Teaching Students to Use Chunking to Tackle Complex Problems

We do problem- and project-based learning (PBL) not just for the end product, but so that students can experience a process from beginning to end, often in collaboration with peers, just like they will as adults in the real world. Messiness is one of the key ingredients of PBL. We want students to practice how to manage a big group project: to learn how to break down large tasks into smaller steps, and how to recognize and resolve the problems that can arise anytime groups work together. 

My eighth-grade World Issues students are beginning to consider the concept of culture, and in the weeks ahead I’ll be asking them to apply that learning to a variety of current event topics we read in the news. I want them to discuss and decide how to explain American culture, and so I ask them to pretend to be doing a presentation for new Americans at a real Vermont office of USCRI (United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants).

These are transferable skills. Be they academic or social, the world is full of big, messy problems, and we want our students to be able to sort them out into manageable chunks. And when we as teachers make solving big problems a regular part of our classroom routine and culture, we’ll see students develop into humans who aren’t overwhelmed by the scope of a project or the complexity of a team.

Chunking a Challenge: A Procedure

Chunking is a process that comes into play anytime we have a complex problem to solve—whether it be a carefully designed, problem-based challenge or one that just comes up as part of our day. When we first give students a written challenge, we have a reading comprehension task as students read and make sense of the instructions. Our goal is for each student to pull out essential information and summarize key points aloud for each other, in a way that checks on and reinforces understanding. Give time and structure for students to read, think, talk, share, and decide, and more. Encourage learners to read actively, marking text and making notes as they go. I ask them to mark important details, circle questions, and note ideas.

I’m hoping they find in the text: some validation that what we’re learning about culture has real meaning and use in their community, the problem I’m asking them to solve, some insights about the group process, and expectations for the final product.

After some time to read and review the written task individually and/or in small groups, the class comes together to discuss their process and the product(s). It’s essential for students to share their understanding aloud, to converse about it, and to be sure that everyone has the same concept of the work ahead. Here are a few ideas (and some handouts that might support those ideas):

Make a timeline. Starting at the deadline and working backward can be particularly helpful, especially if time management is a skill the group needs to work on.

• When does this project have to be done? 
• How much class time and/or homework time do we have until then?
• What is it that we’re doing today? 
• What are we doing tomorrow; what are the things that are going to happen much later?
• Are there times when different people could be working on different things? 
• When might we all need to be working together on the same thing?

Brainstorming methods. For more advanced groups, you might consider a structured brainstorming → distillation → decision-making process that explores distinct elements of a topic. Divide the class into small groups to each brainstorm answers to questions about the problem, choose the most valuable answers, and present them to the rest of the class. For example:

• How does this task connect to what we’re learning in this class?
• What seems most limiting or challenging about this project?
• What if we don’t work together as a group or class on this problem?
• Why do all of the pieces of our final product matter?

Be sure students are giving as much attention to their process as they are to their product. Have you targeted a certain soft or transferable skill, like communication, time management, self-direction, or creative thinking? What has that been looking and sounding like? What might work better? We want students to practice process alongside content, so if we’re asking them to work together to solve the problem, we need to target that up front and make sure it’s part of the conversation about how to do the work.

If they haven’t asked you, clarify for your learners what your role will be in the process. Will you be available for questions? Deciding the groups or roles? Managing the time? Assigning homework? Observing anything about individuals or groups? This is also a good opportunity for you to set a goal for yourself. What do you want to practice? Asking better questions? Making reflection a priority? Waiting a bit longer before you step in? 

It’s Worth It

Like everything in your classroom, the ways you chunk a problem or task will evolve over time as you all gain skill and confidence. At the beginning, both the design of the task and the facilitation are going to be a little more structured. This could feel risky for students, so they’re going to need a lot of support and reinforcement to feel safe to take on a big, messy challenge. 

Eventually, after weeks of establishing a culture of problem-solving in your classroom and maybe months of different kinds of experiences, the students will have gained the skills and confidence to take charge of the process. When a student says to their peers, “Who wants the marker?” it’s as empowering for them as it is rewarding for the teacher.

When students have something big and messy to do, the culture of the classroom will begin to sound like this: “OK, let’s figure out how we’re gonna do this.” The norms and interdependence they’ve established will carry the students through. Whether it’s comprehending informational text, deciding on a project plan, figuring out how to prevent or resolve an interpersonal conflict, or checking their work against a rubric, building a classroom culture of student ownership of both the work and the process makes everything easier.

Nothing builds community like meaningful work. The more the learners are engaged in that work, including taking apart the big, messy thing they’re supposed to be doing, the richer the community you build, and the more well-prepared adults we’ll have for our big, messy world.