Tutorial Introduction

Web-Based Tutorial

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

Introduction

Parts of this "Introduction"

Introduction Exercises

Exercise 1--Examples of open-ended problems

Exercise 2--Warm-up essay

What is problem solving?

Problem solving is the practical application of reasoning and other types of skills in a process that involves the identification and use of relevant information. As you move through this tutorial, you will learn more about a process you can use to make your problem solving efforts more thorough and effective.

Why devote time and effort to optimizing and documenting open-ended problem solving skills?

1. Employers explicitly ask for these skills. The ability to talk about and exhibit these skills helps you be an outstanding candidate for a wide range of work opportunities.

2. These skills are applicable to a wide range of other practical problems, including:

Career development
Parenting
Communication
Relationships
Budgeting and household management
Voting and civic life

Related Terms

Problem solving, as we will be exploring it, is closely related to these terms:

Clinical judgment
Continuous improvement
Critical thinking
Decision making
Inquiry
Learning to learn
Lifelong learning
Professional judgment
Reflective judgment
Science
Total quality management
Wisdom

Optimizing Your Problem Solving Skills

Developing skills requires practice
Practice requires time and effort
Collaborators and coaches can help
Having a conceptual model can help
Working on real problems helps
Observing and reflecting on other people's problem solving efforts helps
Documenting and reflecting on your own efforts helps

These factors contribute to what Kurt Fischer calls a "high support condition" that fosters optimal performance.

Purpose of This Tutorial

This tutorial is designed to help you

Organize your efforts to address open-ended problems
Practice and improve your problem solving skills
Document your problem solving skills

Open-Ended Problems

Due to significant and enduring uncertainties, we cannot resolve open-ended problems with absolute certainty. Open-ended problems generally share these characteristics:

Cannot be described completely
Have more than one solution option
Generate controversy, even among experts
Have incomplete information that is subject to a variety of interpretations
Have a variety of solution options with unknown outcomes
Often need to be addressed repeatedly over time as conditions change and better information becomes available
Can be addressed through a problem solving process that uses information in increasingly complex ways

Exercise 1--Examples of Open-Ended Problems will give you practice in recognizing open-ended problems.

Problem Solving Process

A process for open-ended problem solving can be used to organize and enhance your problem solving efforts. Figure 1 presents one way to visualize the process and brief descriptions of each phase. Begin at the bottom of Figure 1. Each sequential phase of the process--identifying, framing, resolving, and re-addressing--is a building block that helps you move toward an optimal resolution of the problem over time. The building blocks can help you organize your work and address the problem as thoroughly as time and other resources permit. More thorough efforts in the earlier phases lay a foundation for stronger performance in the later, more complex phases of the process.

In most instances, open-ended problem solving is not as tidy as Figure 1 suggests. The skills you actually use depend on your abilities and on decisions you make as you engage in the process. For example, as you move through the process, you are likely to return to "identifying" as you discover additional information. Creativity and intuition can come into play at any point in the process, and this may cause you to move temporarily to different phases of the process. Sometimes people "jump to a conclusion." When this occurs, they have not spent adequate effort on crucial identifying and framing activities, which weakens the likelihood that the conclusion or solution is the best possible. Although the re-addressing phase suggests that the problem solving process might go on endlessly, it can be halted temporarily or permanently at any point.

For more information about each phase of the open-ended problem solving process, visit these sections of the website (using the links on the left side of this page):

Identifying

Framing

Resolving

Re-Addressing

Figure 1

Stair-Step Illustration of the Open-Ended Problem Solving Process

Phase 4. RE-ADDRESSING an open-ended problem

Acknowledge important factors that suggest a need to re-address the problem, such as the availability of new information or relative shifts in the importance of various factors

Coordinate identifying, framing, and resolving skills into a viable process that moves toward better solutions or more confidence in a solution as the problem is addressed over time

In some respects, this is a more complex form of "identifying"

Phase 3. RESOLVING an open-ended problem

Following adequate framing, establish relevant guidelines or principles for making sound judgments across solution options
Using those guidelines or principles in an objective manner, judge among viable options to reach a well-founded conclusion; endorse a solution as most viable
Effectively communicate a well-founded justification in light of other options

Phase 2. FRAMING an open-ended problem

Recognize and control for personal preferences and assumptions
Conduct a thorough analysis of the problem subparts; analyze important information by making legitimate, qualitative interpretations of relevant information from different points of view
Organize the available information into a meaningful description of the problem's complexities

Strong performance in this phase of the problem solving process increases the likelihood of adequately resolving the problem

START

HERE
Ý

Phase 1. IDENTIFYING the nature of a problem and relevant information

Identify relevant information
Articulate important and enduring reasons for disagreements about the problem
Articulate uncertainties related to the available information

This aspect of the problem solving process sets the stage for framing analyses

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

Self-Evaluation

One of the characteristics of a professional and of responsible persons in general is self-regulation. Self-regulation of your efforts to address open-ended problems involves

Documenting your performance
Examining and thinking about your performance
Recognizing and acting appropriately on things you might have done differently that could improve your efforts

Exercise 2--Warm-Up Essay can help you begin to document your performance.

Questions for Problem Solvers: An Overview

The general questions below can serve as a starting point for moving through the problem solving process. Adapt and expand these questions so that they are more specific to the problem you want to address . If you customize this list for a specific problem, please share your list by contacting us via e-mail through the link provided on the Home page.

Phase 1: Identifying the Nature of an Open-Ended Problem and Relevant Information

A. What information and evidence might be useful in thinking about this problem?

B. Do people disagree about the best solution? If so, what general reasons lead them to disagree?

C. What factors contribute to uncertainties about the available information?

Phase 2: Framing an Open-Ended Problem

D. What is your initial point of view about this problem? What experiences, assumptions, or preferences might be affecting your point of view?

E. What are the general arguments for and against each solution option?

F. What assumptions and preferences are related to each point of view?

G. How might the same pieces of evidence be interpreted differently or used to support different points of view?

H. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the pieces of information?

I. How might you organize the available information to help you better understand the complexities of the problem and reach a reasonable conclusion?

Phase 3: Resolving an Open-Ended Problem

J. What guidelines or principles will you use to judge as objectively as possible among the various options? How will you prioritize the strengths and weaknesses of the solution options?

K. Based on your analyses, what is the best solution for this problem? Given your setting and audience, how can you best communicate the basis for your conclusion?

L. How would you respond to arguments that support other options?

Phase 4: Re-Addressing an Open-Ended Problem

M. What are the limitations, weaknesses, or unknown aspects related to your proposed solution?

N. What are the implications of those limitations?

O. What new information or changes in conditions might lead you to re-address the problem?

P. What strategies could be implemented to monitor the results of your conclusions and help you revise your approach as needed?

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