriile de alegere sau construire -

:

:

-

: perspective de abordare, analize

:

permi

:

a mai multor instrumente de

diferitelor stiluri de :

sau un scop de atins, care

:


aplic :

accesibile rezolvitorilor;; (cognitive, metacognitive, materiale

- -

un tip , care presupune demersuri cum ar fi:

- rezolvare de probleme;;

- socio-cognitive;;

-

- transfer cognitiv specific nespecific;;

- cele practice;;

-

prin problematizare se pot concretiza în:

- (confruntare, colaborare,

- - - -

- probleme;;

-

pe care le presupune problematizarea sunt, în principal:

- documentare din diverse surse;; - - - metacognitive;;

- (auto)chestionare;;

- expunere verba -

-

- exersarea gândirii proprii, reflexive;;

- - creatoare;;

- sesizare de probleme;; - probleme;;

- - formulare de ipoteze;; - verificare de ipoteze în plan teoretic sau practic-experimental;;

- luare de decizii;; - - contraargumentare;;

- studiu individual;; - studiu independent;; -


a) Analize pedagogice pentru studiul disciplinelor socio-umane

într-o , dincolo de contextele

activitate specifice, reciproc solidare, ce

utilizarea metodei în ansamblul ei.

1. Chestionarea temei momentul de debut în aplicarea metodei,

ansamblului demersurilor pe care le presupune utilizarea metodei. Ce este chestionarea?

sau a formulatului afirmativ în

pentru a putea construi, ulterior, scopul

a) Ce presupune chestionarea pentru studiul istoriei? Chestionarea se

-

propriu-zis. Chesdescriptiv-

specifice ale unui eveniment sau proces

având o pondere mai mare atunci când este vorba despre studiul istoriei în primul an de facultate). De asemenea, se

-constituirea contextului de producere a evenimentului istoric, în datele lui majore

orienteze asupra acelor aspecte ce sunt cuprinse în interiorul, în matricea temei

de neocolit,

argumentare inutile, realizate din

problemelor care vor fi abordate pe parcursul seminarului sau al cursului. b) Ce presupune chestionarea în studiul religiei? Demersul metodologic

rii în


interiorul ei, un bun prilej de înaintare

problemei ei principale.

c) studiul filosofiei

deme

ulterioare a proCe presupune chestionarea în acest caz:

explicare

chestionare ce conduce adesea la

cit.). Chestionarea este un segment de activitate în practicarea metodei

atice în schimbul de idei.

Calitatea ei va feri demersul de unilateralitate, în sensul în care gândirea

a neglija pluralitatea aspectelor remarcate ca fiind importante pentru studiul problemei.

filosofiei el este centrat preponderent pe

-

filosofiei, atunci când se face apel la chestionare.

un aspect deosebit de important atunci

e

instrumentate. Acesta este unul din modurile de manifestare a ceea ce se

argumentele pe care le folosim în favoarea proces

didactice a metodei la capacitatea de


chestionare.

i convergente,

îndeplinite. Care sunt aceste scopuri:

Este vorba despre un scop teoretic,

vorba despre integrarea, în cadrul scopului teoretic cu care se face

clarifica sensul conceptelor cu care

ne feri de intruziuni polisemice nedorite, care pot genera

-

demersuri preparative sunt prezente în proiectul de seminar ca obiective

ionale de neocolit.

actualizdobândite fie din studiul diferitelor

discipline, fie din diverse surse de

valorificate în contextul de idei nou

unei atmosfere specifice schimbului liber de opinii. Ea se compune, enumerând pe scurt din: -

-

acestora;; - din demersuri de

scop practic, în virtutea

: -

- materialele la care va face apel (soft-

-

cadrul lucrului individual sau în echipe);; -

demersuri.


2. Identificarea problemei centrale a temei termenii unei - , întrebare generatoare a unei tensiuni cognitive care cere, cu necesitate, o

prezentate. De modul în care este ebarea-

acesteia. Spre exemplu, pentru studiul disciplinelor socio-umane istorie, filosofie, economie, psihologie sau religie, problema este cea care aduce în dezbatere al unei teme: ea constituie baza

lor.

-

problemei;;

- î

-

central, în ansamblul problemelor din

3. Problematizarea propriu-

des-compunerea problemei în subprobleme, în teme, în structuri sau în

restrân -

comprehensiunii ei.

Demersul presupune nu numai divizarea problemei cent

-o

expozitive, materiale folosite ca surse primare sau secundare, texte care

sub-din textul propriu-principale (cea a cursului universitar, de

principii, valori compl

promovate prin textul analizat. Acest din


universitare la istorie, filosofie, religie, în i problemei

este marcat nu numai de analiza

ipoteticul.

Rolul profesorului

de a ajut

elementele semnificative pentru

prin care nici una dintre laturile

4. Demersul analitic presupune

a materialelor auxiliare, astfel încât nimic din ceea ce este semnificativ din

r -

Rolul profesorul este de a veghea,

De asem

de formulare a concluziilor finale. Mai

e decât în

.

De asemenea, ne referim la ceea ce am putea numi nu doar ,

responsabilitate a

analizei întreprinse. Analizele vor fi

rezolvarea problemelor va fi una

serii de rapoarte acceptate

cu accente personale, evident, argumentate cât mai riguros. Astfel, se

progresive, validitatea unor date,

vedere subiective, neargumentate,


5. Demersul sintetic

componentelor principale ale problemei -construirea drumului

întregului pornind de la elementele sale -se

stea. Produsul colectiv al demersului analitic aduce, astfel, elemente de noutate în planul

re elementele problemei, plasându-le în zone de interes central sau secundar în raport cu

-

meritele indiv

- monitorizarea procesului de de la

particular la general, în vederea

încât ei

-

pe

necesare. Angajarea de facto a

procesul de formalizare a acestora

acestor

-

- iective

partizanatul sau subiectivismul care

- alimentarea unui anumit optimism gnoseologic, a încrederii în propriul

posibilitatea ajungerii la concluzii tot


apanajul exclusiv al cadrului didactic

gândirii personale, în capacitatea de

6. Asigurarea unui raport optim

ansamblul etapelor didactice de utilizare a metodei. Nu putem construi noul cu

Pentru activitatea didactic

pe care îl traducem în termenii unei specifice

studiului universitar

focaliza cerc

sunt mai sistematic

mai larg

va beneficia de un mai bun echilibru între

profunzimea analizelor

care se care se parcurg, de la punerea problemei

7. Demersul rezolutiv al

demersurilor analitice


Pluralitatea acestora nu este semnul unei

deci nici în cel rezolutiv.

