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• 3 Questions: How history helps us solve today's issues

3 Questions: How history helps us solve today's issues

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Science and technology are essential tools for innovation, and to reap their full potential, we also need to articulate and solve the many aspects of today’s global issues that are rooted in the political, cultural, and economic realities of the human world. With that mission in mind, MIT's School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences has launched The Human Factor — an ongoing series of stories and interviews that highlight research on the human dimensions of global challenges. Contributors to this series also share ideas for cultivating the multidisciplinary collaborations needed to solve the major civilizational issues of our time.

Malick Ghachem is an attorney and a professor of history at MIT who explores questions of slavery and abolition, criminal law, and constitutional history. He is the author of  "The Old Regime and the Haitian Revolution" (Cambridge University Press, 2012), a history of the law of slavery in Saint-Domingue (Haiti) between 1685 and 1804. He teaches courses on the Age of Revolution, slavery and abolition, American criminal justice, and other topics. MIT SHASS Communications recently asked him to share his thoughts on how history can help people craft more effective public policies for today's world.  Q: Your new research focuses on economic globalization and political protest in Haiti, a country with a complex social, political, and economic history. What lessons can we learn from Haiti's history that can inform more effective public policies? A: I think the most important lesson for public policy may be that we cannot ignore the distant past — and in the case of Haiti, by "distant past" I mean only so far back as the 18th century. (With apologies to colleagues who study the yet more distant centuries of ancient and medieval history!) Public policy has a short-term memory, however, and this is especially true of economic policy, which tends to look back only so far as the early 20th century to understand, for example, how a financial crisis comes about and what it entails.

Haiti showcases the decisive present-day impact and legacies of a history that goes back more than 300 years, to the rise of the slave plantation system. My current work tells the story of a planter rebellion in the 1720s against the French Indies Company, an event that ended the era of slave-trading monopolies in Saint-Domingue (as Haiti was known under French rule) and left large-scale sugar planters in effective control of the colony.

Some of the key political and social cleavages that have characterized Haitian life ever since date back to this period. A history of Haiti that begins with the revolutionary years leading up to Haitian independence in 1804, or any period thereafter, will necessarily lack a handle on just how deeply rooted are Haiti’s current circumstances.

We can see this on any number of levels. Colonial history continues to hamper prospects for broad-based education in Haiti, as my colleague Michel DeGraff’s work on the linguistic politics of French vs. Haitian Kreyòl powerfully demonstrates. The environment is another example. Part of the resistance to accepting the reality of climate change (whether in Haiti or elsewhere) is a reluctance to acknowledge that history in this deep sense matters. Yet it is clear that deforestation in Haiti begins no later than the 17th century, when French settlers began using trees for purposes of lumber and fuel. By the time of Haiti’s independence, the lack of forest cover had already left many parts of the country vulnerable to flooding.

That historical perspective, in turn, suggests one of the difficulties that besets even the most well-intentioned relief work in Haiti today. Such work tends to focus on repairing the immediate damage caused by the latest “natural” catastrophe, whether an earthquake, a hurricane-induced flood, or an outbreak of contagious disease. These tragedies rightly call upon the generous aid of first-responders, but after the sense of emergency passes, the eyes of the world often turn elsewhere.

An understanding of how these tragedies draw on the full weight of Haitian history encourages and even demands a longer-term commitment to the problems at hand. And it suggests that effective responses to what seem like essentially medical, environmental, or legal problems must cut across conventional categories of policy analysis and understandings of responsibility. Take the case of United Nations liability for the cholera outbreak in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

The natural impulse of human rights lawyers in that context was to file suit against the U.N., which then spent several years digging in its heels and denying its role in the outbreak. But the U.N.’s position in Haiti is a legacy of the much deeper impact that individual nations/states — most notably, France and the United States — have had on Haitian affairs over the course of three centuries. Framing responsibility in narrowly legal or chronological terms runs head-on into this reality and limits rather than expands our sense of the potential remedies.

Q: What connections do you see between economic conditions (including globalization and monetary policy) and the ability of a people or a culture to make innovations in science, technology, and public policy?

A: Waking up hungry each morning does not leave one with great deal of energy for scientific (or any other kind of) work during the day. The resources that make possible scientific and technological innovation are the same ones that sustain the relatively high standard of daily living many of us enjoy in the United States.

Haiti’s economy has long existed in a state of colonial dependency upon one or another foreign power; today it is the United States. The country’s economy is also beset by many woes, among them an ongoing currency crisis that makes the Haitian gourde an increasingly ineffective form of money. This fact places a premium on access to U.S. dollars, which elites and companies enjoy at the expense of workers paid in the local currency.

This is a crisis of sovereignty that takes the form of a monetary crisis. The earliest such currency crisis dates back (again) to the 1720s, and it’s one dimension of my current research. One of the two key triggers of the revolt against the Indies Company was a suspicion that the Company intended to eliminate the use of local Spanish silver coins, on which most colonists depended for their livelihood. The lack of a reliable and stable currency remained a problem throughout the colonial period and continues to severely constrict the economic horizons of many Haitians today.

Q: As MIT President Reif has said, solving the great challenges of our time will require multidisciplinary problem-solving — bringing together expertise and ideas from the sciences, technology, the social sciences, arts, and humanities. Can you share why you believe it is critical for any effort to address the well-being of human populations, and the planet itself, to incorporate tools and perspectives from the field of history? Also, what challenges do you see to multi-disciplinary collaborations — and how can we overcome them?

A: President Reif’s observation is correct and important. We also need to appreciate that, even within the world of the social sciences and the humanities, there are deep and abiding differences about how best to understand and implement public policy.

Let’s take the case of development economics. There is a growing literature, associated mostly with political economy and the new institutional economics, that seeks to explain the disparities in wealth and income between more and less “developed” nations. These works tend to suggest that there is a unifying model, theory, or historical pattern that accounts for the disparities: political corruption, institutional competence, the rule of law, protection of private property, etc. These phenomena are all important, but the particular forms they take can really only be understood on a case-by-case basis.

It’s important to do the unglamorous, nitty-gritty, heavily historical work of understanding the local and the particular — which requires much more patience that even those social scientists who speak of “path dependence” tend to exhibit. I believe that this kind of sustained patience for understanding the local in historical contexts is itself a tool of public policy, a way of seeing and talking about the world, and (if wielded correctly) an instrument of power and justice.

One of the principal ways historians can contribute to problem-solving work at MIT and elsewhere is by helping to identify what the real problem is in the first place. When we can understand and articulate the roots and sources of a problem, we have a much better chance of solving it.

Interview prepared by MIT SHASS Communications Editorial team: Kathryn O'Neill, Emily Hiestand (series editor)

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Problem-solution history

History gets a bad rap. Most people find it boring—as did I, throughout all my school years, until I finally got excited about it in my mid-twenties and began catching up on my education. The problem is the way it is written and taught.

History is often presented as a collection of facts. The facts might be a jumble, or hopefully organized in an understandable sequence. I call this name-and-date history . It’s the boring history that most people associate with the subject and that most people suffer through in school. At its best, a historian can pick out the most interesting or exciting facts, and tell them in an engaging, lively manner. I call this storytime history . The material is somewhat motivated and it’s at least entertaining. But in any case the student doesn’t retain much if anything, and what little they retain is not very useful, because it isn’t connected to anything and doesn’t represent a deep understanding.

The better historians go beyond name-and-date history. They integrate facts into casual sequences to create coherent narratives. I call this cause-and-effect history. At this level the student actually has a chance of achieving real understanding. Even at this level, though, the ideas can quickly become overwhelming. At its best, cause-and-effect history simplifies, condenses and essentializes until it reaches a high level of integration. This is big-picture history , a term coined by Scott Powell (to whom I am indebted for most of the perspective just outlined). With big-picture history the student can not only understand, but retain that understanding in a usable package.

What I am trying to do in this blog is something I’m calling problem-solution history . Since I’m telling the story of human progress, I want to tell not only what happened, not only why it happened, but why we decided to make it happen . To do that, I need to clearly explain the problems humans face and how almost every aspect of the modern world is a solution to one of those problems.

Only in this context can you appreciate, protect, and defend what we have accomplished so far—and be inspired to push progress further, faster. Without this background, it’s easy to hate DDT without realizing that it was a replacement for arsenic , to despise plastic without realizing that it saved the elephants , or to be disgusted by industrial furnaces without realizing that they averted worldwide famine . It’s easy to propose doing away with modern technolgy and reverting to a seemingly halcyon past, without realizing that this means un-solving problems that those who came before us worked so hard to solve.

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Problem solving

Entertaining introduction.

Problem-solving is an essential skill that we use every day, whether we realize it or not. From fixing a broken bike to figuring out how to make a delicious meal with limited ingredients, problem-solving is at the core of our daily lives. But what exactly is problem-solving? It's the process of identifying a problem, developing a plan to solve it, and implementing that plan to reach a solution. And while it may sound straightforward, the reality is that problem-solving can be a tricky and sometimes frustrating process.

Imagine you're trying to bake a cake, but you realize you're missing an ingredient. You could throw in the towel and give up on the cake altogether, or you could think creatively and find a solution. Maybe you could substitute a similar ingredient or adjust the recipe to work without it. The ability to think critically and outside the box is essential for effective problem-solving, and it's a skill that can be developed with practice.

Problem-solving has been a part of human history for as long as we've existed. Our ancestors had to solve problems every day just to survive, from hunting for food to building shelter. Over time, we've developed more sophisticated methods of problem-solving, from the scientific method to design thinking. But even with all our technological advances, we still face new challenges that require innovative problem-solving.

In this text, we'll explore the fascinating world of problem-solving, from its history to its practical applications in everyday life. We'll also dive into the principles of effective problem-solving and debunk some common myths surrounding the topic. So buckle up and get ready to exercise your brain – because problem-solving is about to become your new favorite pastime.

Short History

As mentioned in the previous chapter, problem-solving has been a part of human history since the beginning. Our ancestors had to solve problems every day to survive, such as finding food and water, building shelter, and protecting themselves from predators. These early humans developed practical problem-solving skills based on trial and error, and they passed their knowledge down through the generations.

As civilizations developed, problem-solving became more complex. For example, ancient civilizations like the Greeks and Romans developed advanced systems for building structures, creating art, and governing their societies. The Greeks developed a method of inquiry called dialectic, which involved questioning and answering to arrive at the truth. The Romans developed a legal system that relied on solving disputes between individuals and groups.

In the Middle Ages, problem-solving continued to be important, particularly in the fields of mathematics and science. Many of the mathematical and scientific advancements made during this time laid the foundation for modern science and engineering. In the Renaissance, problem-solving became more focused on the arts, with artists like Leonardo da Vinci using their creativity to solve complex problems in fields like engineering, anatomy, and architecture.

In the modern era, problem-solving has become even more crucial, as technology and globalization have made the world more complex and interconnected. Today, we face challenges like climate change, resource depletion, and social inequality, which require innovative problem-solving to address. Many fields, such as engineering, computer science, and business, have developed problem-solving methodologies, such as design thinking and lean startup, to help people tackle these complex challenges.

In short, problem-solving has been a fundamental part of human history and has evolved alongside the development of civilizations and societies. From our earliest ancestors to the present day, problem-solving has been essential to our survival and progress. And as we face new challenges in the future, we'll need to continue developing innovative problem-solving skills to overcome them.

Famous People

Throughout history, there have been many famous people who have made significant contributions to the field of problem-solving. These individuals have used their creativity, intelligence, and persistence to tackle some of the world's most complex problems and come up with innovative solutions. Here are just a few examples:

Thomas Edison - Edison is perhaps best known for inventing the light bulb, but he was also a prolific problem-solver who held over 1,000 patents in his lifetime. Edison famously said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work," reflecting his perseverance in the face of challenges.

Albert Einstein - Einstein is one of the most famous scientists in history, known for his groundbreaking work in physics. He was also an excellent problem-solver, using his intuition and mathematical skills to make revolutionary discoveries about the nature of the universe.

Steve Jobs - Jobs was the co-founder of Apple and is credited with revolutionizing the personal computer, music, and mobile phone industries. He was a master problem-solver who believed that design thinking was the key to innovation and success.

Marie Curie - Curie was a pioneering physicist and chemist who made significant contributions to the field of radioactivity. She was also an excellent problem-solver, using her analytical skills to develop new scientific theories and techniques.

Elon Musk - Musk is a modern-day problem-solving genius, known for his work with Tesla, SpaceX, and other ventures. He has a reputation for thinking big and tackling audacious goals, like colonizing Mars and creating a high-speed transportation system.

