When I Get Stuck: Rebuilding Our Students’ Problem-Solving Muscles
This week, I handed my students what should have been a relaxing, creative project, a simple weaving bowl made from cardboard and yarn. I’d demoed the process step by step, repeated directions, and even modeled common mistakes. I expected the usual: a few loose ends, some tangled yarn, and eventually a calm rhythm in the room.
But that’s not what happened.
Some of my students, particularly those who are typically high-achieving, completely melted down when they didn’t get it on the first or second try. They froze, gave up, or immediately asked for help before even trying to fix it themselves.
Meanwhile, some of my students who typically need more support worked calmly and steadily, experimenting and problem-solving without panic. They were weaving like champs.
That’s when it hit me: it wasn’t the lesson that broke down. It was my students’ capacity to problem-solve independently.
It’s Not Just Your Classroom — It’s a Cultural Shift
We’re seeing a generation of kids who have had fewer chances to struggle safely. Science backs this up: psychologists have found that children who are constantly “rescued” from frustration or given instant answers develop lower frustration tolerance and executive functioning skills over time.¹
For years, schools and homes have emphasized performance, safety, and efficiency at the expense of curiosity and persistence. Combine that with the instant-answer world of Google, AI, and YouTube Shorts, and it’s no wonder students feel overwhelmed when something doesn’t click right away.
They’re used to finding answers, not figuring things out.
The Artist’s Way of Thinking
In the art room, we have a unique opportunity to change that. Artists expect mistakes. They plan for them. They build solutions from them.
That’s why I made this week’s resource, “When I Get Stuck,” as both a student handout and a classroom poster. It breaks problem-solving into simple, repeatable steps:
Pause and observe
Review directions
Ask a peer
Search or watch a short tutorial
Try one small change
And if they’re still stuck, they can show what they’ve already tried. This shifts the conversation from “I can’t” to “Here’s what I’ve learned so far.”
These are the same cognitive skills we see in creative problem-solving research: **metacognition, adaptive persistence, and reflection.**² When we teach these behaviors explicitly, students start internalizing them — not just for art, but for everything.
We Can Solve This Problem, Too
The good news is that this isn’t a lost cause. We can rebuild those mental muscles.
It starts with giving students low-stakes chances to struggle, time to reflect, and tools for independence. We can stop rushing in to fix, and instead coach them to diagnose what’s not working.
In art, that might sound like:
“What part isn’t working the way you expected?”
“What did you try already?”
“What might you try next?”
It’s a simple shift from rescuing to retraining. And it can change our classroom culture in big ways.
A Small Poster with a Big Message
Hang the When I Get Stuck poster near your supplies or critique wall. Hand out the printable version for sketchbooks. Talk about it when you see a student pause instead of panic.
Little by little, our classrooms can model the mindset we wish our culture would nurture: artists who think, adjust, and persevere.
¹ Source: Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Rodriguez, M. (1989). Delay of gratification in children. Science, 244(4907), 933–938.
² Source: Beghetto, R. A., & Kaufman, J. C. (2014). Classroom contexts for creativity. High Ability Studies, 25(1), 53–69.
