Norma,
This is a common theme with instructors that I talk with. A majority of students want everything given to them without having to think or analyze situations. So even though it may be a struggle at times the more opportunities we can present to students to think critically and problem solve the better prepared they will be upon course completion.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree, My younger students are of the generation of having everything handed to them on a silver platter, I put the information on the board and ask them to give me an example, but they rather I tell them then using their common sence to answer the question. It takes lots of creativity on my part to get them to come to give me feed back on the topic.
Holly,
This is a common reaction by students in a number of fields nursing included. I try to get my students to slow down a bit and do some thinking about options rather than just jumping to solutions. By doing so they can sometimes find that the common sense solution was there all along and that they need to look for common sense in their approach to situations.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I also have found that with my nursing students that they tend to overthink a problem, not using common sense to find a solution that was right in front of them all the time. Then when given the solution they feel stupid or inadequate.
Brenda,
Good point about how the medical field is based to a major extent on critical thinking and problem solving. We need to develop as many different opportunities as we can for our students to work through case studies so they and refine their reflective thinking process.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Students like to have "black & White" solutions/answers. They seem to want to be spoon fed the information so they can regurgitate it for the test. I hear from my studnets that when they have to pull multiple aspects together, such as in a case study, in order to formulate a treatment plan, they have a hard time. So much of health care is based on critical thinking, and being able to quickly determine the best course of action.
Gayle,
Good definition and something that everyone should be able to do but many never seem to get the common sense part down as a part of problem solving.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Gayle,
Common sense seems to be missing in a lot of our daily activities today. The more you can get your students to do reflective thinking the more they will be able to problem solve. It is a slow process at times but well worth the effort when you get to see that they can analyze and propose solutions to problems in the field.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
problem solving and common sense in thinking something through, seems somewhat difficult for them.
Have been trying to get my students to critically think through a situation(s)and/or a question, and it seems common sense and this ability to analyze is a hard concept for them.
Glenn,
This situation is so common for students. They start to analyze a more complex situation when a simple act of reflection, consideration and then solution would solve the problem. So if we can help them to come up with a plan for how to approach problems and seek solutions we will have done them a great service as educators.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