These individuals and many others have shown that effective problem-solving requires creativity, persistence, and a willingness to take risks. They have tackled some of the world's most complex problems and come up with innovative solutions that have changed the course of history. Their examples show us that problem-solving is not just a practical skill, but also a powerful tool for innovation and progress.

Shocking Facts

Problem-solving is an essential skill that we use every day, but there are some surprising and shocking facts about problem-solving that many people are not aware of. Here are a few:

Most people are terrible at problem-solving - Studies have shown that most people struggle with even simple problem-solving tasks. In fact, only about 20% of the population is considered to be proficient in problem-solving.

Problem-solving ability declines with age - As we age, our problem-solving abilities tend to decline. This is due to changes in the brain and decreased cognitive function.

Lack of sleep can impair problem-solving ability - A lack of sleep can significantly impair our ability to solve problems. Studies have shown that people who are sleep-deprived make more errors and take longer to complete tasks that require problem-solving.

Stress can hinder problem-solving - While a certain amount of stress can be beneficial for problem-solving, too much stress can actually hinder our ability to think creatively and come up with solutions.

Our problem-solving ability is affected by our mindset - Our mindset can play a significant role in our ability to solve problems. People with a growth mindset, who believe that their abilities can be developed through hard work and perseverance, tend to be better problem-solvers than those with a fixed mindset, who believe that their abilities are predetermined and unchangeable.

These shocking facts highlight the importance of developing effective problem-solving skills and taking care of our mental and physical health to optimize our problem-solving ability. By understanding these factors, we can improve our problem-solving abilities and achieve greater success in our personal and professional lives.

Secrets of the Topic

While problem-solving may seem straightforward, there are some secrets to effective problem-solving that can help us achieve better results. Here are a few:

Break the problem down into smaller parts - When faced with a complex problem, it can be helpful to break it down into smaller, more manageable parts. This can help us better understand the problem and come up with more targeted solutions.

Use analogies and metaphors - Using analogies and metaphors can help us approach problems from a fresh perspective and generate new ideas. By comparing the problem to something else, we can often identify similarities and differences that we may not have otherwise noticed.

Ask the right questions - Asking the right questions is essential for effective problem-solving. By asking open-ended questions, we can encourage creative thinking and generate new ideas. It's also important to ask questions that help us better understand the problem and its underlying causes.

Use trial and error - While trial and error may not be the most efficient problem-solving method, it can be effective for complex problems with multiple solutions. By trying different approaches and learning from our mistakes, we can ultimately arrive at a solution that works.

Collaborate with others - Collaboration can be a powerful tool for problem-solving. By working with others, we can draw on their expertise and perspectives, and generate more creative solutions. It's important to cultivate a culture of collaboration and open communication to make the most of this approach.

By understanding these secrets of effective problem-solving, we can improve our ability to solve complex problems and achieve greater success in our personal and professional lives.

Effective problem-solving requires a set of principles to guide our approach. These principles are based on research and experience, and can help us approach problems in a structured and effective way. Here are a few key principles of effective problem-solving:

Define the problem - Before we can solve a problem, we need to define it clearly. This involves identifying the underlying issue, understanding its scope and impact, and clarifying our goals and objectives.

Generate multiple solutions - Effective problem-solving involves generating multiple potential solutions to a problem, rather than just one. This allows us to consider a range of options and choose the best one.

Evaluate the solutions - Once we have generated multiple solutions, we need to evaluate them based on a set of criteria, such as feasibility, impact, and cost. This helps us choose the best solution for the problem at hand.

Implement the solution - Once we have selected a solution, we need to implement it effectively. This may involve developing a plan, allocating resources, and communicating the solution to stakeholders.

Monitor and adjust - Effective problem-solving requires ongoing monitoring and adjustment. We need to track the progress of the solution, identify any issues or challenges that arise, and make adjustments as necessary.

By following these principles, we can approach problems in a structured and effective way, and achieve better results. These principles are applicable to a range of fields, from business and engineering to education and healthcare. By applying them consistently, we can develop our problem-solving skills and achieve greater success in our personal and professional lives.

Using the Topic to Improve Everyday Life

Effective problem-solving is not just about solving complex business or technical problems. It can also be used to improve our everyday lives. Here are some ways in which we can use problem-solving to improve our daily experiences:

Time management - Many of us struggle with managing our time effectively. By using problem-solving techniques, we can identify the root causes of our time management issues and develop effective strategies to address them.

Personal relationships - Relationships can be complex, and we often encounter problems that require creative solutions. By using problem-solving techniques, we can communicate more effectively, resolve conflicts, and strengthen our relationships.

Health and wellness - Many health and wellness issues, such as weight management and stress reduction, require effective problem-solving skills. By breaking down the problem into smaller parts and developing targeted solutions, we can improve our overall health and well-being.

Financial management - Financial management can be a challenge for many people. By using problem-solving techniques, we can identify areas where we can reduce expenses or increase income, and develop effective strategies to achieve our financial goals.

Personal growth - Effective problem-solving can also be used to facilitate personal growth and development. By identifying our strengths and weaknesses, setting goals, and developing action plans, we can achieve our full potential and live a more fulfilling life.

By applying problem-solving principles to our everyday lives, we can improve our overall quality of life and achieve greater success in all areas. Effective problem-solving is a versatile and valuable skill that can be used in virtually any context to achieve better results.

Practical Uses

Effective problem-solving has practical uses in a range of fields, from business to healthcare to education. Here are a few practical uses of problem-solving:

Business - Problem-solving is essential in the business world, where companies face complex challenges like market competition, changing customer needs, and financial constraints. Business leaders use problem-solving techniques to identify problems, generate solutions, and implement changes that improve performance and profitability.

Healthcare - Problem-solving is essential in healthcare, where medical professionals face complex diagnoses, treatment plans, and patient care issues. Healthcare professionals use problem-solving techniques to identify the underlying causes of health problems, develop effective treatment plans, and improve patient outcomes.

Education - Problem-solving is essential in education, where teachers and students face a range of challenges, from student engagement to curriculum design. Teachers use problem-solving techniques to identify areas where students are struggling, develop effective teaching strategies, and improve student performance.

Engineering - Problem-solving is essential in engineering, where engineers face complex design challenges, from building structures to developing new technologies. Engineers use problem-solving techniques to identify design issues, develop innovative solutions, and test and implement those solutions in real-world contexts.

Government - Problem-solving is essential in government, where policymakers face complex social and economic challenges, from reducing poverty to improving infrastructure. Government officials use problem-solving techniques to identify underlying issues, develop effective policies, and implement changes that improve outcomes for citizens.

These are just a few examples of the practical uses of problem-solving. Effective problem-solving is essential in virtually every field, and can be used to improve performance, productivity, and outcomes in a range of contexts.

Recommendations

Effective problem-solving requires a combination of knowledge, skills, and experience. Here are a few recommendations for improving your problem-solving abilities:

Develop your critical thinking skills - Critical thinking is an essential component of effective problem-solving. By developing your critical thinking skills, you can identify underlying issues, evaluate potential solutions, and make informed decisions.

Practice creative thinking - Creative thinking is essential for generating innovative solutions to complex problems. By practicing creative thinking techniques, such as brainstorming, mind mapping, and analogical thinking, you can develop your ability to think outside the box.

Build your knowledge base - Effective problem-solving requires a strong foundation of knowledge in the relevant field. By building your knowledge base through education, research, and practical experience, you can become more effective at identifying and solving problems.

Collaborate with others - Collaboration is a powerful tool for problem-solving. By working with others, you can draw on their expertise and perspectives, generate new ideas, and achieve better results.

Practice problem-solving in different contexts - Effective problem-solving requires adaptability and versatility. By practicing problem-solving in different contexts, you can develop your ability to apply problem-solving principles in a range of situations.

By following these recommendations, you can improve your problem-solving abilities and achieve greater success in your personal and professional life. Effective problem-solving is a valuable skill that can help you overcome challenges, achieve your goals, and make a positive impact on the world.

Effective problem-solving has many advantages, both personal and professional. Here are a few:

Improved decision-making - Effective problem-solving involves evaluating potential solutions and making informed decisions based on evidence and analysis. By developing your problem-solving abilities, you can become a better decision-maker in all areas of your life.

Increased efficiency - Effective problem-solving involves identifying and addressing underlying issues, which can lead to increased efficiency in personal and professional contexts. By addressing problems before they become larger issues, you can save time, resources, and energy.

Increased innovation - Effective problem-solving requires creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, which can lead to increased innovation in personal and professional contexts. By generating new ideas and approaches, you can improve your performance and achieve better results.

Improved teamwork - Effective problem-solving often requires collaboration and communication, which can lead to improved teamwork in personal and professional contexts. By working with others to identify and solve problems, you can develop stronger relationships and achieve better outcomes.

Improved self-confidence - Effective problem-solving requires persistence, resilience, and the ability to overcome obstacles. By developing your problem-solving abilities, you can improve your self-confidence and achieve greater success in all areas of your life.

These advantages highlight the importance of developing effective problem-solving skills. By becoming a better problem-solver, you can achieve better outcomes, overcome challenges, and make a positive impact on the world around you.

Disadvantages

While effective problem-solving has many advantages, there are also some potential disadvantages to consider. Here are a few:

Overthinking - Effective problem-solving involves analysis and evaluation, but too much of this can lead to overthinking. Overthinking can cause stress and anxiety, and can also lead to indecision and procrastination.

Analysis paralysis - Analysis paralysis is a type of overthinking that occurs when we become stuck in the analysis phase of problem-solving and struggle to make a decision or take action. This can lead to missed opportunities and wasted time.

Lack of creativity - Effective problem-solving requires creativity and innovative thinking, but some individuals may struggle with this aspect of problem-solving. A lack of creativity can lead to a limited range of solutions and missed opportunities for improvement.

Resistance to change - Effective problem-solving often requires change, which can be difficult for some individuals to accept. Resistance to change can limit the effectiveness of problem-solving efforts and lead to missed opportunities for improvement.

Resource constraints - Effective problem-solving often requires resources, such as time, money, and personnel. Resource constraints can limit the effectiveness of problem-solving efforts and lead to suboptimal solutions.

These disadvantages highlight the importance of being mindful of the potential downsides of problem-solving and taking steps to mitigate them. By balancing analysis and creativity, being open to change, and being mindful of resource constraints, we can overcome these potential disadvantages and achieve greater success in our problem-solving efforts.

Possibilities of Misunderstanding the Topic

While problem-solving may seem straightforward, there are some common misunderstandings that can lead to ineffective problem-solving. Here are a few possibilities of misunderstanding the topic:

Assuming there is only one solution - Effective problem-solving involves generating multiple potential solutions to a problem, rather than assuming there is only one correct answer. By considering a range of options, we can identify the best solution for the problem at hand.

Focusing on symptoms rather than underlying causes - Effective problem-solving requires us to identify the underlying causes of a problem, rather than just addressing the symptoms. By addressing the root cause of a problem, we can develop more targeted and effective solutions.

Ignoring potential biases - Effective problem-solving requires us to be aware of our biases and assumptions, which can influence our thinking and decision-making. By recognizing and addressing these biases, we can improve the quality of our problem-solving efforts.

Assuming a linear problem-solving process - Effective problem-solving is not always a linear process, and can involve a range of approaches, from trial and error to creative thinking. By being flexible and adaptive, we can achieve better results in our problem-solving efforts.

Overlooking the importance of implementation and monitoring - Effective problem-solving is not just about generating solutions, but also about implementing them effectively and monitoring their success. By tracking progress and making adjustments as necessary, we can ensure that our problem-solving efforts are effective and sustainable.

By understanding these possibilities of misunderstanding the topic, we can approach problem-solving in a more effective and nuanced way, and achieve better results. Effective problem-solving requires a combination of knowledge, skills, and experience, and by being mindful of these potential misunderstandings, we can improve our problem-solving abilities and achieve greater success in our personal and professional lives.

Controversy

While problem-solving is generally seen as a positive and necessary skill, there are some controversies surrounding its use in certain contexts. Here are a few examples:

In some industries, there is a focus on rapid problem-solving that may prioritize speed over accuracy. This can lead to rushed solutions that may not be effective in the long term.

Some people argue that problem-solving can be overused, and that individuals may rely too heavily on problem-solving techniques rather than using intuition or common sense.

There is debate over whether problem-solving is a skill that can be taught or if it is an innate ability. Some people argue that problem-solving is a learned skill that can be developed through practice, while others argue that some people are naturally better problem-solvers than others.