Rolul profesorului cons

a

de ordin cognitiv care se pot instala în

vorba despre o a

teama de eroare, delimitarea de atitudini precum sunt marginalizarea, ignorarea

interesului pentru

sa

b) Analize pedagogice pentru studiul

1. chestionarea ei

- arealul tematic în care se

-

conturarea ei;;

- zona de interes din care se poate origina problema, care ia forma, de

-un conflict cognitiv.

Rolul profesorului este:

-

propuse;;

-

problema;;

- de a-

este întotdeauna eminamente necesar


algoritmilor rezolutivi ai problemei, motiv pentru care chestionarea tematic

din registrul preparativelor pe care le are în vedere profesorul.

delimitarea ei de alte probleme ei, dar secundare prin

-

c, dar care

ele fac parte dintr-

iilor. În acest context, prin problematizare se reface un drum deja

care dobândesc noul la nivel individual.

Rolul profesorului este de a

problemei, de a clarifica rolul central al ei

de a respecta punctual premisele de la

rezultatului problemei.

3. Parcurgerea algoritmilor

demersurilor cognitive implicate, prin

sintetice, cu descoperirea de conexiuni

-o logicitate constant

centrul de interes al demersurilor efectuate, a problemei centrale, precum

parcurge un traseu liniar, care merge din

tatona

validarea/ invalidarea acestora,

în acest proces complex, factorul subiectiv este prezent ca suport al


-umanului, intruziunea lui în contextul rezolutiv al problemei nu este posibil a fi

una din caracteristicile fundamentale ale

interese de grup sau individuale, politici, partizanate etc.

Rolul profesorului în acest parcurs

orientarea

Profesorul

estora

4. Formularea concluziilor

diferite de complexitate, direct legate de

complexit

pe parcursul ajungerii la ele.

instrumentarea concluziilor, ceea ce

es -un

Schimbul de opinii, argumentarea l

practicat pe fondul apropierii de formularea rezultatului problemei pot

aminti:

- -a implicat în practicarea metodei prin

diferite etape de punere a ei în act,

-

- asiîntreprinse în diferite etape de abordare


interne a acestora;;

- capacitatea de a valorifica

presupune deba

scontat;;

-

a de a realiza un transfer continuu de

-au

capacitatea lor de a discerne asupra

caracterului punctual cu care sunt ele formulate, a modului în care ei s-au

intermediul acestei metode, pe tot traseul rezolutiv.

5. Formularea rezultatului problemei încheie demersul de

de date, care

nivelul acestui segment al metodei.

pune problema revenirii asupra ei cu

ideri problematologice. Spre deosebire de

-umane, cum mai subliniam, nu are întotdeauna beneficiul

r

ulterioare. De aceea, demersul -umane,

rezolutive se închide cu o posibilitate de ule de tipul:

Rolul profesorului este de a supune -a ajuns, de

formularea lui sau la demersurile lui, de a face

aprecieri asupra:

-

-

, - privire la valoarea (auto)instructiva


-

de grup în care, exprime puncte de vedere personale

conceptualizeze, valorificându--

cu - activare

transferuri specifice sau nespecifice et

-

- studen

-o multitudine de componente ale

, dezvoltându-

creativitatea, inventivitatea /

- atitudini tice, un

comportament adecvat viitoarei profesii, toate acestea fiind în mod real valoroase pentru derularea

-

capabili de autoformare

succes,devenind astfel responsabili

în procesul de autoformare. Î

oferite de munca în grup. Aceasta conduce la:

proprii,în contextul muncii cu

puncte de vedere duce la valorii altor

eventual la modificarea propriilor

construirea noilor

metode.


Limite înregistrate în utilizarea

Între limitele pe care le-am înregistrat

aspecte mai semnificative/

- insuficient dezvoltate ale cadrului didactic de gesti

problematizare.

prin i

în activitatea cadrelor didactice aflate la începutul carierei, care pot neglija complexitatea metodei, reducând-o la câteva elemente ale sale, o pot aplica schema

facu

-

ceea ce poate conduce la

aspectelor de sistem, globale sau chiar la pierderea lor din vedere. Astfel, se poate întâmpla ca partea

dat. - I

la formularea problemei poate genera diminuarea sau chiar pierderea interesului pentru o

rt

recapete arealul tematic din care provine.

-

continuitatea

-unor aspecte

dificile, ceea ce poate avea ca efect


De respectat De evitat

1.

-

analizabile fiecare în parte.

1.

integralitatea.

2.

particularizând discursul în forme

2. Neglijarea sau ignorarea

acestea.

3.

unitatea demersurilor întreprinse din

3. ganizare

demersurile didactice implicate de

practicarea metodei.

4. Aducerea în pri

informative ale conceptelor, a

dinamicii lor interne, a caracterului

-

-creative.

4.

statice, situarea lor la nivel

descriptiv-dogmatic, imixtiunea


5.

chestionarea lor, stimularea

constructive asupra acestora.

5.

numai la nivel afirmativ,

constatativ, factual declarativ,

descriptiv în prezentarea temelor,

c

6.

6. Formularea de într

7.

-

a s

revizuire, reconsiderare, modificare

7. Practicarea unui discurs de

dezbateri, în confru

în procesele rezolutive.

8.

aspectelor formative realizate de

8.

studiat în scop în sine.

9.

9.

(circumscrise unei discipline).

10. For

problemelor etc.

10.

demersuri reproductive, care nu

st


11

11 Conceperea procesului didactic în

spirit

exacerbarea rolului cadrului didactic

în procesul curricular.


Bibliografie

Bertrand, Y. (1998), Théories contemporaines de l'éducation, Éditions nouvelles, Montréal, p. 143.

Bîrzea, C. (1998),

Blaga, L. (1974),

Metode euristice în studiul chimiei-Napoca.

II- -Napoca.

Didactica disciplinelor pedagogice. Un cadru constructivist, -

Breckner, W.W. (1986-1987), -37.?

Cantin, R.;; Lacasse, D.;; Roy, L. (1996), Intégration d'approches par problèmes en Sciences de la nature, Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec.

Ciascai, L. (1999), , Editura Presa -Napoca.

Ciascai, L. (2007), Didactica fizicii (reeditare),

Cojocaru, I. (2004), Analiza factorilor de mediu, Editura Conphys, Râmnicu-Vâlcea.

Pedagogie -

Descartes, R. (1990), , Editura Academiei, Buc

Dumas-Carré, A.;; Goffard, M. (1993), Des activités de résolution de problèmes pour l'apprentissage -5, p. 11.

Fabre, M. (1993), De la résolution de problème à la problématisationsciences de l -5, p. 74.


Finta, Z. (2000), Din nou despre Proprietatea lui Darboux, Did. Matem. vol. 51, 39-50.

Guilbert, L.;; Ouellet, L. (1999), Études de cas Apprentissage par problèmes, Presses de l'Université du Québec, Québec.

