Design learning experiences with the real-world problem solving and innovation rubric

  • 10 minutes

The 21CLD real-world problem solving and innovation rubric examines if the learning activity requires learners to solve problems for which they don't already know a solution. In stronger activities, learners complete tasks where they solve real-world problems. The strongest activities require learners to practice innovation by implementing their ideas, designs, or solutions for audiences outside the classroom.

The rubric captures the big ideas of real-world problem solving and innovation and serves as a framework for designing real-world activities. Each level of problem solving and innovation (one to four) is described within the rubric:

Table showing the real-world problem solving and innovation rubric.

Go to Rubric – Real-World Problem Solving and Innovation for an accessible version of this rubric.

The real-world problem solving and innovation decision tree is a visual way of representation of the big ideas in problem solving and innovation. It consists of several questions:

  • Is problem solving the main requirement?
  • Are learners working on a real-world problem?
  • Does the activity require innovation?

Considering each of these questions is useful when designing a learning activity. The power of using a decision tree is that it provides a framework for designing learning activities and, in this case, designing opportunities for real-world problem solving and innovation.

Chart showing the real-world problem solving and innovation decision tree.

Go to Decision Tree – Real-World Problem Solving and Innovation for an accessible version of the decision tree.

This 21CLD dimension requires learners to solve a real-world problem with a defined challenge. Problem solving happens when learners must:

  • Develop a solution to a problem that’s new to them,
  • Complete a task that they haven’t received instructions on how to do, or
  • Design a complex product that meets a set of requirements

Learning activities that require problem solving don't:

  • Give learners all the information they need to complete the task, or
  • Specify the whole procedure they must follow to arrive at a solution

When learners work on problem-solving tasks, they engage in some or all of the following activities:

  • Investigate the parameters of the problem to guide their approach,
  • Generate ideas and alternatives,
  • Devise their own approaches,
  • Explore several possible procedures that might be appropriate to the situation, or
  • Design a coherent solution, test the solution, and iterate improvements to the solution.

Is problem solving the main requirement?

To meet this rubric, problem solving must be the learning activity's main requirement. The main requirement is the part of the learning activity the learner spends the most time and effort on and is the part that educators focus on when grading.

In the following scenarios, the main requirement isn't problem solving:

  • Learners reading a story and then taking a quiz about what they read
  • Learners learning about pedestrian safety by studying a map showing bus stops and pedestrian crossings
  • Learners using Microsoft Excel to calculate the mean, median, and mode of several sample data sets

In the following scenarios, the main requirement is problem solving:

  • Learners being required to rewrite a story from the perspective of a character other than the narrator 
  • Learners using a map of a bus route to propose where to add pedestrian crossings in a fictional town 
  • Learners identifying appropriate situations for using mean, median, and mode by exploring several sample data sets in Microsoft Excel

Are learners working on a real-world problem?

Real-world problems are authentic situations and needs that exist outside an academic context. These real-world problems have several common characteristics.

  • Real people experience them. For example, learners diagnose an ecological imbalance in a rainforest in Costa Rica; they're working with a situation that affects real people who live there.
  • They have solutions for a specific, plausible audience other than the educator as grader. For example, designing equipment to fit a small city playground may benefit the children of the community.
  • They have specific, explicit contexts. For example, instead of learning which vegetables grow best in which parts of one's own country/region, learners who are engaged in real-world problem solving develop a plan for a community garden in a public park in their own town. This learning activity has a specific context, but the other activity doesn’t.
  • If learners use data to solve the problem, they use actual data not data developed by an educator or publisher for a lesson. For example, learners use real scientific records of earthquakes, results of their own experiments, or first-hand accounts of a historical event.

The following scenarios aren't real-world problems:

  • Learners rewriting a Shakespeare play in a new rhyme scheme
  • Learners using a bus map in a textbook to propose where to add pedestrian crossings in a fictional town
  • Learners investigating the interaction between green plants and carbon dioxide in the air
  • Learners identifying appropriate situations for using mean, median, and mode by exploring several sample data sets in Microsoft Excel

The following scenarios are real-world problems:

  • Learners rewriting a Shakespeare play for a teenage audience
  • Learners using their town's bus routes to propose where to add pedestrian crossings in their town
  • Learners investigating whether growing plants in their classroom improves the air quality
  • Learners analyzing data about the basketball team and using Microsoft Excel to graph performance patterns for the overall team and individual player

Does the activity require innovation?

Innovation requires putting learners' ideas or solutions into practice in the real world. For example, it’s innovation if learners design and build a community garden on the grounds of their own school. However, simply designing the garden isn’t innovation. If learners don't have the authority to implement their own ideas, it counts as innovation only if they convey their ideas to people who may implement the idea. It’s innovation if learners present their ideas for building a community garden to local officials who may implement the design. But it’s not innovation if learners only share their plans with their class.

Innovation also benefits people other than the learners. In other words, it has value beyond meeting the requirements of a learning exercise. For example, townspeople who turn the new garden in the public park and teenagers who attend the rewritten Shakespeare play benefit from learners' efforts. It also counts as innovation if learners create a project for a science fair or submit an original poem to a regional poetry contest. Neither are educator-controlled. Both have real audiences who are interested in and may benefit from the learners' work.  

The following scenarios do not require innovation:

  • Learners rewriting the Shakespeare play for a teenage audience but not performing it
  • Learners writing letters addressed to the town council about improving pedestrian safety, but only giving the letters to their educator to grade
  • Learners investigating two or more websites or games, developing a presentation using Microsoft Video Editor on internet safety guidelines for parents and learners, but not handing it in for a grade
  • Learners analyzing data about the basketball team and using Microsoft Excel to graph performance patterns for the overall team and individual players

The following scenarios require innovation:

  • Learners rewriting the Shakespeare play for a teenage audience and performing it at a local youth center
  • Learners writing letters to the town council about their ideas for adding pedestrian crossings in their town and mailing the letters to council members
  • Learners investigating two or more websites or games, developing a presentation using Microsoft Video Editor on internet safety guidelines for parents and learners, and presenting their products at parent's night
  • Learners analyzing statistics on the basketball team's past performance and creating mathematical models using Microsoft Excel for the coach to illustrate targeted improvements for both team and individual performance

Now, practice coding one of the anchor lessons in the 21CLD OneNote notebook by doing the following:

  • Review the Modifying Recipes learning activity page.  
  • Consult either the real-world problem solving rubric or decision tree and code the lesson
  • If working with colleagues during this module, discuss your findings
  • Refer to the video to compare your analysis with Becky's explanation in the following video

Bonus: To better prepare for the Microsoft Certified Educator Exam, practice coding more anchor lessons. Suggested activities in the anchor lesson section:

  • House on Mango Street
  • Design a Catapult
  • School Change

When you finish coding the lesson, review the coding results summary in the anchor lesson section to compare your findings to others.