In some cases, problem-solving can be a source of stress or burnout, particularly in high-pressure environments where there is a constant need to identify and solve problems.

There is debate over the role of problem-solving in decision-making, and whether problem-solving should be the primary approach to decision-making or whether other approaches, such as intuition, should also be considered.

These controversies highlight the complexity and nuance of problem-solving as a skill. While problem-solving is generally seen as a positive and necessary skill, there are potential downsides and debates over its use in certain contexts. By being aware of these controversies, we can approach problem-solving in a more nuanced and informed way, and achieve better results.

Debunking Myths

There are some common myths surrounding problem-solving that can lead to ineffective or inefficient problem-solving efforts. Here are a few of these myths, and why they are not accurate:

Myth: There is only one correct solution to a problem. Reality: Effective problem-solving involves generating multiple potential solutions to a problem, and evaluating them based on a set of criteria to choose the best option.

Myth: Problem-solving is a linear process that always follows the same steps. Reality: Problem-solving can involve a range of approaches, from trial and error to creative thinking, and may require adaptation and flexibility based on the specific context and problem.

Myth: Effective problem-solving requires a high IQ or advanced education. Reality: While knowledge and experience can be helpful in effective problem-solving, problem-solving is a skill that can be developed through practice and effort.

Myth: Problem-solving always involves complex, technical problems. Reality: Problem-solving can be applied to a range of issues and challenges, from personal relationships to time management.

Myth: Problem-solving requires perfectionism and an aversion to risk-taking. Reality: Effective problem-solving involves taking calculated risks and being willing to make mistakes and learn from them.

By debunking these myths, we can approach problem-solving in a more effective and realistic way, and achieve better results. Effective problem-solving requires a combination of knowledge, skills, and experience, and by recognizing these common myths, we can improve our problem-solving abilities and achieve greater success in our personal and professional lives.

Other Points of Interest on This Topic

Effective problem-solving is a broad and multifaceted topic with many points of interest. Here are a few additional points of interest on this topic:

The role of emotional intelligence in effective problem-solving. Emotional intelligence, which involves the ability to recognize and manage emotions in oneself and others, can be an important factor in effective problem-solving.

The impact of culture on problem-solving approaches. Different cultures may have different problem-solving approaches, and understanding these differences can be important for effective problem-solving in a global context.

The role of technology in problem-solving. Technology, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, is increasingly being used to enhance problem-solving abilities and improve outcomes.

The relationship between problem-solving and innovation. Effective problem-solving is often a key component of innovation, and innovation can lead to improved problem-solving approaches and outcomes.

The importance of ethical considerations in problem-solving. Effective problem-solving requires consideration of ethical implications and potential consequences, and ethical decision-making should be a key consideration in problem-solving efforts.

These points of interest highlight the complexity and richness of effective problem-solving as a topic. By exploring these additional areas of interest, we can develop a deeper understanding of problem-solving and improve our abilities to solve problems in a range of contexts.

Subsections of This Topic

Effective problem-solving is a vast topic that encompasses many different subtopics and approaches. Here are a few examples of the different subsections of problem-solving:

Root cause analysis - Root cause analysis is a problem-solving approach that involves identifying the underlying cause of a problem and addressing it directly, rather than just treating the symptoms.

Creative thinking - Creative thinking is a problem-solving approach that involves generating new and innovative solutions to a problem, often through techniques like brainstorming and analogical thinking.

Design thinking - Design thinking is a problem-solving approach that involves a human-centered, iterative process of problem-solving that emphasizes empathy, collaboration, and experimentation.

Lean problem-solving - Lean problem-solving is a problem-solving approach that involves eliminating waste and inefficiencies in a process or system, often through the use of tools like the Kaizen method.

Six Sigma - Six Sigma is a problem-solving approach that involves using data and statistical analysis to identify and eliminate defects and improve performance.

By understanding these different subsections of problem-solving, we can develop a more nuanced and effective approach to problem-solving in a range of contexts. Each subsection offers a unique set of tools and approaches that can be used to identify and solve problems more effectively and efficiently.

Effective problem-solving is an essential skill for success in both personal and professional contexts. By developing our problem-solving abilities, we can overcome challenges, achieve our goals, and make a positive impact on the world around us.

Throughout this article, we have explored various aspects of effective problem-solving, including its history, famous problem-solvers, principles, advantages, and disadvantages. We have also discussed some of the myths and controversies surrounding problem-solving, as well as some of the different subsections of the topic.

Ultimately, effective problem-solving requires a combination of knowledge, skills, and experience. By developing our critical and creative thinking skills, building our knowledge base, collaborating with others, and practicing problem-solving in different contexts, we can become more effective problem-solvers and achieve greater success in our personal and professional lives.

Effective problem-solving is not always easy, and there may be challenges and setbacks along the way. But by being mindful of the potential misunderstandings, controversies, and downsides of problem-solving, we can approach this important skill in a more nuanced and effective way, and achieve better outcomes.

In conclusion, effective problem-solving is a skill that can be developed and honed with practice and effort. By being mindful of the various aspects of problem-solving and continuously working to improve our abilities, we can become more effective problem-solvers and achieve greater success in all areas of our lives.

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Supplement to Critical Thinking

This supplement elaborates on the history of the articulation, promotion and adoption of critical thinking as an educational goal.

John Dewey (1910: 74, 82) introduced the term ‘critical thinking’ as the name of an educational goal, which he identified with a scientific attitude of mind. More commonly, he called the goal ‘reflective thought’, ‘reflective thinking’, ‘reflection’, or just ‘thought’ or ‘thinking’. He describes his book as written for two purposes. The first was to help people to appreciate the kinship of children’s native curiosity, fertile imagination and love of experimental inquiry to the scientific attitude. The second was to help people to consider how recognizing this kinship in educational practice “would make for individual happiness and the reduction of social waste” (iii). He notes that the ideas in the book obtained concreteness in the Laboratory School in Chicago.

Dewey’s ideas were put into practice by some of the schools that participated in the Eight-Year Study in the 1930s sponsored by the Progressive Education Association in the United States. For this study, 300 colleges agreed to consider for admission graduates of 30 selected secondary schools or school systems from around the country who experimented with the content and methods of teaching, even if the graduates had not completed the then-prescribed secondary school curriculum. One purpose of the study was to discover through exploration and experimentation how secondary schools in the United States could serve youth more effectively (Aikin 1942). Each experimental school was free to change the curriculum as it saw fit, but the schools agreed that teaching methods and the life of the school should conform to the idea (previously advocated by Dewey) that people develop through doing things that are meaningful to them, and that the main purpose of the secondary school was to lead young people to understand, appreciate and live the democratic way of life characteristic of the United States (Aikin 1942: 17–18). In particular, school officials believed that young people in a democracy should develop the habit of reflective thinking and skill in solving problems (Aikin 1942: 81). Students’ work in the classroom thus consisted more often of a problem to be solved than a lesson to be learned. Especially in mathematics and science, the schools made a point of giving students experience in clear, logical thinking as they solved problems. The report of one experimental school, the University School of Ohio State University, articulated this goal of improving students’ thinking:

Critical or reflective thinking originates with the sensing of a problem. It is a quality of thought operating in an effort to solve the problem and to reach a tentative conclusion which is supported by all available data. It is really a process of problem solving requiring the use of creative insight, intellectual honesty, and sound judgment. It is the basis of the method of scientific inquiry. The success of democracy depends to a large extent on the disposition and ability of citizens to think critically and reflectively about the problems which must of necessity confront them, and to improve the quality of their thinking is one of the major goals of education. (Commission on the Relation of School and College of the Progressive Education Association 1943: 745–746)

The Eight-Year Study had an evaluation staff, which developed, in consultation with the schools, tests to measure aspects of student progress that fell outside the focus of the traditional curriculum. The evaluation staff classified many of the schools’ stated objectives under the generic heading “clear thinking” or “critical thinking” (Smith, Tyler, & Evaluation Staff 1942: 35–36). To develop tests of achievement of this broad goal, they distinguished five overlapping aspects of it: ability to interpret data, abilities associated with an understanding of the nature of proof, and the abilities to apply principles of science, of social studies and of logical reasoning. The Eight-Year Study also had a college staff, directed by a committee of college administrators, whose task was to determine how well the experimental schools had prepared their graduates for college. The college staff compared the performance of 1,475 college students from the experimental schools with an equal number of graduates from conventional schools, matched in pairs by sex, age, race, scholastic aptitude scores, home and community background, interests, and probable future. They concluded that, on 18 measures of student success, the graduates of the experimental schools did a somewhat better job than the comparison group. The graduates from the six most traditional of the experimental schools showed no large or consistent differences. The graduates from the six most experimental schools, on the other hand, had much greater differences in their favour. The graduates of the two most experimental schools, the college staff reported:

… surpassed their comparison groups by wide margins in academic achievement, intellectual curiosity, scientific approach to problems, and interest in contemporary affairs. The differences in their favor were even greater in general resourcefulness, in enjoyment of reading, [in] participation in the arts, in winning non-academic honors, and in all aspects of college life except possibly participation in sports and social activities. (Aikin 1942: 114)

One of these schools was a private school with students from privileged families and the other the experimental section of a public school with students from non-privileged families. The college staff reported that the graduates of the two schools were indistinguishable from each other in terms of college success.

In 1933 Dewey issued an extensively rewritten edition of his How We Think (Dewey 1910), with the sub-title “A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process”. Although the restatement retains the basic structure and content of the original book, Dewey made a number of changes. He rewrote and simplified his logical analysis of the process of reflection, made his ideas clearer and more definite, replaced the terms ‘induction’ and ‘deduction’ by the phrases ‘control of data and evidence’ and ‘control of reasoning and concepts’, added more illustrations, rearranged chapters, and revised the parts on teaching to reflect changes in schools since 1910. In particular, he objected to one-sided practices of some “experimental” and “progressive” schools that allowed children freedom but gave them no guidance, citing as objectionable practices novelty and variety for their own sake, experiences and activities with real materials but of no educational significance, treating random and disconnected activity as if it were an experiment, failure to summarize net accomplishment at the end of an inquiry, non-educative projects, and treatment of the teacher as a negligible factor rather than as “the intellectual leader of a social group” (Dewey 1933: 273). Without explaining his reasons, Dewey eliminated the previous edition’s uses of the words ‘critical’ and ‘uncritical’, thus settling firmly on ‘reflection’ or ‘reflective thinking’ as the preferred term for his subject-matter. In the revised edition, the word ‘critical’ occurs only once, where Dewey writes that “a person may not be sufficiently critical about the ideas that occur to him” (1933: 16, italics in original); being critical is thus a component of reflection, not the whole of it. In contrast, the Eight-Year Study by the Progressive Education Association treated ‘critical thinking’ and ‘reflective thinking’ as synonyms.

In the same period, Dewey collaborated on a history of the Laboratory School in Chicago with two former teachers from the school (Mayhew & Edwards 1936). The history describes the school’s curriculum and organization, activities aimed at developing skills, parents’ involvement, and the habits of mind that the children acquired. A concluding chapter evaluates the school’s achievements, counting as a success its staging of the curriculum to correspond to the natural development of the growing child. In two appendices, the authors describe the evolution of Dewey’s principles of education and Dewey himself describes the theory of the Chicago experiment (Dewey 1936).

Glaser (1941) reports in his doctoral dissertation the method and results of an experiment in the development of critical thinking conducted in the fall of 1938. He defines critical thinking as Dewey defined reflective thinking:

Critical thinking calls for a persistent effort to examine any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the evidence that supports it and the further conclusions to which it tends. (Glaser 1941: 6; cf. Dewey 1910: 6; Dewey 1933: 9)

In the experiment, eight lesson units directed at improving critical thinking abilities were taught to four grade 12 high school classes, with pre-test and post-test of the students using the Otis Quick-Scoring Mental Ability Test and the Watson-Glaser Tests of Critical Thinking (developed in collaboration with Glaser’s dissertation sponsor, Goodwin Watson). The average gain in scores on these tests was greater to a statistically significant degree among the students who received the lessons in critical thinking than among the students in a control group of four grade 12 high school classes taking the usual curriculum in English. Glaser concludes:

The aspect of critical thinking which appears most susceptible to general improvement is the attitude of being disposed to consider in a thoughtful way the problems and subjects that come within the range of one’s experience. An attitude of wanting evidence for beliefs is more subject to general transfer. Development of skill in applying the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning, however, appears to be specifically related to, and in fact limited by, the acquisition of pertinent knowledge and facts concerning the problem or subject matter toward which the thinking is to be directed. (Glaser 1941: 175)

Retest scores and observable behaviour indicated that students in the intervention group retained their growth in ability to think critically for at least six months after the special instruction.