Heidegger, M. (1982),

Ionescu, M. (2007), - University Press, Arad.

Konnerth, O. (1982), , Editura Dacia, Cluj-Napoca.

Impactul surselor de poluare din site-urile horticole ,

, Did. Matematicii, vol. 14, 181-186.

,

Munteanu, I. O. (2007), mediului .

Orange, Ch. (2005), Probleme et problematisation dans l'enseignement scientifique, .

Ouellet & Brosseau (2004), Guide d'appropriation de l'apprentissage par problèmes, http://app.cegep-ste-foy.qc.ca/index.php?id=603 27/10/2007).

P , E. (1991), p. 45.

Pop, , clasa a XI- -227.

Russ, J. (1999), Metodele în filosofie

discursive


-a), Universitatea

Watson, G.;; Duch, B.;; Allen, D.;; Groh, S.;; White, H. (1987), La Pédagogie par Problèmes, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA.

133 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Didactic Status of Problem-Learning

The Didactic Status of Problem-Learning and Its

Conditions of Application

Adrian Costache -Bolyai University

[email protected]

ABSTRACT:

KEYWORDS: problem-learning, didactic theory, methodology, didactic principles, life-world sociology

Some theoretical guidelines of the investigation

Although little discussed in the literature, the epistemological status of didactics within the panorama of the pedagogical disciplines (and of the social and human sciences) and its task are, up to a point, clear: didactics is the theory/doctrine of an art (Kunstlehre), namely of the art of learning. Situated at the border of the philosophy of education and sociology, of educational psychology and pedagogy (on the fundamental concepts of which it is grounded), the fundamental task of didactics is that of regulating (and, implicitly, increasing the efficiency of) educational practice. That is why, in its constitution, didactics is oriented by two main vectors. On the one hand, by the discipline of whose practice of learning it

tries to regulate. Learning always means learning something;; one always educates (oneself) with regard to something. From another point of view, it should be noted that, because the progress of knowledge in any theoretical and practical endeavor is strictly dependent on the prior acquisition of the stock of knowledge already constituted, didactics has an ancillary position in rapport with the discipline it tries to regulate.

On the other hand, the constitution of didactics is oriented by the laws governing the entire educational process in every system of education. As it well known, the process of education (be it formal or non-formal) of every country is strictly regulated by a set of norms that concretize the educational policy of the country and the charters of the institutions of education. But, also

The present study has a two-fold goal: on the one hand, to establish clearly the didactic status of problem-learning in order to help the teacher decide which are the educational contents and the educational contexts best suitable for it;; and, on the other, to establish the conditions for the application of problem-learning.

134 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Didactic Status of Problem-learning and Its Conditions of Application informal education is subject to regulation. The skills and knowledge a society has, the values and attitudes peculiar to it that can become objects of study are always subjected to the mores, the ethos and the view of the world of that society.

The importance of these two vectors guiding the constitution of didactics cannot be overestimated because they give rise to two exigencies to which didactic research has to respond. The first is that any change at the level of the practice of education and of the subject to be taught has to bring about immediately a change at the level of didactic theory. And the second, related to a certain extent to the first, is that the relevance of the theories elaborated by this discipline is to be appreciated, on the one hand, in rapport with the concrete educational practice and, on the other, in rapport with the state of research in the field of the subject whose teaching practice it wants to regulate.

These two exigencies will orient also the present investigation into the matter of problem-based learning in the didactics of the human sciences.

The ambiguity of problem-learndidactic status

In Romania, one of the fields of research in which the first exigency mentioned above is satisfied in the highest degree is that of didactic methodology. This

becomes quickly visible through the fact that the changes of perspective that have taken place in the research undertaken in the last twenty years are perfectly mirrored in those that have taken place in the education system from that period.

If in the times in which the Romanian system of education was defining itself as a traditionary one, centered on the teacher, the most discussed and recommended methods were generally the expositive ones, after its reformation, the methods most recommended and discussed are the active-participative ones that engage the students directly in the process of learning, important expositive methods being completely left aside by some textbooks of didactics. 1 Today, even though it is generally

methods are always to be found within the educational context by taking into consideration the peculiarity of the skills or the knowledge to be transmitted, the particularity of the students, the educational means available to the teacher but also his competences and

recommend a priori the efficiency of certain learning methods such as the dialogical method or problem-learning for the sphere of the human sciences, praising extensively th (Cherghit 2006)eir didactic advantages.

Due to the inflation of studies and investigations dedicated to the dialogical method or to problem-learning the most 1 See for example Miron Ionescu and Ion Radu (Eds.),

, (Cluj-Napoca: Dacia, 1995).

135 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Didactic Status of Problem-learning and Its Conditions of Application important things about these matters have already been questioned. But this does not mean that there is nothing to add. In fact, an entire series of matters exterior to the questions of method per se, but nonetheless important to the sphere of didactic methodology and the educational practice have been neglected.

One such matter is if problem-learning can really be considered a didactic method and whether it would not be possible that its didactic status is a completely different one. As it is

opinions regarding the didactic status of problem-learning are the most diverse, it being considered to be either (i) a didactic method;; or (ii) a fundamental didactic principle conditioning all the

(iv) all these things combined (Ionescu and Radu 1995). Which of these theoretical positions is the correct one? Could it be the forth?

A brief survey of any encyclopedia of epistemology will persuade us of the lack of coherency of the forth position defended and, thus, of its unsustainable character. If problem-learning is a method it cannot be also a didactic principle or a theory and if it is a theory or a principle, it cannot be any of the others. By definition, the concepts of

logical rapport of exclusive disjunction. A method is the means whereby, in an inductive or deductive manner, the implications of a principle are developed;;

and a theory, the end-result of such a development.

The fact that the forth position regarding the didactic status of problem-learning has to be excluded does not make the question regarding the didactic status of problem-learning easier. On the contrary, it makes it more complex. Now it becomes absolutely evident that the status of problem-learning is not adequately described but by one of these positions. But which of them? In order to answer this question it is necessary to bring to light first of all the precise didactic meaning of the concepts of

second of all, the presuppositions, implications and the sense of the

of problem-learning.

Beginning with Wincenty Okon almost all

known) and something unknown, the resolution residing in finding the

50). In this sense, problem-learning consists in confronting the student with such a structure with insufficient data (engaging him or her in a problem-situation) which brings about a reaction of surprise or wonder and triggers a need to know and a thinking endeavor oriented towards completing it.

