**Abstract**

The tendency to take risks without measuring consequences properly and the decrease in motivation are features presented at adolescence that may presuppose the need for changes in the traditional way of teaching and learning. This hypothesis leads to the search for educational solutions for a more effective work in the classroom. This study analyzes the methodology applied to adolescents at Sesi School, a basic education school in Southern Brazil, using Robert Sternberg's theory of problem-solving (2010) in cognitive psychology and Barry Zimmerman's concept of self-regulation of learning (1989). The analysis aims to draw relationships between the adolescence phase and the impact of a methodology focused on problem-solving, in order to perceive possible contributions to the development of more autonomy and responsibility for learning. This experience report points out as main contributions: (a) problem-solving can be a promising method for the development of autonomy and responsibility for learning; (b) as adolescents are moved by risks, problems can turn into challenges, motivating students to seek pleasure and reward in the search for the best solution; (c) problem-solving in the adolescents' formal learning environment promotes the development of a repertoire of strategies, which effectively helps with the autonomous and responsible management of learning regulation.

**Keywords:** adolescence, self-regulation of learning, problem-solving, learning autonomy, responsibility for one's own learning