In 1948 a group of U.S. college examiners decided to develop taxonomies of educational objectives with a common vocabulary that they could use for communicating with each other about test items. The first of these taxonomies, for the cognitive domain, appeared in 1956 (Bloom et al. 1956), and included critical thinking objectives. It has become known as Bloom’s taxonomy. A second taxonomy, for the affective domain (Krathwohl, Bloom, & Masia 1964), and a third taxonomy, for the psychomotor domain (Simpson 1966–67), appeared later. Each of the taxonomies is hierarchical, with achievement of a higher educational objective alleged to require achievement of corresponding lower educational objectives.

Bloom’s taxonomy has six major categories. From lowest to highest, they are knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Within each category, there are sub-categories, also arranged hierarchically from the educationally prior to the educationally posterior. The lowest category, though called ‘knowledge’, is confined to objectives of remembering information and being able to recall or recognize it, without much transformation beyond organizing it (Bloom et al. 1956: 28–29). The five higher categories are collectively termed “intellectual abilities and skills” (Bloom et al. 1956: 204). The term is simply another name for critical thinking abilities and skills:

Although information or knowledge is recognized as an important outcome of education, very few teachers would be satisfied to regard this as the primary or the sole outcome of instruction. What is needed is some evidence that the students can do something with their knowledge, that is, that they can apply the information to new situations and problems. It is also expected that students will acquire generalized techniques for dealing with new problems and new materials. Thus, it is expected that when the student encounters a new problem or situation, he will select an appropriate technique for attacking it and will bring to bear the necessary information, both facts and principles. This has been labeled “critical thinking” by some, “reflective thinking” by Dewey and others, and “problem solving” by still others. In the taxonomy, we have used the term “intellectual abilities and skills”. (Bloom et al. 1956: 38)

Comprehension and application objectives, as their names imply, involve understanding and applying information. Critical thinking abilities and skills show up in the three highest categories of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The condensed version of Bloom’s taxonomy (Bloom et al. 1956: 201–207) gives the following examples of objectives at these levels:

• analysis objectives : ability to recognize unstated assumptions, ability to check the consistency of hypotheses with given information and assumptions, ability to recognize the general techniques used in advertising, propaganda and other persuasive materials
• synthesis objectives : organizing ideas and statements in writing, ability to propose ways of testing a hypothesis, ability to formulate and modify hypotheses
• evaluation objectives : ability to indicate logical fallacies, comparison of major theories about particular cultures

The analysis, synthesis and evaluation objectives in Bloom’s taxonomy collectively came to be called the “higher-order thinking skills” (Tankersley 2005: chap. 5). Although the analysis-synthesis-evaluation sequence mimics phases in Dewey’s (1933) logical analysis of the reflective thinking process, it has not generally been adopted as a model of a critical thinking process. While commending the inspirational value of its ratio of five categories of thinking objectives to one category of recall objectives, Ennis (1981b) points out that the categories lack criteria applicable across topics and domains. For example, analysis in chemistry is so different from analysis in literature that there is not much point in teaching analysis as a general type of thinking. Further, the postulated hierarchy seems questionable at the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. For example, ability to indicate logical fallacies hardly seems more complex than the ability to organize statements and ideas in writing.

A revised version of Bloom’s taxonomy (Anderson et al. 2001) distinguishes the intended cognitive process in an educational objective (such as being able to recall, to compare or to check) from the objective’s informational content (“knowledge”), which may be factual, conceptual, procedural, or metacognitive. The result is a so-called “Taxonomy Table” with four rows for the kinds of informational content and six columns for the six main types of cognitive process. The authors name the types of cognitive process by verbs, to indicate their status as mental activities. They change the name of the ‘comprehension’ category to ‘understand’ and of the ‘synthesis’ category to ’create’, and switch the order of synthesis and evaluation. The result is a list of six main types of cognitive process aimed at by teachers: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. The authors retain the idea of a hierarchy of increasing complexity, but acknowledge some overlap, for example between understanding and applying. And they retain the idea that critical thinking and problem solving cut across the more complex cognitive processes. The terms ‘critical thinking’ and ‘problem solving’, they write:

are widely used and tend to become touchstones of curriculum emphasis. Both generally include a variety of activities that might be classified in disparate cells of the Taxonomy Table. That is, in any given instance, objectives that involve problem solving and critical thinking most likely call for cognitive processes in several categories on the process dimension. For example, to think critically about an issue probably involves some Conceptual knowledge to Analyze the issue. Then, one can Evaluate different perspectives in terms of the criteria and, perhaps, Create a novel, yet defensible perspective on this issue. (Anderson et al. 2001: 269–270; italics in original)

In the revised taxonomy, only a few sub-categories, such as inferring, have enough commonality to be treated as a distinct critical thinking ability that could be taught and assessed as a general ability.

A landmark contribution to philosophical scholarship on the concept of critical thinking was a 1962 article in the Harvard Educational Review by Robert H. Ennis, with the title “A concept of critical thinking: A proposed basis for research in the teaching and evaluation of critical thinking ability” (Ennis 1962). Ennis took as his starting-point a conception of critical thinking put forward by B. Othanel Smith:

We shall consider thinking in terms of the operations involved in the examination of statements which we, or others, may believe. A speaker declares, for example, that “Freedom means that the decisions in America’s productive effort are made not in the minds of a bureaucracy but in the free market”. Now if we set about to find out what this statement means and to determine whether to accept or reject it, we would be engaged in thinking which, for lack of a better term, we shall call critical thinking. If one wishes to say that this is only a form of problem-solving in which the purpose is to decide whether or not what is said is dependable, we shall not object. But for our purposes we choose to call it critical thinking. (Smith 1953: 130)

Adding a normative component to this conception, Ennis defined critical thinking as “the correct assessing of statements” (Ennis 1962: 83). On the basis of this definition, he distinguished 12 “aspects” of critical thinking corresponding to types or aspects of statements, such as judging whether an observation statement is reliable and grasping the meaning of a statement. He noted that he did not include judging value statements. Cutting across the 12 aspects, he distinguished three dimensions of critical thinking: logical (judging relationships between meanings of words and statements), criterial (knowledge of the criteria for judging statements), and pragmatic (the impression of the background purpose). For each aspect, Ennis described the applicable dimensions, including criteria. He proposed the resulting construct as a basis for developing specifications for critical thinking tests and for research on instructional methods and levels.

In the 1970s and 1980s there was an upsurge of attention to the development of thinking skills. The annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Educational Reform has attracted since its start in 1980 tens of thousands of educators from all levels. In 1983 the College Entrance Examination Board proclaimed reasoning as one of six basic academic competencies needed by college students (College Board 1983). Departments of education in the United States and around the world began to include thinking objectives in their curriculum guidelines for school subjects. For example, Ontario’s social sciences and humanities curriculum guideline for secondary schools requires “the use of critical and creative thinking skills and/or processes” as a goal of instruction and assessment in each subject and course (Ontario Ministry of Education 2013: 30). The document describes critical thinking as follows:

Critical thinking is the process of thinking about ideas or situations in order to understand them fully, identify their implications, make a judgement, and/or guide decision making. Critical thinking includes skills such as questioning, predicting, analysing, synthesizing, examining opinions, identifying values and issues, detecting bias, and distinguishing between alternatives. Students who are taught these skills become critical thinkers who can move beyond superficial conclusions to a deeper understanding of the issues they are examining. They are able to engage in an inquiry process in which they explore complex and multifaceted issues, and questions for which there may be no clear-cut answers (Ontario Ministry of Education 2013: 46).

Sweden makes schools responsible for ensuring that each pupil who completes compulsory school “can make use of critical thinking and independently formulate standpoints based on knowledge and ethical considerations” (Skolverket 2018: 12). Subject syllabi incorporate this requirement, and items testing critical thinking skills appear on national tests that are a required step toward university admission. For example, the core content of biology, physics and chemistry in years 7-9 includes critical examination of sources of information and arguments encountered by pupils in different sources and social discussions related to these sciences, in both digital and other media. (Skolverket 2018: 170, 181, 192). Correspondingly, in year 9 the national tests require using knowledge of biology, physics or chemistry “to investigate information, communicate and come to a decision on issues concerning health, energy, technology, the environment, use of natural resources and ecological sustainability” (see the message from the School Board ). Other jurisdictions similarly embed critical thinking objectives in curriculum guidelines.

At the college level, a new wave of introductory logic textbooks, pioneered by Kahane (1971), applied the tools of logic to contemporary social and political issues. Popular contemporary textbooks of this sort include those by Bailin and Battersby (2016b), Boardman, Cavender and Kahane (2018), Browne and Keeley (2018), Groarke and Tindale (2012), and Moore and Parker (2020). In their wake, colleges and universities in North America transformed their introductory logic course into a general education service course with a title like ‘critical thinking’ or ‘reasoning’. In 1980, the trustees of California’s state university and colleges approved as a general education requirement a course in critical thinking, described as follows:

Instruction in critical thinking is to be designed to achieve an understanding of the relationship of language to logic, which should lead to the ability to analyze, criticize, and advocate ideas, to reason inductively and deductively, and to reach factual or judgmental conclusions based on sound inferences drawn from unambiguous statements of knowledge or belief. The minimal competence to be expected at the successful conclusion of instruction in critical thinking should be the ability to distinguish fact from judgment, belief from knowledge, and skills in elementary inductive and deductive processes, including an understanding of the formal and informal fallacies of language and thought. (Dumke 1980)

Since December 1983, the Association for Informal Logic and Critical Thinking has sponsored sessions at the three annual divisional meetings of the American Philosophical Association. In December 1987, the Committee on Pre-College Philosophy of the American Philosophical Association invited Peter Facione to make a systematic inquiry into the current state of critical thinking and critical thinking assessment. Facione assembled a group of 46 other academic philosophers and psychologists to participate in a multi-round Delphi process, whose product was entitled Critical Thinking: A Statement of Expert Consensus for Purposes of Educational Assessment and Instruction (Facione 1990a). The statement listed abilities and dispositions that should be the goals of a lower-level undergraduate course in critical thinking. Researchers in nine European countries determined which of these skills and dispositions employers expect of university graduates (Dominguez 2018 a), compared those expectations to critical thinking educational practices in post-secondary educational institutions (Dominguez 2018b), developed a course on critical thinking education for university teachers (Dominguez 2018c) and proposed in response to identified gaps between expectations and practices an “educational protocol” that post-secondary educational institutions in Europe could use to develop critical thinking (Elen et al. 2019).

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Defining Authenticity in Historical Problem Solving

At Sammamish High School, we've identified seven key elements of problem-based learning, an approach that drives our comprehensive curriculum. I teach tenth grade history, which puts me in a unique position to describe the key element of authentic problems.

What is an authentic problem in world history? My colleagues and I grappled with this question when we set about to design a problem-based learning (PBL) class for AP World History. We looked enviously at some of our peer disciplines such as biology which we imagined having clear problems for students to work on (they didn't, but that is another blog post).

We consulted a number of sources in research. What did the College Board say? What do the state standards say? We reached out to Walter Parker, the social studies methods instructor at the University of Washington School of Education, to help us clarify our thinking.

We arrived at two ways to think about authentic problems. One I will call the work of historians in the field, and the other was the work of historical actors at the time. We quickly felt a healthy tension between these two ideas.

Living the Decisions

The work of historians involves creating and debating the frameworks for the historical narratives our students use to interpret history. One problem that historians debate is the question of periodization, or how history should be divided chronologically in order to better understand it. We know these chunks of time -- or eras -- by the more familiar labels given them by historians: classical, medieval and modern, to name a few. These debates are highly charged because they are so important in defining what students entering the field should study. For example, should World War I be considered a turning point in world history, or is World War I really a European civil war whose significance as a global turning point diminishes with passing of each decade?

It was exciting to consider that our students would engage in such high-level and rigorous academic thinking. We could think of many meaty questions for them to explore and discuss: What was the legacy of Mongol rule? Is the modern era a time of progress? Even the question, "Is there really such a thing as world history?" However, we wondered, was it realistic to ask students to do the work of historians? Could we prepare them well enough to have these highly abstract but critical conversations? College professors spend years steeping themselves exclusively in their discipline, while our students devote one seventh of their class time to world history. My colleague and I had both engaged students in such debates during our practice, but not in an integrated systematic way.