-learning consists in the search for these data and in demonstrating their truth. So, trying to find the resolution of a problem, the subject encompasses with

136 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Didactic Status of Problem-learning and Its Conditions of Application his thinking the entire structure of the respective problem reflects on the relationship between the already-known elements of this structure, and then discovers both the missing elements and the unknown connections between the known elements. In this way, the subject

1978, 50)

Starting from the definition of the concepts of problem and problematization, the implications of

-learning (or, more correctly, the theory of problem-

become manifest. What is said through this thesis is that (i) all contents with regard to which one can consider him or herself educated can be acquired through problem-learning and that (ii) all these contents can be presented as problems in a didactic sense. If the content to be transmitted between the two poles of the educational process would not be in themselves problematical, then they could not become didactic problems.

Now, let us see what the idea that problem-learning is a fundamental didactic principle could mean. As Vasile Preda shows in the chapter with which he contributes to Modern Didactics, in general, one could say that:

principles of didactics are fundamental theses, general norms on which are based the planning, the organization and the development of learning activities in view of an efficient achievement of the

totality, the principles of the education process express the fundamental conception of the general plan of the whole process of educaand (Ionescu, Instruc ie i educa ie 2003) (Cuco 2006) Radu 1995, 57)

From the point of view of this definition

idea defended by the thesis that problem-didactic principle that conditions all the

educational intervention has to be prefaced by an explicit reflection upon the whole process of education and by a fine analysis of each of its phases, of their order, of the educational context in which the intervention will be operated and of the elements it presupposes. Otherwise put, what seems to be defended through the thesis that problem-learning is fundamental didactic principle is that every didactic intervention has to be preceded by an endeavor of educational planning in the strict sense of the term. For, as Miron Ionescu shows us, precisely this is what educational planning actually is.

educational planning represents the ensemble of processes and operations of anticipation, of fixing mentally the steps to be followed in the process of instruction and education and of the relations between them at the micro and macro level (respectively at the level of the general process of learning and at the specific/ intermediary level of the concrete didactic activities at the level of the units of learning/ chapters/

137 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Didactic Status of Problem-learning and Its Conditions of Application

2003, 160)

On the other hand, inasmuch as the didactic principles have also the task of regulating the concrete development of the educational intervention, the thesis that problem-learning is a didactic principle affirms just like the thesis according to which problem-learning is a

that all the educational contents in rapport with which one can consider him or herself educated are in themselves problematical.

Considering all these, if we leave aside the first sense in which problem-learning is considered a didactic principle as unspecific (what we are said is merely that the educational intervention has to be proceeded by a planning), the problem of the didactic status of problem-learning is considerably simplified. Now, the real alternatives between which we have to discern are that problem-learning is a theory of education and that which identifies it with a didactic method per se. And the point from which we have to start in order to take a step further in our analysis is the question if or in which measure one can say that all educational contents are in themselves problematical.

Problem-learning as method

Regardless of the answer to this question, with this second step of our

the theorist who deals exclusively with the guiding of the learning process and for the teacher. In concreto: if it is proven that all educational contents can become problems in the didactic sense mentioned above, considering the numerous didactic advantages of such thinking exercise,2 the theorist will obtain a strong ground for the unconditional recommendation of its application in any educational context, and the teacher will be able to use it without reservations hour by hour irrespective of the subject of study. But if it is proven that at least some educational contents are non-problematical (and thus cannot be translated in problem-situations) the theorist and the teacher will gain a negative delimitation of the scope of the problem-learning method and of its conditions of possibility.

But how can it be shown whether all educational contents can be presented in the educational context as problematical? How can it be shown that they can be translated in structures with insufficient data? The empirical path residing in simply showing that at least certain educational contexts present

2 These advantages have been noted and stressed by all theorists who dealt with the matter. Precisely this is the reason why problem-learning draws so much attention.

138 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Didactic Status of Problem-learning and Its Conditions of Application themselves as non-problematical cannot be of help in this case. What is and what is not problematical is always relative to

ability to translate an educational content or another into a problem-situation varies from teacher to teacher. This is the reason why, if we would venture to indicate concretely that a certain educational content as non-problematical we would not be doing anything else but to manifest the (more or less narrow) limits of our own reason.

This, though, does not mean that everything is lost. There are also other ways of showing whether all educational contents can become didactic problems. One of this ways this time, an a priori one consists in undertaking an epistemological analysis of the types of knowledge peculiar to the subjects of study proposed by the curricula. In fact, it is not even necessary to tarry upon all these subjects, but only upon those that purport a descriptive knowledge and deal

biology, anatomy, etc. And, yet another way is to investigate whether there are problems that, despite their status, are nevertheless non-problematical. Otherwise put, to check whether there could be structures with insufficient data that do not trigger a need to know and, thus, do not bring about an endeavor of resolution.

Irrespective of the status they assign to problem-learning, the way in which certain textbooks of didactics describe it suggest the impossibility of non-problematical problems. For some

theorists, between the creation of the problem-situation and the need to know which concretizes in the endeavor of resolution there is a straightforwardly causal relation: if we have the problem-situation then we have the endeavor towards resolution. In Instruction and Education Miron Ionescu notes:

problems and problem-situations may include the following actions/ steps:

the formulation of the problem, the confrontation with it, its perception and acknowledgement and the appearance of the first indices of the solution. This is the step in which:

-‐ the teacher or the students describe the problem-situation: they expose the facts, explain certain causal relations, etc.

-‐ the students become aware of the existence of the problem-situation;;

-‐ the students feel de need to solve the problem-(Ionescu 2003, 217)

In its turn, Constantin Cuco writes:

-situation represents a contradictory, conflict situation resulting from experiencing simultaneously two realities: the prior (cognitive-emotional) experience and the element of novelty and surprise, the unknown with which the subject if confronted. This conflict incites to research and discovery, to intuiting new solutions and seemingly

139 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Didactic Status of Problem-learning and Its Conditions of Application inexistent relations between the former

2006, 296-297)

In a study he published with Ion Radu though, Miron Ionescu changes slightly his position and shows that the connection between the problem/ problem-situation and the need to know/ the endeavor of resolution is not necessarily a direct one. In Modern Didactics the two authors argue that that element of surprise and wonder mentioned in all descriptions of problem learning is interposed between the two moments and functions as a condition for the possibility of putting them in a relation of causality.

character, a subject matter must stir a reaction of surprise, wonder, and even

160)

of surprise,

psychic reaction and, more particularly, an individual affective response which: (i) can precede and accompany the endeavor of resolution of the problem-situation but, nevertheless, does not determine it;; and which (ii) is conditioned and caused by something else (this cause can be something completely different than the problem from which we started).

A strong argument in defense of these observations is offered to us by the philosophical, phenomenological problem of the rise of the Sun. Already in primary school we learn that it is not the Sun

which spins around the Earth but the other way round, and yet all of us say that the Sun rises and sets. Even the astronomers talk in the same way even in scientific contexts. How is this possible given that no one would venture to contest the idea that the principle of non-contradiction is one of the fundamental principles of our thinking? And how is this possible given that the sciences develop as coherent systems of theories?

