Playing the King Alfred's game: an exploration of problem-solving processes

Abstract

The King Alfred's Game was originally devised as an introduction to problem-solving for students in the first year of a BA course. It was developed in response to a number of perceived needs: i) to provide a base experience of problem-solving which demonstrates its use as a generic framework for achieving outcomes ii) to establish at an early stage in the course that students' understanding of problemsolving should not be tied to a particular form of activity (in this case designing) iii) to offer a concentrated experience of the various ways in which the nature of a problem, and/or the way in which it is formulated, can influence the response to it iv) for students to develop a set of concepts about problem-solving and about themselves as problem-solvers, by giving them material for observation of themselves as problemsolvers which will help undermine possible preconceptions about process v) to provide a staging point to which reference can be made through subsequent phases of the development of their reflective understanding.