Our approach to authentic problems came from a different perspective: that of the historical actor and decision-makers. By giving students roles based around a historical problem we could ask them, "What would you do, and why?" This, of course, is nothing new. Teachers have been creating simulations and role-plays to engage their students for generations. We wanted to build a unit or "challenge cycle" around these activities.

Ultimately, we decided that it would be difficult for students to do the work of historians if they had not done the work of historical actors. By "living" the decisions through problem-based simulations, our students would collectively be better prepared to engage in the larger questions that are debated in the discipline of history.

Challenge Cycles

What did this look like in World History? We created challenge cycles based on each of the eras into which the course was divided. Our first attempt at building a PBL challenge cycle took place when we studied the Early Modern Era (1450-1750) and focused on the theme of diplomacy. Students were assigned to empire teams based on their interests, and they played the role of foreign policy advisors. Their mission: to determine how diplomacy could help their empire maintain and expand power. The simulation component culminated in a round of treaty negotiations between empires. We found that while students were energized and came to know their roles deeply, they were not directly engaging in the conversations and debates that historians have.

After we piloted our first PBL units, we built in a day for a debrief discussion explicitly linking the challenge cycle with the authentic questions that historians address. This debrief day also allowed students to drop their simulation roles, which frequently put them in competitive or modestly adversarial relationships with one another. They were free to argue against the position their historical figure would have taken. For example, during our diplomacy challenge debrief, the Ottoman Empire could argue the position of their Spanish archrivals. We also broke down our challenge cycle into components that allowed students to deepen their understanding of their historical actors in relation to others. In our diplomacy challenge, this meant building in a diplomatic reception in which our student diplomats had to toast an empire with which they wanted to engage in trade.

Diplomats and Historians

What kind of comments have we heard from students? Their response has become more positive as we have refined our pilot units. Here is a brief sample from a survey we took on our diplomacy challenge unit:

• "We all were sort of competing, which made us try harder."
• "The reception was super neat."
• "I really enjoyed knowing about my empire, therefore I wanted to learn more about that empire and master it . . . I liked the process: 1st power point, to get to know the empire. 2nd Toast. This process helped me understand the empires. ."
• "Elaborate more on what actually happened instead of the Socratic seminar [debrief] because I would've liked to know more concrete details."
• "Remove the reception (I think this could have been a two-week project)."

After a year of designing and testing the curriculum, we have come to understand that some problems and their components feel more authentic than others. Representatives of the early modern empires were rarely gathered together at one reception, and diplomacy is obviously conducted over a longer period of time with changing players. However, the toasts our student diplomats made at that diplomatic reception would not have been out of place at a White House state dinner (although our students' were briefer), and the skills they used in trying to woo a trading partner were just as real.

As we continue to refine this course of study, the healthy tension between the work of the historian and the work of the actor remains, as does the desire to create a curriculum where students can meaningfully engage in both.

Editor's Note: Visit " Case Study: Reinventing a Public High School with Problem-Based Learning " to stay updated on Edutopia's coverage of Sammamish High School.

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Visualization as an Aid to Problem-Solving: Examples from History

This paper presents a historical overview of visualization as a human problem-solving tool. Visualization strategies, such as mental imagery, pervade historical accounts of scientific discovery and invention. A selected number of historical examples are presented and discussed on a wide range of topics such as physics, aviation, and the science of chaos. Everyday examples are also discussed to show the value of visualization as a problem-solving tool for all people. Several counter examples are also discussed showing that visualization can sometimes lead to erroneous conclusions. Many educational implications are discussed, such as reconsidering the dominant role and value schools place on verbal, abstract thinking. These issues are also considered in light of emerging computer-based technologies such as virtual reality. (Contains 17 references.) (AuthorJLB) *************************** *****:.A.*******A.***.AA:.A::****i&#39;&quot;i.A:.A Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best th...

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Background: The use of visual representations (i.e., photographs, diagrams, models) has been part of science, and their use makes it possible for scientists to interact with and represent complex phenomena, not observable in other ways. Despite a wealth of research in science education on visual representations, the emphasis of such research has mainly been on the conceptual understanding when using visual representations and less on visual representations as epistemic objects. In this paper, we argue that by positioning visual representations as epistemic objects of scientific practices, science education can bring a renewed focus on how visualization contributes to knowledge formation in science from the learners’ perspective. Results: This is a theoretical paper, and in order to argue about the role of visualization, we first present a case study, that of the discovery of the structure of DNA that highlights the epistemic components of visual information in science. The second case study focuses on Faraday’s use of the lines of magnetic force. Faraday is known of his exploratory, creative, and yet systemic way of experimenting, and the visual reasoning leading to theoretical development was an inherent part of the experimentation. Third, we trace a contemporary account from science focusing on the experimental practices and how reproducibility of experimental procedures can be reinforced through video data. Conclusions: Our conclusions suggest that in teaching science, the emphasis in visualization should shift from cognitive understanding—using the products of science to understand the content—to engaging in the processes of visualization. Furthermore, we suggest that is it essential to design curriculum materials and learning environments that create a social and epistemic context and invite students to engage in the practice of visualization as evidence, reasoning, experimental procedure, or a means of communication and reflect on these practices. Implications for teacher education include the need for teacher professional development programs to problematize the use of visual representations as epistemic objects that are part of scientific practices. Keywords: Visual representations; Epistemic practices; Science learning

Instructional design for effective and enjoyable computer-supported learning. Proceedings of the first joint meeting of the EARLI SIGs' Instructional Design'and'Learning and Instruction with Computers'[CD-ROM]

Richard Catrambone

Abstract. In the experiment described in this paper we investigated the effects of different kinds of computer-based visualizations on the acquisition of problem-solving skills in the domain of probability theory. Learners received either purely text-based worked examples, text plus an instruction to mentally imagine the examples&#x27; contents, or they could retrieve either static pictures or concrete animations that depicted the problem statement and the problem states achieved by applying a specific solution step. It could be shown that ...

Johanna Pejlare

Handbook of Research on Maximizing Cognitive Learning through Knowledge Visualization

Wiesława Osińska

Valerio Pascucci

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What Is the Problem? Understanding the History of Ideas

• First Online: 23 June 2017

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• William Berkson 7  

Part of the book series: Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science ((BSPS,volume 325))

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“What is the problem?” If you ever were a student of Joseph Agassi, you remember this question fondly. Agassi expanded and refined Popper’s characterization of a “critical tradition,” in his philosophical writings, historical studies, and as a teacher. His challenge to his students was both to understand the growth of knowledge in past traditions, and to then take on the task of advancing one—in no matter what field. And “What is the problem?” was always the first question to begin understanding the development of ideas and traditions.

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Agassi, Joseph. 1964. The nature of scientific problems and their roots in metaphysics. In The critical approach to science and philosophy: Essays in honor of Karl Popper , ed. Mario Bunge, 189–211. New York: Free Press. Reprinted in Agassi 1975.

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———. 1989. Testability in the social sciences. Philosophy of the Social Sciences : 157–171.

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———. 2017. As fact checkers proliferate, where are the policy checkers?’ Columbia Journalism Review, Feb 2, 2017. http://www.cjr.org/criticism/policy_checkers_fact_checkers.php . See also the followup Salon.com interview by Paul Rosenberg: Beyond fact-checking: After the catastrophic media failure of 2016, the press must master “crucial evidence” http://www.salon.com/2017/02/19/beyond-fact-checking-after-the-catastrophic-media-failure-of-2016-the-press-must-master-crucialevidence/

Berkson, William, and Wettersten, John. 1984. Learning from error: Karl Popper’s psychology of learning. (Open Court).

Committee for A Responsible Budget. 2015. Do tax cuts pay for themselves? http://crfb.org/blogs/do-tax-cuts-pay-themselves . Accessed Jan 2017.

Gross, Berl. 1992. Before democracy: A history of error and justification. Melbourne: Globe Press. https://berlgross.wordpress.com/ . Accessed Jan 2017.

Krugman, Paul. 2012. Charlatans and Cranks . Blog post Sept. 15. http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/15/charlatans-and-cranks-2/?_r=0 . Accessed Jan 2017.

Patterson, Thomas E. 2016. How the press failed the voters. https://shorensteincenter.org/news-coverage-2016-general-election/ . Accessed Jan 2017.

Tsakok, Isabelle. 2011. Success in agricultural transformation: What is means and what makes it happen . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Tsakok, Isabelle, and Bruce Gardner. 2007. Agriculture in economic development: Primary engine of growth or chicken and egg? American Journal of Agricultural Economics : 1145–1151.

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Berkson, W. (2017). What Is the Problem? Understanding the History of Ideas. In: Bar-Am, N., Gattei, S. (eds) Encouraging Openness. Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science, vol 325. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57669-5_16

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A3 8 Step Practical Problem Solving – Skill Level 1: Knowledge

Brief history of modern problem solving methods.

The diagram below shows a “Time Line of Modern Problem Solving” and depicts some of the key milestones that have led to the processes used for problem solving in organisations today.

It is possible to trace the strands of the modern problem solving approaches we are familiar with in the lean movement. A five step problem solving method was originally taught in Japan as part of a course called The Fundamentals of Industrial Management by Homer Sarasohn and Charles Protzman. Deming’s modified Shewart cycle – known as the Deming Wheel was taken and developed by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE.) JUSE was key in the dissemination of problem solving processes under the guidance of Ichiro and Kaoru Ishikawa. In 1951

JUSE created the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle which we know as PDCA. Despite Deming’s objections to the modification, this has become the dominant form of the Deming cycle today. They also invited Juran to Japan to give lectures in 1954.

Another key strand are the Training Within Industry (TWI) courses. Initially the 3J courses were taught, but in 1955, TWI Problem Solving was developed. The process outlined four basic steps of problem solving in the TWI framework to help train people, improve work methods and resolve problems in a structured way:

• 1 – Isolate the problem
• 2 – Prepare for solution
• 3 – Correct the problem
• 4 – Check and evaluate the results

In the 1960’s, various 6-step approaches were created. These can be summarised as follows:

Six Step Method

• 1- Define the problem.
• 2 – Determine the goal.
• 3 – Identify the root cause.
• 4 – Implement countermeasures.
• 5 – Check results.
• 6 – Follow up and standardise.

In the 1960’s and 70’s the concept of “kaizen” emerged in Japan. Its literal translation means “change for the better.” Different from structured problem solving and gap from standard situations, kaizen asks “How can the current standard or condition be improved upon?” Kaizen is not bound by the rules of root cause analysis thinking – it is more open ended. Processes are observed and considered for improvement.

• 5. Historical Issues

Issue-centered analysis and decision-making activities place students squarely at the center of historical dilemmas and problems faced at critical moments in the past and the near-present. Entering into such moments, confronting the issues or problems of the time, analyzing the alternatives available to those on the scene, evaluating the consequences that might have followed those options for action that were not chosen, and comparing with the consequences of those that were adopted, are activities that foster students’ deep, personal involvement in these events.

If well chosen, these activities also promote capacities vital to a democratic citizenry: the capacity to identify and define public policy issues and ethical dilemmas; analyze the range of interests and values held by the many persons caught up in the situation and affected by its outcome; locate and organize the data required to assess the consequences of alternative approaches to resolving the dilemma; assess the ethical implications as well as the comparative costs and benefits of each approach; and evaluate a particular course of action in light of all of the above and, in the case of historical issues-analysis, in light also of its long-term consequences revealed in the historical record.

Because important historical issues are frequently value-laden, they also open opportunities to consider the moral convictions contributing to social actions taken. For example, what moral and political dilemmas did Lincoln face when, in his Emancipation Proclamation, he decided to free only those slaves behind the Confederate lines? Teachers should not use historical events to hammer home their own favorite moral lesson. The point to be made is that teachers should not use critical events to hammer home a particular “moral lesson” or ethical teaching. Not only will many students reject that approach; it fails also to take into account the processes through which students acquire the complex skills of principled thinking and moral reasoning.

When students are invited to judge morally the conduct of historical actors, they should be encouraged to clarify the values that inform the judgment. In some instances, this will be an easy task. Students judging the Holocaust or slavery as evils will probably be able to articulate the foundation for their judgment. In other cases, a student’s effort to reach a moral judgment may produce a healthy student exercise in clarifying values, and may, in some instances, lead him or her to recognize the historically conditioned nature of a particular moral value he or she may be invoking.

Particularly challenging are the many social issues throughout United States history on which multiple interests and different values have come to bear. Issues of civil rights or equal education opportunity, of the right to choice vs. the right to life, and of criminal justice have all brought such conflicts to the fore. When these conflicts have not been resolved within the social and political institutions of the nation, they have regularly found their way into the judicial system, often going to the Supreme Court for resolution.

