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Introduction    Identifying    Framing    Resolving

Re-Addressing    Exercises    Evaluation Form

 

Tutorial for Optimizing and Documenting Open-Ended Problem Solving Skills

Ó January 2000, Cindy Lynch, Susan Wolcott, and Greg Huber

Permission is granted to reproduce this information for noncommercial purposes. Please cite this source: Lynch, C. L., Wolcott, S. K., & Huber, G. E. (2000, January). Tutorial for optimizing and documenting open-ended problem solving skills [On-line]. Available: http://home.apex.net~leehaven

Identifying the Nature of a Problem and Relevant Information

Parts of this "Identifying" section of the tutorial

Identifying Exercises

 

Definition

Identifying the nature of a problem and related information serves three major purposes:

As the stair-step illustration of the problem solving process (Figure 1) suggests, appropriately identifying the nature of the problem and related information lays a strong foundation for further analysis or framing an open-ended problem.

 

 

Is the Problem Open-Ended?

As illustrated in Figure 2, you might think about problems as falling somewhere on a vector that moves from very well-structured problems for which a single correct answer can be known (such as 2+2=4 in base 10) out infinitely to very broad and undefined open-ended problems. Open-ended problems are fraught with significant and enduring uncertainties. Different people may perceive the same problem as falling at different places on the vector, and your perception of a problem may vary over time as you learn more about the problem.

For very well-structured problems, your goal is to learn to reason to correct solutions. In contrast, your goal for open-ended problems is to learn to construct and defend reasonable solutions.

Sometimes people mistake an open-ended problem for a well-structured problem. In such cases, the person is likely to categorize opinions about the problem as right, wrong, or temporarily uncertain. When faced with a problem that is new to them, people who make this type of mistake may spend much time and energy looking for the "right" answer in books or asking respected authorities for the correct answer. When uncertainty about a problem is acknowledged, these persons may assume that opinions are "just guesses" and the correct answer will be discovered by experts in the future.

As we develop intellectually, we are less likely to mistake an open-ended problem as a well-structured problem. Our understanding of problems and related information becomes more complex, and our strategies for reasoning about problem solutions become more sophisticated (King & Kitchener, 1994).

If you are uncertain about the nature of a problem, whether it is well-structured or open-ended, try to find out if knowledgeable persons disagree about the best solution to the problem. If they disagree, you probably are facing an open-ended problem. If you don't find evidence that knowledgeable persons disagree, you might need to look further or talk with persons who might see the problem in different ways.

Exercise 3--Self-Evaluation provides an opportunity for you to examine the essay you wrote for Exercise 2 and look for evidence that you identified the open-ended nature of the problem.

 

Figure 2

Vector Illustrating Well-Structured and Open-Ended Problems

· ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

 

Very well-structured

problems that have single, "correct" answers

 

Open-ended problems that are better understood and fraught with less uncertainty than problems that fall to the right on the vector

 

Very difficult open-ended problems that are large in scope and fraught with a higher degree of uncertainty than problems that fall to the left on the vector

As you look at the vector in Figure 2, make notes about where you currently perceive the problems you listed in Exercise 1 in relationship to each other on the vector. Which ones can be understood and resolved with more certainty? Which ones can be understood and resolved with less certainty?

As you proceed through this tutorial, pay particular attention to the problem you wrote about in Exercise 2. In what ways does you perception of the degree of uncertainty related to the problem change over time?

 

Why is there no single, "correct" solution for an open-ended problem?

Many factors contribute to the uncertainties embedded in open-ended problems. The general characteristics of open-ended problems listed in the introduction section provide some clues about those factors:

As you proceed through the problem solving process for a particular problem, you probably will be able to identify more specific reasons for uncertainties that are related to that particular problem. Weaknesses in certain types of data and assumptions that are embedded in the different perspectives about a problem are two categories of factors that might become more clear as you begin to explore the problem more fully.

Exercise 4--Focusing on Uncertainties provides an opportunity for you to begin to specify reasons for the uncertainties surrounding the problem you are focusing on in this tutorial. As you continue through this tutorial and become aware of additional reasons or of ways to state the reasons more clearly, revise your work for Exercise 4.

 

Listing Different Types of Relevant Information

The world is full of information, and more information is produced every day. As we perceive information through our senses, we interpret and mentally record it. We don’t all perceive the same information, and individuals can interpret the same information in different ways. This mental interpretation and recording contributes to the uncertainties associated with open-ended problems.

Relevant information is information that has a significant or demonstrable bearing on the problem at hand. What one person perceives as relevant to a particular problem might not be perceived as relevant by another person.

For most open-ended problems, the variety of relevant information and evidence is almost unlimited. As you move through the problem solving process, you will be using information in more and more complex ways. The first step, however, is to begin lists of different types of information and evidence related to the problem. For example, you might want to begin listing:

It is not necessary that your initial lists be complete. You can always add things to you lists. You can also begin new types of lists at any point in the problem solving process. Your lists probably will never be entirely complete because you are dealing with an open-ended problem.

Relevant information can come from a wide range of sources. You may find relevant information in textbooks, dictionaries, news articles, professional journals or written literature, or in audiovisual media. You might also gather information in interviews with persons who are interested in the problem or from your own observations of the problem situation. As you gather information, it is important to note its source. The source(s) of various pieces of information will probably have some impact on your degree of confidence about the usefulness of the information when you move into the framing phase of the problem solving process.

Exercise 5--Beginning Your Lists of Relevant Information provides an opportunity for you to begin lists of information related to the problem you are addressing in this tutorial.

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