Limited resource problem solving
Often, resources that are developed for students provide them with ideal or perfect scenarios. In practice, there are limitations or constraints, such as the resources, time, or budget available, which need to be considered. This activity allows educators to model these constraints during the learning experience to encourage students to think more creatively when problem-solving and to direct their own learning.
There are many ways to implement the limited resources activity. It could involve providing students with a limited number of physical resources or ideas, giving them a single source to work from (such as a textbook, guideline or journal), or setting a specific time limit in which they must complete the task. To get the most out of the activity, students should work in groups to solve problems together and educators should provide the opportunity for peer review and revision before giving feedback.
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Example 1
Set a specific time for completion for the activity or create a scenario with a theoretical time limit to encourage prioritisation. For example, students could create a list of important questions to ask if they were given five minutes for an interview. This could be used in many contexts, such as in medicine when diagnosing a patient or taking medical histories.
Example 2
Encourage students to create limitations for another group. For example, students list five things they would need to respond to a natural disaster. They write an explanation of how they would use the objects and pass the list of limitations to another group. The new group writes their own answer and compares it with the first group, before the educator gives feedback on both responses.