As the history course approaches the present era, such inquiries assume special relevance, confronting students with issues that resonate in today’s headlines and invite their participation in lively debates, simulations, and socratic seminars–settings in which they can confront alternative policy recommendations, judge their ethical implications, challenge one another’s assessments, and acquire further skills in the public presentation and defense of positions. In these analyses, teachers have the special responsibility of helping students differentiate between (1) relevant historical antecedents and (2) those that are clearly inappropriate and irrelevant. Students need to learn how to use their knowledge of history (or the past) to bring sound historical analysis to the service of informed decision making.

HISTORICAL THINKING STANDARD 5

The student engages in historical issues-analysis and decision-making:

Therefore, the student is able to

• Identify issues and problems in the past  and analyze the interests, values, perspectives, and points of view of those involved in the situation.
• Marshal evidence of antecedent circumstances  and current factors contributing to contemporary problems and alternative courses of action.
• Identify relevant historical antecedents  and differentiate from those that are inappropriate and irrelevant to contemporary issues.
• Evaluate alternative courses of action , keeping in mind the information available at the time, in terms of ethical considerations, the interests of those affected by the decision, and the long- and short-term consequences of each.
• Formulate a position or course of action on an issue  by identifying the nature of the problem, analyzing the underlying factors contributing to the problem, and choosing a plausible solution from a choice of carefully evaluated options.
• Evaluate the implementation of a decision  by analyzing the interests it served; estimating the position, power, and priority of each player involved; assessing the ethical dimensions of the decision; and evaluating its costs and benefits from a variety of perspectives.

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Interview Questions

Comprehensive Interview Guide: 60+ Professions Explored in Detail

26 Good Examples of Problem Solving (Interview Answers)

By Biron Clark

Published: November 15, 2023

Employers like to hire people who can solve problems and work well under pressure. A job rarely goes 100% according to plan, so hiring managers will be more likely to hire you if you seem like you can handle unexpected challenges while staying calm and logical in your approach.

But how do they measure this?

They’re going to ask you interview questions about these problem solving skills, and they might also look for examples of problem solving on your resume and cover letter. So coming up, I’m going to share a list of examples of problem solving, whether you’re an experienced job seeker or recent graduate.

Then I’ll share sample interview answers to, “Give an example of a time you used logic to solve a problem?”

Problem-Solving Defined

It is the ability to identify the problem, prioritize based on gravity and urgency, analyze the root cause, gather relevant information, develop and evaluate viable solutions, decide on the most effective and logical solution, and plan and execute implementation. 

Problem-solving also involves critical thinking, communication, listening, creativity, research, data gathering, risk assessment, continuous learning, decision-making, and other soft and technical skills.

Solving problems not only prevent losses or damages but also boosts self-confidence and reputation when you successfully execute it. The spotlight shines on you when people see you handle issues with ease and savvy despite the challenges. Your ability and potential to be a future leader that can take on more significant roles and tackle bigger setbacks shine through. Problem-solving is a skill you can master by learning from others and acquiring wisdom from their and your own experiences. 

It takes a village to come up with solutions, but a good problem solver can steer the team towards the best choice and implement it to achieve the desired result.

Watch: 26 Good Examples of Problem Solving

Examples of problem solving scenarios in the workplace.

• Correcting a mistake at work, whether it was made by you or someone else
• Overcoming a delay at work through problem solving and communication
• Resolving an issue with a difficult or upset customer
• Overcoming issues related to a limited budget, and still delivering good work through the use of creative problem solving
• Overcoming a scheduling/staffing shortage in the department to still deliver excellent work
• Troubleshooting and resolving technical issues
• Handling and resolving a conflict with a coworker
• Solving any problems related to money, customer billing, accounting and bookkeeping, etc.
• Taking initiative when another team member overlooked or missed something important
• Taking initiative to meet with your superior to discuss a problem before it became potentially worse
• Solving a safety issue at work or reporting the issue to those who could solve it
• Using problem solving abilities to reduce/eliminate a company expense
• Finding a way to make the company more profitable through new service or product offerings, new pricing ideas, promotion and sale ideas, etc.
• Changing how a process, team, or task is organized to make it more efficient
• Using creative thinking to come up with a solution that the company hasn’t used before
• Performing research to collect data and information to find a new solution to a problem
• Boosting a company or team’s performance by improving some aspect of communication among employees
• Finding a new piece of data that can guide a company’s decisions or strategy better in a certain area

Problem Solving Examples for Recent Grads/Entry Level Job Seekers

• Coordinating work between team members in a class project
• Reassigning a missing team member’s work to other group members in a class project
• Adjusting your workflow on a project to accommodate a tight deadline
• Speaking to your professor to get help when you were struggling or unsure about a project
• Asking classmates, peers, or professors for help in an area of struggle
• Talking to your academic advisor to brainstorm solutions to a problem you were facing
• Researching solutions to an academic problem online, via Google or other methods
• Using problem solving and creative thinking to obtain an internship or other work opportunity during school after struggling at first

You can share all of the examples above when you’re asked questions about problem solving in your interview. As you can see, even if you have no professional work experience, it’s possible to think back to problems and unexpected challenges that you faced in your studies and discuss how you solved them.

Interview Answers to “Give an Example of an Occasion When You Used Logic to Solve a Problem”

Now, let’s look at some sample interview answers to, “Give me an example of a time you used logic to solve a problem,” since you’re likely to hear this interview question in all sorts of industries.

Example Answer 1:

At my current job, I recently solved a problem where a client was upset about our software pricing. They had misunderstood the sales representative who explained pricing originally, and when their package renewed for its second month, they called to complain about the invoice. I apologized for the confusion and then spoke to our billing team to see what type of solution we could come up with. We decided that the best course of action was to offer a long-term pricing package that would provide a discount. This not only solved the problem but got the customer to agree to a longer-term contract, which means we’ll keep their business for at least one year now, and they’re happy with the pricing. I feel I got the best possible outcome and the way I chose to solve the problem was effective.

Example Answer 2:

In my last job, I had to do quite a bit of problem solving related to our shift scheduling. We had four people quit within a week and the department was severely understaffed. I coordinated a ramp-up of our hiring efforts, I got approval from the department head to offer bonuses for overtime work, and then I found eight employees who were willing to do overtime this month. I think the key problem solving skills here were taking initiative, communicating clearly, and reacting quickly to solve this problem before it became an even bigger issue.

Example Answer 3:

In my current marketing role, my manager asked me to come up with a solution to our declining social media engagement. I assessed our current strategy and recent results, analyzed what some of our top competitors were doing, and then came up with an exact blueprint we could follow this year to emulate our best competitors but also stand out and develop a unique voice as a brand. I feel this is a good example of using logic to solve a problem because it was based on analysis and observation of competitors, rather than guessing or quickly reacting to the situation without reliable data. I always use logic and data to solve problems when possible. The project turned out to be a success and we increased our social media engagement by an average of 82% by the end of the year.

Answering Questions About Problem Solving with the STAR Method

When you answer interview questions about problem solving scenarios, or if you decide to demonstrate your problem solving skills in a cover letter (which is a good idea any time the job description mention problem solving as a necessary skill), I recommend using the STAR method to tell your story.

STAR stands for:

It’s a simple way of walking the listener or reader through the story in a way that will make sense to them. So before jumping in and talking about the problem that needed solving, make sure to describe the general situation. What job/company were you working at? When was this? Then, you can describe the task at hand and the problem that needed solving. After this, describe the course of action you chose and why. Ideally, show that you evaluated all the information you could given the time you had, and made a decision based on logic and fact.

Finally, describe a positive result you got.

Whether you’re answering interview questions about problem solving or writing a cover letter, you should only choose examples where you got a positive result and successfully solved the issue.

Example answer:

Situation : We had an irate client who was a social media influencer and had impossible delivery time demands we could not meet. She spoke negatively about us in her vlog and asked her followers to boycott our products. (Task : To develop an official statement to explain our company’s side, clarify the issue, and prevent it from getting out of hand). Action : I drafted a statement that balanced empathy, understanding, and utmost customer service with facts, logic, and fairness. It was direct, simple, succinct, and phrased to highlight our brand values while addressing the issue in a logical yet sensitive way.   We also tapped our influencer partners to subtly and indirectly share their positive experiences with our brand so we could counter the negative content being shared online.  Result : We got the results we worked for through proper communication and a positive and strategic campaign. The irate client agreed to have a dialogue with us. She apologized to us, and we reaffirmed our commitment to delivering quality service to all. We assured her that she can reach out to us anytime regarding her purchases and that we’d gladly accommodate her requests whenever possible. She also retracted her negative statements in her vlog and urged her followers to keep supporting our brand.

What Are Good Outcomes of Problem Solving?

Whenever you answer interview questions about problem solving or share examples of problem solving in a cover letter, you want to be sure you’re sharing a positive outcome.

Below are good outcomes of problem solving:

• Saving the company time or money
• Making the company money
• Pleasing/keeping a customer
• Obtaining new customers
• Solving a safety issue
• Solving a staffing/scheduling issue
• Solving a logistical issue
• Solving a company hiring issue
• Solving a technical/software issue
• Making a process more efficient and faster for the company
• Creating a new business process to make the company more profitable
• Improving the company’s brand/image/reputation
• Getting the company positive reviews from customers/clients

Every employer wants to make more money, save money, and save time. If you can assess your problem solving experience and think about how you’ve helped past employers in those three areas, then that’s a great start. That’s where I recommend you begin looking for stories of times you had to solve problems.

Tips to Improve Your Problem Solving Skills

Throughout your career, you’re going to get hired for better jobs and earn more money if you can show employers that you’re a problem solver. So to improve your problem solving skills, I recommend always analyzing a problem and situation before acting. When discussing problem solving with employers, you never want to sound like you rush or make impulsive decisions. They want to see fact-based or data-based decisions when you solve problems.

Next, to get better at solving problems, analyze the outcomes of past solutions you came up with. You can recognize what works and what doesn’t. Think about how you can get better at researching and analyzing a situation, but also how you can get better at communicating, deciding the right people in the organization to talk to and “pull in” to help you if needed, etc.

Finally, practice staying calm even in stressful situations. Take a few minutes to walk outside if needed. Step away from your phone and computer to clear your head. A work problem is rarely so urgent that you cannot take five minutes to think (with the possible exception of safety problems), and you’ll get better outcomes if you solve problems by acting logically instead of rushing to react in a panic.

You can use all of the ideas above to describe your problem solving skills when asked interview questions about the topic. If you say that you do the things above, employers will be impressed when they assess your problem solving ability.

If you practice the tips above, you’ll be ready to share detailed, impressive stories and problem solving examples that will make hiring managers want to offer you the job. Every employer appreciates a problem solver, whether solving problems is a requirement listed on the job description or not. And you never know which hiring manager or interviewer will ask you about a time you solved a problem, so you should always be ready to discuss this when applying for a job.

Related interview questions & answers:

• How do you handle stress?
• How do you handle conflict?
• Tell me about a time when you failed

About the Author

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From Dilemmas to Solutions: Problem-Solving Examples to Learn From

• By Daria Burnett
• May 21, 2023

Introduction to Problem-Solving

Life is full of challenges and dilemmas, both big and small.

But if there’s one skill that can help you navigate these, it’s problem-solving .

So, what exactly is problem-solving? And why is it such a crucial skill in daily life?

Understanding the Concept of Problem-Solving

Problem-solving is a mental process that involves identifying, analyzing, and resolving challenges or difficulties.

It’s like a journey that starts with a problem and ends with a solution.

It’s a skill that’s not just used in the field of psychology but in all aspects of life.

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Whether you’re trying to decide on the best route to work, dealing with a disagreement with a friend, or figuring out how to fix a leaky faucet, you’re using your problem-solving skills.

When you’re faced with a problem, your brain goes through a series of steps to find a solution.

This process can be conscious or unconscious and can involve logical thinking, creativity, and prior knowledge.

Effective problem-solving can lead to better decisions and outcomes, making it a valuable tool in your personal and professional life.

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Importance of Problem-Solving in Daily Life

Why is problem-solving so important in daily life? Well, it’s simple.

Problems are a part of life.

They arise in different shapes and sizes, and in different areas of life, including work, relationships, health, and personal growth.

Having strong problem-solving skills can help you navigate these challenges effectively and efficiently.

In your personal life, problem-solving can help you manage stress and conflict, make better decisions, and achieve your goals.

