How Problem Solving Skills Empower Elementary Students

There are many social problems elementary students can experience during a school day. As a teacher, I am sure you observe many of them on a daily basis - I know I do. 

Your students can get stuck thinking that they need their teacher, they can’t do this alone, or they get frustrated and eventually have an outburst.

When they are unsure what to do, it’s hard for them to move forward. 

The good news is, you can easily bring order to the chaos by empowering students with tools to solve these problems.

In this post, I’ll define problem solving and provide 3 skills that will help empower your students when they face problems in and out of the classroom. I hope that this will give you a roadmap so you can get started with showing your students how to handle social interactions independently.

What is the perfect approach for teaching problem solving to empower your elementary students?

Teaching problem solving skills helps elementary students learn how to work as a team, empowers them to communicate with others, and sets a foundation for them to be more successful in school.

In other words:

Teaching students to solve social problems without the teacher’s support allows more time to work on academic skills.

The added benefit is that there are fewer distractions and disruptions to the learning process.

1. Stop and Think

Stop and think works very well when students are struggling with a problem independently.

This is a crucial component because it is one of the problem solving strategies that can be used in a variety of situations.

Many students who are new to problem solving start out on the right track but then get stuck because they can’t find the necessary resources or supplies to complete a task.

And then they wind up frustrated and on the verge of an outburst.

The key to teaching your students how to complete a task with ease is to gently guide their thought process.

To get started here, ask them to stop and think about the last time they used the thing they are looking for.

2. Calming Strategies

Calming strategies are skills that students will need to practice throughout the year.

If you’ve spent hours attempting to teach your students independence but something still feels off – like they continue to need help, this is likely the piece that’s missing. 

Without this, you can set up amazing behavior management systems and still not have a calm classroom.​​ 

What can you do?

A few useful tools that will help your students calm themselves are: teaching them to count down/up, allowing them to ask for a break time, or changing their location.

When students learn what’s best for them to calm down, they become more confident in responding to problems and usually help others when they need a reminder to calm down.

 3. Active Listening

Active listening includes giving someone full attention (not requiring eye contact if a student struggles with doing so), using movement to show that they hear the other person, and responding after the other person has shared their thoughts.

Here’s where you’ll really start to empower your students with problem solving skills.

Of course, it will take some time to build these habits. Consider teaching students active listening to help them work to reduce conflict with peers.

The approach you can use to teach is:

• Introduction and Explanation: Begin by explaining the concept of active listening to the students. Define it as a crucial skill for understanding others and resolving conflicts. Use relatable examples to illustrate the importance of truly hearing what others are saying.
• Interactive Activities: Facilitate interactive activities to help students practice active listening. Use role-playing scenarios where students take turns being the speaker and the active listener. Encourage the use of movement or non-verbal cues, such as nodding or expressing empathy through facial expressions, to show that they are engaged and understanding. 
• Reflection and Application: Incorporate moments of reflection into the learning process. Discuss how using active listening techniques made them feel and how it influenced the communication process. 

Once you’re done, you’ll be well on your way to fostering a classroom environment where students actively listen, understand, and respond calmly during various situations, contributing to a positive and cooperative learning atmosphere.

Putting it All Together for the Most Effective Way to Teach Problem Solving

There you have it! The 3 components of the most effective way to teach problem solving.

It may sound like a lot, but like most things practice makes perfect. Just focus on incorporating each skill. This will help your students problem-solve while showing them how to interact with others inside and out of the classroom.

What’s next? Download the Feelings & Emotions Mini-Lesson for free!

If you need help getting started, my Feelings & Emotions Mini-Lesson can support your students in understanding their emotions and feelings! Inside this mini lesson with an included teacher script to help you facilitate an open conversation about emotions with your students. Ten different face outlines (two versions for each) are included in this freebie so students can draw and write about how they're feeling! 

>> Click here to download Feelings and Emotions Mini-Lesson now! <<