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Description
The current study examined and compared the problem solving of 18 to 22 and 27 to 36 months old children. These age groups are not commonly studied in this aspect because very young children cannot reflect on their own thinking or tell us about their problem solving strategies. In the study 24 children (11 younger and 13 older) were presented with tasks that required the use of tools to retrieve a desired object. The results of the study showed similarities as well as differences between the two age groups' problem solving. Children in both age groups devised and used a variety of successful and unsuccessful strategies during problem solving. The children's strategy choices in general suggested that they had an understanding of the goals of the problems and the strategies needed to achieve these goals. There was a significant difference in the condition of success and the number of unsuccessful strategies the two age groups used. Significantly more children in the older age group succeeded independently and without using any unsuccessful strategies, showing that they used means-end analysis in their problem solving. Some of the older children and most of the younger children used one or two unsuccessful strategies before they succeeded (demonstrating the use of a hill-climbing strategy), which indicates that this problem solving strategy is prevalent in both age groups. Significantly more children in the younger age group used three unsuccessful strategies before they succeeded, indicating a trial and error strategy. Scaffolding (e.g. verbal or modeling help) was offered to those children who were not successful independently. The results show that verbal help was always sufficient help for the older children, but it was less sufficient for the younger children who needed modeling to succeed. The practical implications of this study are important for parents and teachers of toddlers and preschoolers. The findings indicate that very young children are active problem solvers and use many different strategies during problem solving. The findings also indicate that by age three verbal hints can be an effective way to help children in problem solving situations, but for children younger than two years old modeling is more effective
