Developing competency in problem solving has long been one of the primary educational objectives of introductory STEM courses. Over the years, education research in the cognitive processes of learning has elucidated the complex and intricate nature of the problem-solving procedure and has identified a number of individual mental skills needed to organize and process the requisite knowledge. This project develops and tests an easy-to-implement intervention, GW-ACCESS, in an introductory algebra-based physics course in a SCALE-UP environment. GW-ACCESS, which builds upon Marzano's New Taxonomy of Education Objectives, helps students develop the problem-solving component skills of "classifying" the problem, "representing" the data, "designing" a strategy, "executing" a solution, "evaluating" the answer, and "reflecting" on the learning. The collaboration between the physics departments at George Washington University and Montgomery Community College is providing a test of the protocol in diverse learning environments.
