Educational title for gifted and advanced learners.

Give students the ability to solve their problems and you'll give them a skill they'll use for life. This book presents Creative Problem Solving in a step-by-step manner young children can understand and enjoy. Use CPS to solve the problems of the Three Little Pigs, Rapunzel, the Frog Prince, and much more. Grades 2-4

How can we break the cycle of frustrated students who "drop out of math" because the procedures just don't make sense to them? Or who memorize the procedures for the test but don't really understand the mathematics? Max Ray-Riek and his colleagues at the Math Forum @ Drexel University say "problem solved," by offering their collective wisdom about how students become proficient problem solvers, through the lens of the CCSS for Mathematical Practices. They unpack the process of problem solving in fresh new ways and turn the Practices into activities that teachers can use to foster habits of mind required by the Common Core: communicating ideas and listening to the reflections of others estimating and reasoning to see the "big picture" of a problem organizing information to promote problem solving using modeling and representations to visualize abstract concepts reflecting on, revising, justifying, and extending the work. Powerful Problem Solving shows what's possible when students become active doers rather than passive consumers of mathematics. Max argues that the process of sense-making truly begins when we create questioning, curious classrooms full of students' own thoughts and ideas. By asking "What do you notice? What do you wonder?" we give students opportunities to see problems in big-picture ways, and discover multiple strategies for tackling a problem. Self-confidence, reflective skills, and engagement soar, and students discover that the goal is not to be "over and done," but to realize the many different ways to approach problems. Read a sample chapter.

Design Genius, Jr.: Adventures in Engineering for Kids explores the future through problem solving, design thinking, and engineering in a science-fact world that most parents and kids don’t yet know exists. This book invites kids to take charge of the world they wish to create by designing inventions and solutions to challenges faced in an imaginary City X, the first human settlement on another planet. This adventure takes readers on an epic journey: humans are leaving Earth, arriving at a new planet, and creating the first settlement there, City X. It’s a journey of historic proportions, to a fledgling city on a distant planet, where humanity has a chance to start fresh and design a future that works for everyone. In settling another planet, humans discover a host of challenges, much like those faced on Earth: Challenges related to issues of energy, environment, transportation, security, food, safety, and health. Empowered by design thinking and advanced technology, their problems are to be solved by a vast team of young designers on Earth (your children!). With this book, you and yours will be able to develop the tools to explore, understand, imagine, create, and share your own irresistible futures through accessible real-world activities and awesome ideations. Without limits, what can kids create?

The fun and simple problem-solving guide that took Japan by storm Ken Watanabe originally wrote Problem Solving 101 for Japanese schoolchildren. His goal was to help shift the focus in Japanese education from memorization to critical thinking, by adapting some of the techniques he had learned as an elite McKinsey consultant. He was amazed to discover that adults were hungry for his fun and easy guide to problem solving and decision making. The book became a surprise Japanese bestseller, with more than 370,000 in print after six months. Now American businesspeople can also use it to master some powerful skills. Watanabe uses sample scenarios to illustrate his techniques, which include logic trees and matrixes. A rock band figures out how to drive up concert attendance. An aspiring animator budgets for a new computer purchase. Students decide which high school they will attend. Illustrated with diagrams and quirky drawings, the book is simple enough for a middleschooler to understand but sophisticated enough for business leaders to apply to their most challenging problems.

From straightforward internet access to elaborate makerspaces, libraries have taken center stage when it comes to providing free access to technology to those who visit their physical spaces. But how about people who don’t walk into a library? How do we ensure those members of the community are also being reached by technology programming? It’s time to launch an adventure! Berman, named an ALA Emerging Leader and Library Journal Mover & Shaker, provides readers with a comprehensive plan for creating and implementing successful technology-based outreach. She also teaches readers design thinking skills that can enable library staff to become creative problem solvers. Sharing the methods and experiences of her team at San José Public Library, Berman’s guide presents numerous real-world case studies, including videomaking in a skate park, e-readers for seniors, popup mobile makerspaces, and simple circuits in middle school, that will inspire readers to move technology beyond the walls of the library;offers dozens of design thinking exercises, such as rapid prototyping, empathy mapping, and logic models, as part of a start-to-finish model for developing a new program concept;discusses the origins of and reasons behind the digital divide, then shares outreach fundamentals and best practices that will help ensure success; andprovides information about ways to connect with the community, perform evaluation, offer STEM programming, and additional resources. This guide will empower libraries to design and prototype technology-based outreach ideas safely, quickly, and with confidence, leading to better service for all members of the community.

Employees who possess problem-solving skills are highly valued in today?s competitive business environment. The question is how can employees learn to deal in innovative ways with new data, methods, people, and technologies? In this groundbreaking book, Arthur VanGundy -- a pioneer in the field of idea generation and problem solving -- has compiled 101 group activities that combine to make a unique resource for trainers, facilitators, and human resource professionals. The book is filled with idea-generation activities that simultaneously teach the underlying problem-solving and creativity techniques involved. Each of the book?s 101 engaging and thought-provoking activities includes facilitator notes and advice on when and how to use the activity. Using 101 Activities for Teaching Creativity and Problem Solving will give you the information and tools you need to: Generate creative ideas to solve problems. Avoid patterned and negative thinking. Engage in activities that are guaranteed to spark ideas. Use proven techniques for brainstorming with groups. Order your copy today.

"A must for educators, counselors and trainers who enjoy and understand the benefits of adventure-based activities. This is a book of initiative activities and problem-solving elements that you can create and use to start your own portable experiential challenge program or enhance the program you already have. All of the ideas here are presented with a tight budget in mind. The purpose is to provide a way for human services providers to afford the benefits challenge programming can offer" -- Cover.