Teaching Problem-Solving in the Digital Era

This chapter addresses four unique dimensions of fostering technological problem-solving in the digital era. First, in an era of rapid technological changes, the traditional term problem-solving has acquired a supplementary aspect: inventing new products and services that create new needs that people had not thought of before, for example, the iPhone. The second aspect refers to adopting methods for Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT) by carrying out systematic manipulations with the attributes or components in a system to solve a problem or create a new product. The third part of the chapter relates to fostering pupils’ computational thinking (CT), which relates to solving problems, designing systems, and understanding human behavior by drawing on concepts fundamental to computer science. The fourth part of the paper suggests a more rationalized view of applying the project-based learning methodology in the technological class. The chapter stresses that applying PBL in schools could be more effective after students have gained some basic knowledge and working skills in learning a new subject.