The above-mentioned questions are a clear indication of a lack of a piece of knowledge;; they bring about a cognitive tension and stir a reaction of surprise when we read them. Nevertheless, we have the certitude that they will not deter any of our readers to look for an answer. In fact, with few exceptions, 3 the problem posed by the idea of sunrise has not been approached by anyone.

Now, it becomes manifest that not all problems are problematical and thus not all educational contents are suitable for problem-learning. Considering the logical development of the present study though, through this, it also becomes manifest that problem-learning cannot

Okon tries to argue, being rather a didactic method among others.

3 See Edmund Husser, La Terre ne se meut pas, trans. Didier Frank, Jean-‐François Lavigne and Dominique Pradelle (Paris: Les Éditions de Minuit, 1989) and Hans-‐Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method, trans. Joel Weinsheimer and Donald G. Marshall (London & New York: Continuum, 2004).


The conditions of problem-learning

One of the two theoretical exigencies established at the beginning of the present study was saying that the relevance of didactic research is established in relation to the concrete educational practice. By circumscribing clearly the didactic status of problem learning our investigation is one step closer to the concrete educational practice. It is important to know that problem-learning is a method and that it cannot be recommended a priori for the study of all educational contents. Nevertheless, for the teacher what is even more important to know is what are those educational contents that can be approached through this method, or what are the conditions under which this method can be applied?

In order to bring to light these conditions it might be useful to return to the already mentioned philosophical problem of the sunrise and focus our attention upon the particular mode in our understanding of its problematical

i.e., upon those aspects despite which this problem is not perceived as problematical. In fact, all these aspects are as many conditions under which problem-learning becomes possible.

The first such aspect that can be observed is that, in itself, this problem (taken as problem) is easily comprehensible, its constitutive data

being accessible even to the children from an early age: the idea that the Sun rises is acquired through immediate observation at a very early stage in life, and the idea that the Earth spins around the Sun is taught already in primary

thinking is already subject to the principle of non-contradiction. (It is obvious that the possibility of apprehending a problem as problem is one of the fundamental conditions of seeing something as problematical. This condition has been explicitly observed by

to acknowledge the problems is highly important in the process of creating the ideas [presupposed by problem-learning does not tarry upon the matter in his investigation.)

The second aspect to be noticed is that the data of the problems are part of the stock of knowledge about the world of whoever has a minimum education and they take the form of explicit knowledge and are recognized as such. The pieces of knowledge that the Sun raises and that the Earth revolves around the Sun are not implicitly presupposed by others and they cannot be affected by temporary forgetting. That forgetting cannot affect them becomes quickly apparent in the fact that even those who travel by plane on very long routes, despite the fact that they have a clear

to the time zone difference that constantly grows/decreases) still talk about the sunrise and the sunset. (Thus

141 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Didactic Status of Problem-learning and Its Conditions of Application also the condition that the data of the problem have to be explicitly recognized in order for the problem to be acknowledged as problematical is satisfied in this case.)

Through these two aspects though the particular way in which our problem

problematical comes to appearance. For, as we can see, even though the data of the problem are explicitly known and acknowledged, this is not the case also for the problem as such. We all know both that the Sun raises and that the Earth revolves around the Sun, but with few exceptions we fail to see this contradiction as a problem. And, second of all, even though the contradiction that constitutes our problem is born out of the opposition between two pieces of knowledge, nevertheless, on the one hand from the point of view of their genesis and, on the other, from the point of view of the way in which they are grounded, they are not equivalent. The idea that the Sun rises is a concrete and immediate empirical knowledge based on sensory perception and is grounded by the daily repetition of this experience. In the case of the idea that the Earth revolves around the Sun though, the sensory perception is mediate and abstract (being conditioned by technical means the telescope and a conceptual apparatus regarding the relative position of the different planets in our solar system 4 ). Precisely this

4 This is the reason why even though the heliocentric theory was formulated already by Copernicus was demonstrated only by Galileo Galilei who had the technical means to observe the

different between concrete and abstract, between everyday concrete knowledge and theoretical scientific knowledge renders the contradiction behind the problem of the sunrise unrecognizable as problem. Between the two types of knowledge there seems to exist a chasm that can only hardly be bridged. This is well known by anyone confronted with the task of applying an idea, a plan, a law, or a moral commandment to a concrete situation. For example, even though in abstracto every judge knows very well what is legal and what is not, we still need a trial in order to decide whether the law has been abided in a concrete situation. How is this chasm between everyday concrete knowledge and abstract scientific knowledge? Why is there a difference between them given that, as knowledge, they both share the same status?

In order to answer this question we will have to turn to the sociology of the life-world (Lebenswelt) and everyday knowledge developed by Alfred Schutz and Thomas Luckmann, to our knowledge, the only theoretical approach of this sort of problems. Several preliminary clarifications regarding the fundaments of this sociological theory are in order.

The fundamental axiom of this sociological project is that the world we live in is not constituted by the totality of the objects we encounter but by the meanings of the things encountered. Because of the fact that, depending on four phases of Venus, unexplainable within the premises of

142 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Didactic Status of Problem-learning and Its Conditions of Application the perspective from which they approached, the objects we see around us can bear more than one meaning (a painting is a colored piece of cloth or a

meaning-Luckmann 1973, 22). The world of fiction created by literary works is an example in this sense;; the world of science with all the axioms and laws proposed by its theories is another. The life-world in which every one of us lives is something completely similar. Each of these provinces of reality has its own particularities and each its own laws. For this reason each province of reality is independent and often incompatible with the others:

within the finite province of meaning P is also compatible within the finite province of meaning Q. On the contrary, seen from the P that has been established as real, Q appears altogether with the particular experiences belonging to Q, as

(Schutz and Luckmann 1973, 24)

The provinces of reality though, are only relatively independent of each other because the everyday life-world presents

Luckmann 1973, 35) containing all the other provinces that are constituted starting from it. The everyday life-world is purely and simply given to all of us.

-world it is to be understood that province of reality which the wide-awake and normal adult simply

takes for granted in the attitude of and Luckmann

1973, 3)

The primary character of the life-world, the fact that all the other provinces of reality are constituted starting from it and, in the end, can be enclosed within it, is given by several characteristics that particularize it in rapport with the others.

(1) The fact that is taken as self-

to use the peculiar terminology of the two sociologists -, that is to say, in the attitude peculiar to every one of us in everyday life nobody doubts the existence and the reality of the things he or she encounters. We really think that we see a tree when we see a tree without questioning our perception.

(2) The fact that all the other bodies that are similar to our own body are recognized as human beings who feel, think, desire, etc. exactly as we do.

(3) The fact that the life-world presents itself to all of us in the same way and the things we encounter within the world have the same meaning for all.

(4) The fact that the life-world is a world of action and that it is guided by a pragmatic motive.