In the workplace, it can help you navigate complex projects, improve processes, and foster innovation.

Problem-solving is also a key skill in many professions and industries, from engineering and science to healthcare and customer service.

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Moreover, problem-solving can contribute to your overall mental well-being.

It can give you a sense of control and agency, reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, and foster a positive attitude.

It’s also a key component of resilience, the ability to bounce back from adversity.

In conclusion, problem-solving is a fundamental skill in life.

It’s a tool you can use to tackle challenges, make informed decisions, and drive change.

By understanding the concept of problem-solving and recognizing its importance in daily life, you’re taking the first step toward becoming a more effective problem solver.

As we delve deeper into this topic, you’ll discover practical problem-solving examples, learn about different problem-solving techniques, and gain insights on how to improve your own problem-solving skills.

So, stay tuned and continue your exploration of introduction to psychology with us.

Stages of Problem-Solving

The process of problem-solving can be broken down into three key stages: identifying the problem , developing possible solutions , and implementing the best solution .

Each stage requires a different set of skills and strategies.

By understanding these stages, you can enhance your problem-solving abilities and tackle various challenges more effectively.

Identifying the Problem

The first step in problem-solving is recognizing that a problem exists.

This involves defining the issue clearly and understanding its root cause.

You might need to gather information, ask questions, and analyze the situation from multiple perspectives.

It can be helpful to write down the problem and think about how it impacts you or others involved.

For instance, if you’re struggling with time management, the problem might be that you have too many obligations and not enough time.

Or perhaps your methods of organizing your tasks aren’t effective.

It’s important to be as specific as possible when identifying the problem, as this will guide the rest of the problem-solving process.

Developing Possible Solutions

Once you’ve identified the problem, the next step is to brainstorm possible solutions.

This is where creativity comes into play.

Don’t limit yourself; even ideas that seem unrealistic or out of the box can lead to effective solutions.

Consider different strategies and approaches.

You could try using techniques like mind mapping, listing pros and cons, or consulting with others for fresh perspectives.

Remember, the goal is to generate a variety of options, not to choose a solution at this stage.

Implementing the Best Solution

The final stage of problem-solving is to select the best solution and put it into action.

Review the options you’ve developed, evaluate their potential effectiveness, and make a decision.

Keep in mind that the “best” solution isn’t necessarily the perfect one (as there might not be a perfect solution), but rather the one that seems most likely to achieve your desired outcome given the circumstances.

Once you’ve chosen a solution, plan out the steps needed to implement it and then take action.

Monitor the results and adjust your approach as necessary.

If the problem persists, don’t be discouraged; return to the previous stages, reassess the problem and your potential solutions, and try again.

Remember, problem-solving is a dynamic process that often involves trial and error.

It’s an essential skill in many areas of life, from everyday challenges to workplace dilemmas.

To learn more about the psychology behind problem-solving and decision-making, check out our introduction to psychology article.

Problem-Solving Examples

Understanding the concept of problem-solving is one thing, but seeing it in action is another.

To help you grasp the practical application of problem-solving strategies, let’s explore three different problem-solving examples from daily life, the workplace, and relationships.

Daily Life Problem-Solving Example

Imagine you’re trying to lose weight but struggle with late-night snacking.

The issue isn’t uncommon, but it’s hindering your progress towards your weight loss goal.

• Identifying the Problem : Late-night snacking is causing you to consume extra calories, preventing weight loss.
• Developing Possible Solutions : You could consider eating an earlier dinner, having a healthier snack option, or practicing mindful eating.
• Implementing the Best Solution : After trying out different solutions, you find that preparing a healthy snack in advance minimizes your calorie intake and satisfies your late-night cravings, helping you stay on track with your weight loss goal.

Workplace Problem-Solving Example

Let’s consider a scenario where a team at work is failing to meet project deadlines consistently.

• Identifying the Problem : The team is not completing projects on time, causing delays in the overall project timeline.
• Developing Possible Solutions : The team could consider improving their time management skills, using project management tools, or redistributing tasks among team members.
• Implementing the Best Solution : After trying out different strategies, the team finds that using a project management tool helps them stay organized, delegate tasks effectively, and complete projects within the given timeframe.

For more insights on effective management styles that can help in problem-solving at the workplace, check out our articles on autocratic leadership , democratic leadership style , and laissez faire leadership .

Relationship Problem-Solving Example

In a romantic relationship, conflicts can occasionally arise.

Let’s imagine a common issue where one partner feels the other isn’t spending enough quality time with them.

• Identifying the Problem : One partner feels neglected due to a lack of quality time spent together.
• Developing Possible Solutions : The couple could consider scheduling regular date nights, engaging in shared hobbies, or setting aside a specific time each day for undisturbed conversation.
• Implementing the Best Solution : The couple decides to implement a daily “unplugged” hour where they focus solely on each other without distractions. This results in improved relationship satisfaction.

For more on navigating relationship challenges, check out our articles on anxious avoidant attachment and emotional awareness .

These problem-solving examples illustrate how the process of identifying a problem, developing possible solutions, and implementing the best solution can be applied to various situations.

By understanding and applying these strategies, you can improve your problem-solving skills and navigate challenges more effectively.

Techniques for Effective Problem-Solving

As you navigate the world of problem-solving, you’ll find that there are multiple techniques you can use to arrive at a solution.

Each technique offers a unique approach to identifying issues, generating potential solutions, and choosing the best course of action.

In this section, we’ll explore three common techniques: Brainstorming , Root Cause Analysis , and SWOT Analysis .

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a free-thinking method used to generate a large number of ideas related to a specific problem.

You do this by suspending criticism and allowing your creativity to flow.

The aim is to produce as many ideas as possible, even if they seem far-fetched.

You then evaluate these ideas to identify the most beneficial solutions.

By using brainstorming, you can encourage out-of-the-box thinking and possibly discover innovative solutions to challenging problems.

Root Cause Analysis

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a method used to identify the underlying causes of a problem.

The goal is to address these root causes rather than the symptoms of the problem.

This technique helps to prevent the same issue from recurring in the future.

There are several RCA methods, such as the “5 Whys” technique, where you ask “why” multiple times until you uncover the root cause of the problem.

By identifying and addressing the root cause, you tackle the problem at its source, which can lead to more effective and long-lasting solutions.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning technique that helps you identify your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to a problem.

This approach encourages you to examine the problem from different angles, helping you understand the resources you have at your disposal (Strengths), the areas where you could improve (Weaknesses), the external factors that could benefit you (Opportunities), and the external factors that could cause problems (Threats).

With this comprehensive understanding, you can develop a well-informed strategy to solve the problem.

Each of these problem-solving techniques provides a distinct approach to identifying and resolving issues.

By understanding and utilizing these methods, you can enhance your problem-solving skills and increase your effectiveness in dealing with challenges.

For more insights into effective problem-solving and other psychological topics, explore our introduction to psychology .

Improving Your Problem-Solving Skills

Learning to solve problems effectively is a skill that can be honed with time and practice.

The following are some ways to enhance your problem-solving capabilities.

Practice Makes Perfect

The saying “practice makes perfect” holds true when it comes to problem-solving.

The more problems you tackle, the better you’ll become at devising and implementing effective solutions.

Seek out opportunities to practice your problem-solving skills both in everyday life and in more complex situations.

This could involve resolving a dispute at work, figuring out a puzzle, or even strategizing in a board game.

Each problem you encounter is a new opportunity to apply and refine your skills.

Learning from Others’ Experiences

There’s much to be gained from observing how others approach problem-solving.

Whether it’s reading about problem solving examples from renowned psychologists or discussing strategies with colleagues, you can learn valuable techniques and perspectives from the experiences of others.

Consider participating in group activities that require problem-solving, such as escape rooms or team projects.

Observe how team members identify problems, brainstorm solutions, and decide on the best course of action.

Embracing a Growth Mindset

A key component of effective problem-solving is adopting a growth mindset.

This mindset, coined by psychologist Carol Dweck, is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication and hard work.

When you embrace a growth mindset, you view challenges as opportunities to learn and grow rather than as insurmountable obstacles.

Believing in your ability to develop and enhance your problem-solving skills over time can make the process less daunting and more rewarding.

So, when you encounter a problem, instead of thinking, “I can’t do this,” try thinking, “I can’t do this yet, but with effort and practice, I can learn.”

For more on the growth mindset, you might want to check out our article on what is intrinsic motivation which includes how a growth mindset can fuel your motivation to improve.

By practicing regularly, learning from others, and embracing a growth mindset, you can continually improve your problem-solving skills and become more adept at overcoming challenges you encounter.

39 Best Problem-Solving Examples

Problem-solving is a process where you’re tasked with identifying an issue and coming up with the most practical and effective solution.

This indispensable skill is necessary in several aspects of life, from personal relationships to education to business decisions.

Problem-solving aptitude boosts rational thinking, creativity, and the ability to cooperate with others. It’s also considered essential in 21st Century workplaces.

If explaining your problem-solving skills in an interview, remember that the employer is trying to determine your ability to handle difficulties. Focus on explaining exactly how you solve problems, including by introducing your thoughts on some of the following frameworks and how you’ve applied them in the past.

Problem-Solving Examples

1. divergent thinking.

Divergent thinking refers to the process of coming up with multiple different answers to a single problem. It’s the opposite of convergent thinking, which would involve coming up with a singular answer .

The benefit of a divergent thinking approach is that it can help us achieve blue skies thinking – it lets us generate several possible solutions that we can then critique and analyze .

In the realm of problem-solving, divergent thinking acts as the initial spark. You’re working to create an array of potential solutions, even those that seem outwardly unrelated or unconventional, to get your brain turning and unlock out-of-the-box ideas.

This process paves the way for the decision-making stage, where the most promising ideas are selected and refined.

Go Deeper: Divervent Thinking Examples

2. Convergent Thinking

Next comes convergent thinking, the process of narrowing down multiple possibilities to arrive at a single solution.

This involves using your analytical skills to identify the best, most practical, or most economical solution from the pool of ideas that you generated in the divergent thinking stage.

In a way, convergent thinking shapes the “roadmap” to solve a problem after divergent thinking has supplied the “destinations.”

Have a think about which of these problem-solving skills you’re more adept at: divergent or convergent thinking?

Go Deeper: Convergent Thinking Examples

3. Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a group activity designed to generate a multitude of ideas regarding a specific problem. It’s divergent thinking as a group , which helps unlock even more possibilities.

A typical brainstorming session involves uninhibited and spontaneous ideation, encouraging participants to voice any possible solutions, no matter how unconventional they might appear.

It’s important in a brainstorming session to suspend judgment and be as inclusive as possible, allowing all participants to get involved.

By widening the scope of potential solutions, brainstorming allows better problem definition, more creative solutions, and helps to avoid thinking “traps” that might limit your perspective.

Go Deeper: Brainstorming Examples

4. Thinking Outside the Box

The concept of “thinking outside the box” encourages a shift in perspective, urging you to approach problems from an entirely new angle.

Rather than sticking to traditional methods and processes, it involves breaking away from conventional norms to cultivate unique solutions.

In problem-solving, this mindset can bypass established hurdles and bring you to fresh ideas that might otherwise remain undiscovered.

Think of it as going off the beaten track when regular routes present roadblocks to effective resolution.

5. Case Study Analysis

Analyzing case studies involves a detailed examination of real-life situations that bear relevance to the current problem at hand.

For example, if you’re facing a problem, you could go to another environment that has faced a similar problem and examine how they solved it. You’d then bring the insights from that case study back to your own problem.

This approach provides a practical backdrop against which theories and assumptions can be tested, offering valuable insights into how similar problems have been approached and resolved in the past.

See a Broader Range of Analysis Examples Here

6. Action Research

Action research involves a repetitive process of identifying a problem, formulating a plan to address it, implementing the plan, and then analyzing the results. It’s common in educational research contexts.

The objective is to promote continuous learning and improvement through reflection and action. You conduct research into your problem, attempt to apply a solution, then assess how well the solution worked. This becomes an iterative process of continual improvement over time.

For problem-solving, this method offers a way to test solutions in real-time and allows for changes and refinements along the way, based on feedback or observed outcomes. It’s a form of active problem-solving that integrates lessons learned into the next cycle of action.

Go Deeper: Action Research Examples

7. Information Gathering

Fundamental to solving any problem is the process of information gathering.

This involves collecting relevant data , facts, and details about the issue at hand, significantly aiding in the understanding and conceptualization of the problem.

In problem-solving, information gathering underpins every decision you make.

