Skip to Content
Visible Learning™
Visible Learning MetaX™
Version 1.4 – Updated February 2026

Problem-solving teaching

Overview

  • Influence: Problem-solving teaching
  • Domain: Teaching Strategies
  • Sub-Domain: Instructional strategies
  • Potential to Accelerate Student Achievement: Potential to considerably accelerate
  • Influence Definition: Problem-solving involves learning the skills to solve a problem that one does not already know how to solve, and can also involve teaching specific, subject-area focused strategies for attempting to solve such problems.

Evidence

  • Number of meta-analyses: 12
  • Number of studies: 662
  • Number of students: 44,187
  • Number of effects: 1,336
  • Weighted mean effect size: 0.61
  • Robustness index: 5

Meta-Analyses

Meta-Analyses
Journal Title Author Article Name Year Published Variable Number of Studies Number of Students Number of Effects Effect Size
Conference paper Almeida & Denham Interpersonal Cognitive Problem-Solving: A Meta-Analysis 1984 Interpersonal problem solving 18 2,398 18 0.72
Journal of Research in Education Sciences Liao & Chang Effects of the Problem Posing Strategies of Students on Affective Learning Outcomes and Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis . 2016 Problem posing on achievement 21 NA 34 0.57
Dissertation Mellinger The development of cognitive flexibility in problem-solving: Theory and application 1991 Increasing cognitive flexibility 25 NA 35 1.13
Journal of Special Education Xin & Jitendra Effects of mathematical word Problem—Solving instruction on middle school students with learning problems. 1999 Word problem solving in reading 14 NA 653 0.89
Journal for Research in Mathematics Education Hembree Experiments and relational studies in problem solving: a meta-analysis 1992 Problem solving instructional methods 55 NA 55 0.33
Journal of Research in Science Teaching Tocanis, Ferguson-Hessler, & Broekkamp Teaching science problem solving: An overview of experimental work. 2001 Problem solving in science 22 2,208 31 0.59
Educational Researcher Johnson & Johnson Energizing learning: The instructional power of conflict. 2009 Conflict based teaching 39 NA 39 0.80
Journal of Educational Scientific Research Liao & Chen Effects of Integrating Computer Technology into Mathematics Instruction on Elementary Schoolers' Academic Achievement: A meta-analysis of One-hundred and Sixty-four Studies from Taiwan. 2018 Problem solving teaching 31 2,421 34 0.57
Elementary School Journal Swanson Research on interventions for adolescents with learning disabilities: A meta-analysis of outcomes related to higher-order processing. 2001 Programs to enhance problem solving 58 NA 58 0.82
Book Marzano, Gaddy, & Dean What Works in Classroom Instruction 2000 Problem solving 343 NA 343 0.54
Dissertation Blumschein Eine Metaanalyse zur Effektivität multimedialen Lernens am Beispiel der Anchored Instruction (Doctoral dissertation, Verlag nicht ermittelbar). 2003 Anchored instruction 13 1,805 13 0.63
Trends in Neuroscience and Education de Santana, Roazzi, Pimentel, & Bobre The relationship between cognitive flexibility and mathematical performance in children: A meta-analysis 2022 Increasing cognitive flexibility 23 35,355 23 0.75
TOTAL/AVERAGE 662 44,187 1,336 0.70
Back to top