Problem-solving concepts and theories.

Many educators, especially those involved in professional curricula, are interested in problem solving and in how to support students' development into successful problem solvers. The following article serves as an overview of educational research on problem solving. Several concepts are defined and the transition from one theory to another is discussed. Educational theories describing problem solving in the context of behavioral, cognitive, and information-processing pedagogy are discussed. The final section of the article describes prior findings regarding expert-novice differences in problem solving of various kinds.