I'm a special education teacher at the high school in a self-contained functional skills classroom. My job is to help my students acquire the necessary skills to become as independent as possible, and problem solving is a life skill that will help increase their independence. My students need ongoing practice with recognizing when they have a problem, determining how they can solve the problem (or asking for help to solve the problem), and then actually following through with the solution. A memorable lesson for me was one that I was co-teaching with our speech pathologist on problem solving skills in real life scenarios. Our anticipatory set included the two of us role playing various situations and the students having to identify what the problem was. They were immediately engaged and thought it was hysterical when one of us would drop our pile of books, or sit in the wrong seat, or spill our drink, etc. The visual of us acting out the problems was an effective way to activate their schema, generate their interest, and get them engaged/excited to begin the lesson. My students learn best and are more likely to retain information when it's presented in multiple ways, and when it is connected to their personal life/experiences. Role playing has been an effective strategy to help them make those connections and make the lesson more meaningful for them.
