Thinking and Problem Solving Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The effective way is encouraging students to think independently and questioning assumptions.

Critical thinking means analysing ideas, weighing evidence and judging claims for oneself. Learners develop it when they are invited to form their own views and to question what is taken for granted.

Rote memorization of facts, discouraging questions and handing students a set of predetermined answers all train acceptance rather than evaluation, so they suppress critical thinking.

Answer: D

The obstacle is a response set.

A response set (mental set) is the tendency to keep approaching problems in a way that worked before. When a new problem needs a different approach, this rigidity blocks the solver from seeing it, so it hinders effective problem solving, much like functional fixedness.

The other three help. Concept mapping organises what is known about the problem, brainstorming generates many possible solutions without early judgement, and analogical thinking applies the solution of a similar, familiar problem to the new one.

Answer: C

The creative question is How would you rewrite the given text from the perspective of an object rather than a person ?

This task has no single right answer. Students must imagine a new point of view and produce something original, which is the creating level of the revised Bloom's taxonomy and calls for divergent thinking.

The other three are convergent. Identifying the subject of a sentence applies a known rule, listing the types of nouns is recall, and stating the definition of a noun is pure memory. Each has one expected answer.

Answer: D

Critical thinking is promoted by encouraging questions such as what, why, how.

Critical thinking means analysing, questioning and evaluating ideas rather than accepting them. Asking and answering why and how questions makes children look for reasons, evidence and explanations.

Metacognition, thinking about one's own thinking, supports critical thinking, so discouraging it is wrong. Collaboration exposes children to other viewpoints and arguments, so discouraging it is also wrong. Rote rehearsal builds memorisation, not analysis.

Answer: B

The effective strategy is means-ends analysis.

An ill-defined problem has no clear starting state, goal or set of permitted steps, so no ready-made procedure fits it. Means-ends analysis is a heuristic: the solver compares where they are with where they want to be, breaks the gap into sub-goals and picks a step that reduces each difference. That flexibility is what an ill-defined problem needs.

Algorithms work only for well-defined problems, where a fixed step-by-step procedure is guaranteed to reach the answer. Functional fixedness, seeing an object only in its usual use, is a barrier to problem-solving, not a strategy. Learning by rote stores answers without understanding and gives no way into a new problem.

Answer: C

The qualities of critical thinking are (i), (ii) and (iii).

Critical thinking means judging ideas on evidence rather than accepting them as given. That needs the ability to question claims (i), to reflect on one's own reasoning and biases (ii), and to test assumptions one already holds (iii).

Thinking convergently (iv) means narrowing down to the single expected answer, as in a recall test. It is useful, but it is not what marks critical thinking, which is evaluative and often divergent. Every option that includes (iv) is therefore wrong, and '(i) and (ii)' leaves out testing of assumptions.

Answer: B

What hinders problem-solving is fixating on a single trait of a composite problem.

A composite problem has several features that must be considered together. Locking on to one of them is a form of mental set or fixation: the solver keeps approaching the problem the same way and misses the other aspects that hold the solution.

The other options help. Breaking a large problem into smaller parts makes it manageable. Algorithms and heuristics are the standard problem-solving tools. Using a solution that worked for a similar problem earlier is transfer by analogy, which is effective as long as the solver checks that it still fits.

Answer: C

The process is called retrieval.

Memory is usually described in three stages: encoding (taking information in), storage (keeping it over time) and retrieval (bringing stored information back into conscious use when it is needed). Recalling an answer in an exam is retrieval.

Forgetting is the failure to retrieve. Decay is one explanation of forgetting, the fading of a memory trace with time and disuse. Attention is the selection of information at the start of the process, before it is encoded, not the act of bringing it back.

Answer: A

The question that promotes higher-order thinking is Identify the assumptions underlying two newspaper articles depicting the same event.

Comparing two reports of one event and uncovering the assumptions behind each requires analysis and evaluation, the upper levels of Bloom's taxonomy. Students must read critically, compare viewpoints and judge the evidence.

Identifying nouns and listing new words are recall and recognition tasks. Thinking of a title calls for some understanding of the main idea, but it is a comprehension task rather than critical analysis.

Answer: C

The two strategies are heuristics and algorithms.

An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure that is guaranteed to give the right answer if followed correctly, such as the method for long division. A heuristic is a rule of thumb or shortcut, such as working backwards or breaking a problem into parts, which often works and saves time but does not guarantee success.

The other pairs include response set and functional fixedness, which are obstacles to problem-solving, not strategies. A response set is the tendency to keep using an approach that worked before, and functional fixedness is seeing an object only in its usual use.