At first glance, it’s hard to tell what the students in Nick Skaggs Problem Solving class are doing. They are so quiet and intense, they could be taking a test. What they are doing is developing strategies and solutions to solve real world (or future world) problems. Today they are working on toxic waste leaking from a chemical plant located on the Earth colony Selene located on the moon. (It’s 2045) The students follow a six step problem solving method taught by Skaggs. They identify the challenges, identify the underlying problem, work on possible solutions, develop criteria to choose the best solution among all the ideas. The criteria allow them to rank the solutions, step 5, and finally come up with an action plan. The class varied from lively conversation to silent work. They came up with some interesting solutions. A student in one group suggested shipping the operation off to Mars, moving the toxic waste, this idea was countered by another group member pointing out we might want to colonize Mars in the future. For the most part, they seemed to be trying to come up with a way to better contain the waste so that it wouldn’t leak. One idea I found intriguing was figuring out a way to weaken the toxicity of the waste so that it wouldn’t be harmful to people. Whatever the case, it’s comforting to know that we have such thoughtful, collaborative kids sure to become thoughtful, collaborative adults.
