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Problem-Centered Career and Technical Units

The concept of problem-centered teaching and learning in career and technical education has been around for a long time. Since the inception of vocational education classes (now known as career and technical education), students enrolled in these classes have been taught to solve everyday problems they would encounter in their home and/or work situations.

Problem-centered teaching and learning in career and technical education uses critical thinking skills to provide the foundation for problem solving and decision-making. Critical thinking skills are interwoven into both processes. Also, the processes of problem solving and decision making overlap considerably. Decisions are often problematic, while problems require one to make decisions of some kind. Critical thinking skills are used in both processes.

The problem solving process utilized in career and technical education stems from the process of John Dewey known as Dewey's Steps in Reflective Thinking. This process has also been referred to as The Chain of Reasoning, The Method of Science, The Learning Process, and The Scientific Method. The learning process in education can include the following steps:

    1. Experiencing a provocative situation
    2. Defining the problems - clarifying the questions to be answered
    3. Seeking data and information
    4. Formulating possible solutions
    5. Testing proposed solutions
    6. Evaluating the results
Teachers and students who utilize the problem-solving approach can build on the learning process presented above. Teachers who utilize the problem solving approach would use the following steps:
    1. Interest approach
    2. Group objectives
    3. Questions to be answered
    4. Problem solutions
    5. Testing solutions through application
    6. Evaluation of solutions
An explanation of how the learning process and the problem-solving approach relate is as follows: The teacher opens up a unit of study with an interest approach that is designed to present a provocative situation. Students are then led in a discussion of why they need to know this information and are caused to formulate a list of reasons why the need to study the unit. They are then asked to develop a list of study questions they need to answer. By developing a list of questions for studying the unit and deriving a list of questions to answer, the students will have rather carefully and clearly defined the problem. In order to solve the problems (or answer the questions), the students will need to gather data and information and formulate possible solutions. Students then test the solutions or answers in class, laboratory, student organization activity, or through their work experience program. Solutions are then evaluated by the students and by the teacher to determine how much has been learned.

Preservice teachers in career and technical education at Auburn University develop their entire lesson utilizing the problem-centered approach. Each preservice students will have many opportunities to develop lessons that are pragmatic, student-centered, and focus on real problems faced in everyday life.