CBSE initiative to boost out-of-the-box thinking

KOCHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is going beyond academics and helping students develop the ability to process, interpret and use information for every day application. They have introduced 'problem solving assessment' from this academic year in an apparent bid to help students use knowledge gained from books and classroom in real-life situations.

Problem solving questions will be asked to students of standards IX and XI to improve their "generic and higher thinking skills". Sample these: Q 1 - You board a train at a station. You find a suitcase below the seat. What would do you do? Q 2 - You are a guest at a dinner party. You have overeaten and the host forces you to eat more. What should you do?

These appear to be simple questions, but the intention here is different.

The queries teach students to incorporate 21st century skills such as creative thinking, decision making, critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills that would help them become successful later in life. 


"There is no specific syllabus for 'problem solving assessment'. It will assess the life skills relating to following areas — quantitative reasoning, qualitative reasoning and language conventions," the CBSE circular to school principals states.

"The life skills shall be assessed in the following domains: quantitative, which includes reasoning found in humanities, arts and social sciences; qualitative, which includes reasoning found in mathematics and science; and language conventions, which includes different aspects of written communication," the circular stated.

CBSE has decided to give 10% weightage for 'problem solving assessment' and the score will be reflected in one language (English or Hindi), mathematics, science and social science.

There will be no separate time tables or periods for teaching or practice the subject in schools.

The schools principals have welcomed this. "The students will definitely benefit from this and it is not entirely based on the syllabus," said Sukumari Menon, principal, Bhavan's Adarsha Vidyalaya, Kakkanad.

Added Maya Mohan, principal, Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Vaduthala, "This will enable students to think differently when faced with basic problems in life. Their decisions would be backed by their intuition and the knowledge of the situation."  

Source:TOI