-world is thus a reality which we modify through our acts and which, on the other hand, modifies our actions. We can say that our natural attitude of daily life is pervasively determined by a

143 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Didactic Status of Problem-learning and Its Conditions of Application pragmatic motive Schutz and Luckmann 1973, 6)

The particular way in which we find ourselves engaged in the life-world is that of being situated. To be in the life-world is to be situated;; to be caught up in a here and now and to be subjected to a twofold limitation. The first limit of our lifeworldly situations is represented by the fact of having a body that is given to us, which we discover before all the other things which are given to us only in rapport with it. The pencil on my desk is too far for me, the display of my computer too close and thus my eyes hurt, etc. As Schutz and Luckmann note:

centre of coordination in the world, with an above and below, right and left, behind and in front. First, my body and its functioning is a fundamental element

Luckmann 1973, 6)

Due to this the situations in which we find ourselves within the life-world are, on the one hand, biographically articulated and, on the other, fundamentally open. Any situation in which we could find ourselves is dependent upon the chain of prior situations in which we have found ourselves and on our own actions. I see the forest on my window because I have taken a seat on my desk. It is enough to close the curtains and it will disappear.

The second limit of our lifeworldly situations is the transcendence of world time. I am completely captivated by the article I am writing. I leave my desk to

answer a phone call with the impression that only few minutes have passed since I started working only to find out that it has actually been hours.

Even though, apparently, such a connection is difficult to make Schutz and Luckmann point out that these two limits are also determining for the way knowledge is constituted at this level. For as the two sociologists argue due to the centrality of our body for the situation in which we are engaged within the life-world, within this province of reality the process of knowing is experiencing, and knowledge, the sedimentation of the experiences of the different objects encountered in stocks of

stocks of knowledge are not homogenous but, rather, heterogeneous, reflecting perfectly the diversity of the things encountered. And, on the other hand, due to the transcendence of world time (due to the fact that time passes independently of its subjective perception) and the pragmatic motive that determined the life-world as such, at the level of the life-word the constitution of the stocks of knowledge is itself pragmatically motivated and guided by an interest. At the level of the life-world the individual acquires knowledge about one thing or another only insomuch as this proves useful for mastering the situation in which he or she is engaged. Due to the presence of such interest in the process of acquisition of knowledge the individual will never start from zero but will base his endeavor on the stocks of knowledge he or she already

144 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Didactic Status of Problem-learning and Its Conditions of Application possesses or on the stocks of knowledge of the others. And, on the other hand, he or she will never carry it to the end but only up to the point when the situation that must be mastered can be mastered.

With this last point noted we gain all the conceptual means necessary for the completion of the theoretical puzzle from which we have started. With this though, also the other conditions that need to be satisfied by a problem in order to become problematical come to appearance. Considering what has been said earlier it becomes manifest, first of all, that if the problem of the contradiction between the two pieces of knowledge concerning the rapport between the Sun and the Earth is not acknowledged as problematical this is because they belong to different stocks of knowledge pertaining to different provinces of meaning. The resistance we encounter in seeing this problem as problem is not necessarily the difference between the concrete and the abstract or the separation between theory and practice but, rather, the distance between the province of reality constituted by the life-world and the province of reality of science which, due to their relative independence, rarely meet in a situation in which we could be caught up and whose mastering would require the overcoming of this contradiction.

We can understand now that a structure with contradictory or insufficient data can be recognized as problem if and only insomuch as its constitutive data belong

to stocks of knowledge pertaining to the same province of reality or to provinces that, in a given situation or another, collide with each other.

Thus, to the already mentioned conditions of problem-learning we have to add another, fundamental one: the teacher who tries to use this method has to formulate the data of the problem in such a way so that the stocks of knowledge to which these belong to interact (even to enter into a conflict with each other) in a situation familiar in a way or another to the students (a situation in which they find or could find themselves).

Second of all, from the point of view of the sociology of the life-world and everyday knowledge teaches us that it becomes manifest that if the problem of sunrise, even though acknowledged, does not bring about an endeavor towards its resolution this happens because there is no interest in this sense. The absence of an endeavor towards overcoming the contradiction between the ideas regarding the rapport between the Sun and the Earth is not the sign of a lack of any kind but appears due to the fact that at the level of the everyday life (just as at that of science) there is, in fact, no situation whose mastering would be dependent on it. That there is a contradiction here bothers neither the common man, nor the scientist.

From this derives a second fundamental condition for the possibility of problem-learning: the teacher has to act in such

145 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS The Didactic Status of Problem-learning and Its Conditions of Application manner so as the structure with insufficient or contradictory data with which the students are confronted to be perceived as a problem whose solution has a decisive impact on the situation in which they find or will find themselves.

From all the above though it is also clear that the four fundamental conditions that need to be satisfied for the successful application of a sequence of problem-learning (1) the data of the problem have to be comprehensible for those to which they are addressed;; (2) the problem has to be acknowledged as

problem;; (3) the problem has to be problematical in a concrete situation (the stock of knowledge to which the data of the problem belong must conflict in a concrete manner within the life-world);; and (4) the students have to have an interest in solving the problem with which they are confronted require from the teacher a good knowledge of the mental abilities and intellectual acquisition of the class and also of the type of situation with which the students are confronted and their interests. This though is a matter about which didactics must remain silent.


Bibliography

Cherghit, Ioan. Ia i: Polirom, 2006.

Cuco , Constantin. Pedagogie. 2nd Edition. Ia i: Polirom, 2006.

Gadamer, Hans-Georg. Truth and Method. Translated by Joel Weinsheimer and Donald G. Marshall. London & New York: Continuum, 2004.

Husser, Edmund. La Terre ne se meut pas. Translated by Didier Frank, Jean-François Lavigne and Dominique Pradelle. Paris: Les Éditions de Minuit, 1989.

Ionescu, Miron. Instruc ie i educa ie. Cluj-Napoca, 2003.

Ionescu, Miron, and Ion Radu, . Cluj-Napoca: Dacia, 1995.

Okon, Wincenty. Translated by Geamba u Constantin. Bucure

Schutz, Alfred, and Thomas Luckmann. The Structures of the Life-world. Vol. 1. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1973.

147 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Fundamentele educa iei interculturale

Anca Nedelcu, Fundamentele educa iei interculturale. Diversitate, minorit i, echitate

Recenzat de Adela Pop-Cîmpean, Lect. PhD, Babe -Bolyai University

[email protected]

Volumul

1 2 -

-

stemele

2000+, coordonator al mai multor

1

-973-46-1173-7, 2008, 208 pagini 2

Valu

Mc Lean, Cultural Heritage & Contemporary Change, Washington,

(Editura Humanitas, 2004), a elaborat un

discursului asupra interculturalismului în

foarte bine echilibrat

subiecte care privesc direct tematica

cultu

care, prin caracterul lor teoretic-aplicativ,

148 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS Fundamentele educa iei interculturale

-o

analizele efectuate în capitolul dedicat

formelor lui de manifestare în diverse

Olanda, România sau Statele Unite ale

adreseze cititorului, fie el actual sau viitor cadru didactic, responsabil direct în

simplu).

