Tasks of Problem Solving: Adolescent (TOPS-2:A Companion)

Description

Ages: 12-17

Based on the research of Richard Paul, Art Costa, Jean Piaget, and Benjamin Bloom, these lessons help adolescents use deeper thinking to make personal decisions and think about the future.

This book is a compendium of language-based thinking skills. Each unit works on a specific skill and incorporates other thinking skills as well. Instruction guidelines and skill-specific vocabulary lessons are in each unit. The activities are a therapy companion to the Test of Problem Solving 2 Adolescent (TOPS 2).

The units are:

• SequencingOrganize objects and ideas quickly and logically.
• Asking and Answering QuestionsAsk the right questions to gather relevant information. Answer questions appropriately by giving relevant information in the right amount and staying on topic.
• Comparing and ContrastingGain deeper understanding for problem-solving by thinking about similarities and differences.
• Identifying ProblemsUse clear, specific language to state the problem.
• Detecting Key InformationImprove efficiency in problem solving by identifying the critical information.
• Making InferencesStudents think about what they know from past experiences and personal knowledge to form an inference.
• Expressing ConsequencesDetermine logical consequences and express them effectively.
• Determining SolutionsParaphrase the problem and list possible solutions.
• Justifying OpinionsExpress opinions and explain or justify them to others.
• Interpreting PerspectivesUnderstand key factors in evaluating others' perspectives.
• Transferring InsightsApply knowledge to new situations by asking oneself thoughtful questions.
• Integrating Thinking SkillsTwenty five realistic situations with a photo and a brief description of the situation. Students use their past experience, logic, and general knowledge to answer thought-provoking questions.

Extra helps include:

• glossary of vocabulary for problem solving
• outline of Richard Paul's higher-order thinking skills
• Art Costa's sixteen attributes of Habits of Mind
• overview of Jean Piaget's Concrete and Formal Operational Stages of Development

180 pages 8.5 x 11, softcover 2007