149 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS An Overview of Primary and Secondary Education in the United States

An Overview of Primary and Secondary Education in the

United States

Ryan Conley, Editorial Assistant Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

[email protected]

ABSTRACT:

KEYWORDS: US Public Education, Federalism, Primary and Secondary School, No Child Left Behind, Private vs. Public Schools

It is not easy to describe the United States education system in generalities. The federal government plays a small role in establishing requirements and curricula, leaving much of it to be determined at the state and local levels. State governments develop state-wide exams to be taken each year

they determine the mandatory classes necessary for preparation for the exams.

A local school district (formed by municipal counties within states) can set its curriculum based on student interest, funding, and available teachers. It must be noted at the outset that these requirements and exams only apply to public schools, though there are standards that private and home schools must meet in order to ensure that those students are getting an adequate education. Although the federal

Like any country the United States of America has a unique education formed over time to best fit the particular needs of its citizens. Education in the US has evolved from single-room classes teaching students of all ages to a complex and comprehensive system aimed at providing the best skills and learning environment for American children from the ages of six through 18, and in the present day greater emphasis is being placed on preparing students for further post-secondary education, whether it be in universities, technical schools, or other forms of training. To best understand the American education system one must begin with how it is influenced by the federal organization of the government, as this is a major factor in the development and implementation of the schools in the US. From there we will examine briefly the organization of students in the primary and secondary schools. Then the curricula of schools will be explored, followed by an overview of the testing system and recent developments in federal education policy. Finally we will end with a brief discussion of private alternatives to public schools as well as the reasons why people may choose them.

150 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS An Overview of Primary and Secondary Education in the United States government has become more involved in the education system, especially with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, universities may often have more of an influence on school curricula based on what types of educational backgrounds they look for in applicants. School districts will try to develop a schedule of classes that will make their students more attractive applicants to universities as well as prepare them for post-secondary education.

Because all three levels of government are involved, funding for public schools comes from federal, state, and local sources, but the percentage contributed by each government increases as one gets closer to local levels. This can lead inequality in American schools;; as more funds are available in richer areas that are able to pay higher taxes, students in these schools can choose from a greater selection of electives available to them as well as better technology and basic classroom needs. The federal government provides funds to states and districts in need in attempts to create an equal level, but the difficulty involved in finding such areas in a country as large as the United States as well as laws that can limit the amount of funding that can be provided keeps this from being a perfect system.

there are many stages between the start of education and final graduation. From

approximately six years of age to 12, children attend elementary school, which consists of kindergarten and five to six years of classes, numbered from first grade to fifth or sixth grade. There is an intermediary stage called middle school or, less frequently, junior high school, that serves as a gateway between primary and secondary education, though because of its structure it is usually classified as part of the secondary school system. Middle schools are often, with the exception of school districts with small enrollment, located in a different building from elementary schools. Middle schools contain either grades sixth through eighth or, less commonly, seventh and eighth with the sixth grade as part of the Elementary school.

Secondary schools, called high schools, span four years, from ninth through twelfth grades, with the age of students ranging from 14 to 18. They are also usually housed in separate buildings and can be composed of students from multiple middle schools. High schools vary in what their primary mission can be;; in public schools the goal is to get every student to graduate--these days with the skills needed to move on to universities--but also to provide vocational training for those who will immediately enter the workforce. Private schools usually take the approach of acting as preparation for college, with the high school diploma being seen as one step in education rather than being an end in itself.

151 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS An Overview of Primary and Secondary Education in the United States The school year in the United States has traditionally been from August or September through May or June. This was originally necessitated by the agrarian economy that existed in the United States for some time, when children were needed for harvesting in summer months;; since this is no longer the case there has been a major move in the last few decades toward year-round schooling. Although the schedule is left to the state or local district, this usually takes the form of a shorter summer vacation with small breaks in the fall and spring.

Elementary school is based on a less structured approach to education than middle or high school. Since most of the lessons are taught from a beginner standpoint, many subjects are taught by the same teacher, usually within the same classroom. Focus is on the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic, with each year leading to increasing difficulty in concepts, but the delineation between areas of a subject (such as geometry, algebra, etc. in math) is different from that of secondary school. While emphasis is placed on these three subjects, there is time allotted for other disciplines such as science or social studies/civics, as well as music and physical education. In elementary schools the priority is building a foundation of knowledge for more intensive study as students get older and develop the ability to understand concepts of increasing complexity. Also, because elementary school can be the

first interaction children have with others outside of their families, there is some importance placed on informal instruction regarding socialization;; there is much more play time and recess, and team games are often used to help instruction.

Middle school serves as a transition from elementary school in that subjects studied become more specialized, and the school day is arranged into several classes. Children are also given more freedom to choose classes that interest them, although the required curriculum is still more rigid than in high schools. Science and social studies (which includes history) are now given the same attention as math and English1 but are not necessarily divided into specific fields from year to year;; that is, a science class will not be focused solely on biology or physics for the entire year. These distinctions do not come about until high school.

The middle school curriculum revolves around four subjects: English, math, science, and social studies. Students must take a class in all of these subjects every year. As mentioned above, there is no specific subject studied at each grade (with the exception of math, in which students move through pre-algebra to algebra), but as in elementary school the material

growth in learning. Students usually have three electives a semester to study

1 English class includes both literature and grammar, but in some places these will be separated. Literature studies are not solely devoted to British/American literature; in recent years students have begun reading world literature.

152 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS An Overview of Primary and Secondary Education in the United States music, art, foreign languages, industrial arts, and so on. Physical education is required at least one semester a year.

High school is the point at which student progress becomes measured and classes become much more specialized. The grades students receive in each class goes towards a cumulative grade point average (GPA) that ranges from 0 through 4.0. Final grades for classes are lettered either A, B, C, D, F, with A being a high pass and converted to a 4 for GPA purposes, and an F being fail, equal to a 0. The other letters are spaced along the

major factors universities will look at when deciding whom to admit, so every class throughout the entire four years will have important consequences.

Classes in certain subjects also become divided into separate levels into which students are assigned based on their aptitude;; besides the common level in which the majority of students enroll, classes in English, math and science can be taken as remedial or advanced/honors. These three subjects, along with history and foreign language, also offer, in most high schools, Advanced Placement (AP) classes. AP classes are usually taken in the 11th and 12th grades;; they are meant to be taught at a college level, and at the end of the year students will take an exam in each subject that, if they score high enough, many universities will accept in lieu of beginner-level classes. Because AP classes are supposed to be harder than average, some schools will weight the grade, meaning that an A can be worth

more than a 4 for the GPA, thereby resulting in some students graduating with a much higher GPA than the highest available, 4.0, in other school districts.

The curricula of high schools can vary widely depending on state and local requirements as well as the available funds for electives and aptitude levels of required courses, but they still center on English and math, the two subjects on which most state tests and college entrance exams focus. English classes are almost always required for all four years of high school, and math are usually required for at least three. Math classes will follow a set schedule each year, with algebra and geometry the first and second years (interchangeably), followed by pre-calculus the third years and calculus, if the student chooses, the fourth year. Students generally take science for three years, covering biology, chemistry and physics, and history is taught for two years in order to include both American and world history. At least one year of foreign language is often required, as is one year of physical education (many times split into one semester of gymnastics and one of health class). This leaves ample time for students to pursue their interests in various electives, most classes being similar to those offered in middle school but more specialized. In the past, high schools offered vocational training in the final two years of school to students planning to enter the workforce rather than university, but with the increase in testing requirements these classes have

153 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS An Overview of Primary and Secondary Education in the United States been phased out in most areas so students can spend more time studying for the exams.

Although No Child Left Behind (NCLB),2 which went into effect in early 2002, has brought testing to the forefront of American education, many states have long set minimum goals for districts and schools to meet in order to ensure a proper level of education for all students. As these exams are created by the states, they can take many forms. One of the most well-known examples of state testing is the New York State Regent exams. These cover a range of subjects, not all of which students are required to take unless they want to meet the requi

honor, but in order to be graduated from high school they must pass five exams in math, English, world history, US history, and science.

The advent of NCLB required mandatory yearly testing in all public schools for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) of schools and students (improvements must be made annually). Students who fail to do so must enter tutoring programs or summer school, provided by the school system, until they have made progress. Schools that make

sanctions, such as developing a multi-

2 http://www.gpo.gov:80/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-107publ110/pdf/PLAW-107publ110.pdf (government link).

year strategy for improvement, allowing students to transfer to better performing schools in the district, or, in extreme cases (several years of no AYP), replacement of staff and creation of a new curriculum.

While NCLB is one of the largest federal interventions in public schools, it still leaves much of the implementation of the plan to the states. States come up with their own tests, as long as it meets certain requirements the federal government has set for measuring reading, writing, and mathematic aptitude. Most states that already had such tests in place are able to use these as their yearly tests, although if the testing only took place at certain grade levels it was necessary to expand them. At present NCLB is eight years old, so data as to its effectiveness is only now becoming available. The major criticisms surrounding it mostly involve controversy over testing;; advocates fear that schools

only teaching students the skills to pass rote exams instead of developing more creative processes of learning, and that the focus on reading, writing, and math is taking funds and class time away from other subjects that can be equally important.

Because education from kindergarten to the age of 16 to 18 (depending on the state) is mandatory in the United States, public education must be made available to all children. Public schools are the largest education system

154 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS An Overview of Primary and Secondary Education in the United States in the country, but there are many other options available to students depending on a variety of factors and the availability of a family to pay for a private education. In the US public schools, students must attend schools within their local district, the boundary of which is the county, a municipal division of the state. The school one attends is further determined by one's city, town, or neighborhood, as the county will attempt to divide the district in a way that students live somewhat near their school as well as to disperse the student population to prevent classroom overcrowding. Established by the state and funded by federal, state, and local governments, public schools are beholden to the requirements and policies of each level. There are a few other private options available to students who prefer not to attend public schools, usually for religious reasons or what they believe to be the poor quality of education in the local public schools.

The most common private schools in the US are religion-based, the largest of which is the Catholic school system. Each parish (or in the case of areas with small population, two or more parishes combined) has its own school, mainly consisting of first through eighth grades. Catholic high schools are run by the diocese and contain students from several parishes. In the past the Catholic high schools were divided by the sexes, but this is now the exception in most areas. The Catholic schools vary little from the average curricula of public schools, but they do require religious

instruction and prayer is common. There are other religion-based schools as well, for example, Judaic schools, which are also common.

Another type of private secondary school is those that classify themselves as college prepartories. These schools were traditionally located in New England, primarily serving as feeder schools for the Ivy League, but these days they exist throughout the US, particularly in large cities or other areas with higher income levels. College prepartory schools can be based on the English model of boarding schools, in which children live in dormitories away from their families, but now they are more commonly day schools. These types of schools are usually costly, but they claim to have much higher standards of education, and there is a greater availability of electives as well as extracurricular activities. Although much of the preparation for post-secondary education takes place in high schools, private schools also exist for primary education.

A third option outside of the public schools is home schooling. Home schooling has a long history in the US;; since much of the country's history has been an expansion westward many settlers lived isolated from others. There are stories told about Abraham Lincoln's auto-didacticism;; he supposedly got his education by the fireside with only a few books and a slate. More recently home schools have been chosen by those who feel the public school system is too restrictive and hindered creativity.

155 THE JOURAL OF DIDACTICS An Overview of Primary and Secondary Education in the United States Others are concerned about what they see as the rise of a dangerous atmosphere in public schools, or who feel the educational standards to be too lax. These days home schooling has been heavily influenced by religion--many parents believe the public school system has become too secular, or are concerned by certain concepts taught, such as evolution or sex education. Home schooling can take many forms;; for example, parents will take the sole responsibility of teaching their children, or a group of families can combine to divide the subjects taught.

There have been recent debates in the US about experiments with public/private combinations. One idea that was supported by the Bush

voucher arose out of NCLB;; the plan was that students attending a school that continually fails to meet the AYP requirement should be given funds by the government, vouchers, that can be used to pay tuition at more successful private schools. The main criticisms of this plan were that the money given to individuals would be better spent fixing the public schools, and that it would violate the First Constitutional Amendment (which prevents the state from establishing or supporting a religion) since the funds could be used at

religious schools. Another experiment is

schools are turned over to private companies to run;; students would effectively have their state-mandated education run by private individuals. The argument in favor of this is that private companies have an interest in succeeding since it means profit, while those against think that public education must be left to the government to ensure equal standards and access for all students.

What has been presented is a brief overview of system of education in the US, how it is organized by the government, what the common curricula is and how it is taught. Testing in schools is a subject to be followed in the future, as it marks a major shift in how progress is measured and the role the federal government will play in schools. Also the issue of public and private schools has the potential to develop into a point of debate if testing shows a decline or stagnation in public schools;; those who are able may begin to migrate to private schools in greater numbers. Overall education in the US is a fluid and dynamic network touching on all levels of the country that always has the potential for rapid change.

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