This process ensures your actions are based on concrete information and evidence, allowing for an informed approach to tackle the problem effectively.

8. Seeking Advice

Seeking advice implies turning to knowledgeable and experienced individuals or entities to gain insights on problem-solving.

It could include mentors, industry experts, peers, or even specialized literature.

The value in this process lies in leveraging different perspectives and proven strategies when dealing with a problem. Moreover, it aids you in avoiding pitfalls, saving time, and learning from others’ experiences.

9. Creative Thinking

Creative thinking refers to the ability to perceive a problem in a new way, identify unconventional patterns, or produce original solutions.

It encourages innovation and uniqueness, often leading to the most effective results.

When applied to problem-solving, creative thinking can help you break free from traditional constraints, ideal for potentially complex or unusual problems.

Go Deeper: Creative Thinking Examples

10. Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is a strategy developed to resolve disagreements and arguments, often involving communication, negotiation, and compromise.

When employed as a problem-solving technique, it can diffuse tension, clear bottlenecks, and create a collaborative environment.

Effective conflict resolution ensures that differing views or disagreements do not become roadblocks in the process of problem-solving.

Go Deeper: Conflict Resolution Examples

11. Addressing Bottlenecks

Bottlenecks refer to obstacles or hindrances that slow down or even halt a process.

In problem-solving, addressing bottlenecks involves identifying these impediments and finding ways to eliminate them.

This effort not only smooths the path to resolution but also enhances the overall efficiency of the problem-solving process.

For example, if your workflow is not working well, you’d go to the bottleneck – that one point that is most time consuming – and focus on that. Once you ‘break’ this bottleneck, the entire process will run more smoothly.

12. Market Research

Market research involves gathering and analyzing information about target markets, consumers, and competitors.

In sales and marketing, this is one of the most effective problem-solving methods. The research collected from your market (e.g. from consumer surveys) generates data that can help identify market trends, customer preferences, and competitor strategies.

In this sense, it allows a company to make informed decisions, solve existing problems, and even predict and prevent future ones.

13. Root Cause Analysis

Root cause analysis is a method used to identify the origin or the fundamental reason for a problem.

Once the root cause is determined, you can implement corrective actions to prevent the problem from recurring.

As a problem-solving procedure, root cause analysis helps you to tackle the problem at its source, rather than dealing with its surface symptoms.

Go Deeper: Root Cause Analysis Examples

14. Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is a visual tool used to structure information, helping you better analyze, comprehend and generate new ideas.

By laying out your thoughts visually, it can lead you to solutions that might not have been apparent with linear thinking.

In problem-solving, mind mapping helps in organizing ideas and identifying connections between them, providing a holistic view of the situation and potential solutions.

15. Trial and Error

The trial and error method involves attempting various solutions until you find one that resolves the problem.

It’s an empirical technique that relies on practical actions instead of theories or rules.

In the context of problem-solving, trial and error allows you the flexibility to test different strategies in real situations, gaining insights about what works and what doesn’t.

16. SWOT Analysis

SWOT is an acronym standing for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

It’s an analytic framework used to evaluate these aspects in relation to a particular objective or problem.

In problem-solving, SWOT Analysis helps you to identify favorable and unfavorable internal and external factors. It helps to craft strategies that make best use of your strengths and opportunities, whilst addressing weaknesses and threats.

Go Deeper: SWOT Analysis Examples

17. Scenario Planning

Scenario planning is a strategic planning method used to make flexible long-term plans.

It involves imagining, and then planning for, multiple likely future scenarios.

By forecasting various directions a problem could take, scenario planning helps manage uncertainty and is an effective tool for problem-solving in volatile conditions.

18. Six Thinking Hats

The Six Thinking Hats is a concept devised by Edward de Bono that proposes six different directions or modes of thinking, symbolized by six different hat colors.

Each hat signifies a different perspective, encouraging you to switch ‘thinking modes’ as you switch hats. This method can help remove bias and broaden perspectives when dealing with a problem.

19. Decision Matrix Analysis

Decision Matrix Analysis is a technique that allows you to weigh different factors when faced with several possible solutions.

After listing down the options and determining the factors of importance, each option is scored based on each factor.

Revealing a clear winner that both serves your objectives and reflects your values, Decision Matrix Analysis grounds your problem-solving process in objectivity and comprehensiveness.

20. Pareto Analysis

Also known as the 80/20 rule, Pareto Analysis is a decision-making technique.

It’s based on the principle that 80% of problems are typically caused by 20% of the causes, making it a handy tool for identifying the most significant issues in a situation.

Using this analysis, you’re likely to direct your problem-solving efforts more effectively, tackling the root causes producing most of the problem’s impact.

21. Critical Thinking

Critical thinking refers to the ability to analyze facts to form a judgment objectively.

It involves logical, disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence.

For problem-solving, critical thinking helps evaluate options and decide the most effective solution. It ensures your decisions are grounded in reason and facts, and not biased or irrational assumptions.

Go Deeper: Critical Thinking Examples

22. Hypothesis Testing

Hypothesis testing usually involves formulating a claim, testing it against actual data, and deciding whether to accept or reject the claim based on the results.

In problem-solving, hypotheses often represent potential solutions. Hypothesis testing provides verification, giving a statistical basis for decision-making and problem resolution.

Usually, this will require research methods and a scientific approach to see whether the hypothesis stands up or not.

Go Deeper: Types of Hypothesis Testing

23. Cost-Benefit Analysis

A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is a systematic process of weighing the pros and cons of different solutions in terms of their potential costs and benefits.

It allows you to measure the positive effects against the negatives and informs your problem-solving strategy.

By using CBA, you can identify which solution offers the greatest benefit for the least cost, significantly improving efficacy and efficiency in your problem-solving process.

Go Deeper: Cost-Benefit Analysis Examples

24. Simulation and Modeling

Simulations and models allow you to create a simplified replica of real-world systems to test outcomes under controlled conditions.

In problem-solving, you can broadly understand potential repercussions of different solutions before implementation.

It offers a cost-effective way to predict the impacts of your decisions, minimizing potential risks associated with various solutions.

25. Delphi Method

The Delphi Method is a structured communication technique used to gather expert opinions.

The method involves a group of experts who respond to questionnaires about a problem. The responses are aggregated and shared with the group, and the process repeats until a consensus is reached.

This method of problem solving can provide a diverse range of insights and solutions, shaped by the wisdom of a collective expert group.

26. Cross-functional Team Collaboration

Cross-functional team collaboration involves individuals from different departments or areas of expertise coming together to solve a common problem or achieve a shared goal.

When you bring diverse skills, knowledge, and perspectives to a problem, it can lead to a more comprehensive and innovative solution.

In problem-solving, this promotes communal thinking and ensures that solutions are inclusive and holistic, with various aspects of the problem being addressed.

27. Benchmarking

Benchmarking involves comparing one’s business processes and performance metrics to the best practices from other companies or industries.

In problem-solving, it allows you to identify gaps in your own processes, determine how others have solved similar problems, and apply those solutions that have proven to be successful.

It also allows you to compare yourself to the best (the benchmark) and assess where you’re not as good.

28. Pros-Cons Lists

A pro-con analysis aids in problem-solving by weighing the advantages (pros) and disadvantages (cons) of various possible solutions.

This simple but powerful tool helps in making a balanced, informed decision.

When confronted with a problem, a pro-con analysis can guide you through the decision-making process, ensuring all possible outcomes and implications are scrutinized before arriving at the optimal solution. Thus, it helps to make the problem-solving process both methodical and comprehensive.

29. 5 Whys Analysis

The 5 Whys Analysis involves repeatedly asking the question ‘why’ (around five times) to peel away the layers of an issue and discover the root cause of a problem.

As a problem-solving technique, it enables you to delve into details that you might otherwise overlook and offers a simple, yet powerful, approach to uncover the origin of a problem.

For example, if your task is to find out why a product isn’t selling your first answer might be: “because customers don’t want it”, then you ask why again – “they don’t want it because it doesn’t solve their problem”, then why again – “because the product is missing a certain feature” … and so on, until you get to the root “why”.

30. Gap Analysis

Gap analysis entails comparing current performance with potential or desired performance.

You’re identifying the ‘gaps’, or the differences, between where you are and where you want to be.

In terms of problem-solving, a Gap Analysis can help identify key areas for improvement and design a roadmap of how to get from the current state to the desired one.

31. Design Thinking

Design thinking is a problem-solving approach that involves empathy, experimentation, and iteration.

The process focuses on understanding user needs, challenging assumptions , and redefining problems from a user-centric perspective.

In problem-solving, design thinking uncovers innovative solutions that may not have been initially apparent and ensures the solution is tailored to the needs of those affected by the issue.

32. Analogical Thinking

Analogical thinking involves the transfer of information from a particular subject (the analogue or source) to another particular subject (the target).

In problem-solving, you’re drawing parallels between similar situations and applying the problem-solving techniques used in one situation to the other.

Thus, it allows you to apply proven strategies to new, but related problems.

33. Lateral Thinking

Lateral thinking requires looking at a situation or problem from a unique, sometimes abstract, often non-sequential viewpoint.

Unlike traditional logical thinking methods, lateral thinking encourages you to employ creative and out-of-the-box techniques.

In solving problems, this type of thinking boosts ingenuity and drives innovation, often leading to novel and effective solutions.

Go Deeper: Lateral Thinking Examples

34. Flowcharting

Flowcharting is the process of visually mapping a process or procedure.

This form of diagram can show every step of a system, process, or workflow, enabling an easy tracking of the progress.

As a problem-solving tool, flowcharts help identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies in a process, guiding improved strategies and providing clarity on task ownership and process outcomes.

35. Multivoting

Multivoting, or N/3 voting, is a method where participants reduce a large list of ideas to a prioritized shortlist by casting multiple votes.

This voting system elevates the most preferred options for further consideration and decision-making.

As a problem-solving technique, multivoting allows a group to narrow options and focus on the most promising solutions, ensuring more effective and democratic decision-making.

36. Force Field Analysis

Force Field Analysis is a decision-making technique that identifies the forces for and against change when contemplating a decision.

The ‘forces’ represent the differing factors that can drive or hinder change.

In problem-solving, Force Field Analysis allows you to understand the entirety of the context, favoring a balanced view over a one-sided perspective. A comprehensive view of all the forces at play can lead to better-informed problem-solving decisions.

TRIZ, which stands for “The Theory of Inventive Problem Solving,” is a problem-solving, analysis, and forecasting methodology.

It focuses on finding contradictions inherent in a scenario. Then, you work toward eliminating the contraditions through finding innovative solutions.

So, when you’re tackling a problem, TRIZ provides a disciplined, systematic approach that aims for ideal solutions and not just acceptable ones. Using TRIZ, you can leverage patterns of problem-solving that have proven effective in different cases, pivoting them to solve the problem at hand.

38. A3 Problem Solving

A3 Problem Solving, derived from Lean Management, is a structured method that uses a single sheet of A3-sized paper to document knowledge from a problem-solving process.

Named after the international paper size standard of A3 (or 11-inch by 17-inch paper), it succinctly records all key details of the problem-solving process from problem description to the root cause and corrective actions.

Used in problem-solving, this provides a straightforward and logical structure for addressing the problem, facilitating communication between team members, ensuring all critical details are included, and providing a record of decisions made.

39. Scenario Analysis

Scenario Analysis is all about predicting different possible future events depending upon your decision.

To do this, you look at each course of action and try to identify the most likely outcomes or scenarios down the track if you take that course of action.

This technique helps forecast the impacts of various strategies, playing each out to their (logical or potential) end. It’s a good strategy for project managers who need to keep a firm eye on the horizon at all times.

When solving problems, Scenario Analysis assists in preparing for uncertainties, making sure your solution remains viable, regardless of changes in circumstances.

How to Answer “Demonstrate Problem-Solving Skills” in an Interview

When asked to demonstrate your problem-solving skills in an interview, the STAR method often proves useful. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result.

Situation: Begin by describing a specific circumstance or challenge you encountered. Make sure to provide enough detail to allow the interviewer a clear understanding. You should select an event that adequately showcases your problem-solving abilities.

For instance, “In my previous role as a project manager, we faced a significant issue when our key supplier abruptly went out of business.”

Task: Explain what your responsibilities were in that situation. This serves to provide context, allowing the interviewer to understand your role and the expectations placed upon you.

For instance, “It was my task to ensure the project remained on track despite this setback. Alternative suppliers needed to be found without sacrificing quality or significantly increasing costs.”

Action: Describe the steps you took to manage the problem. Highlight your problem-solving process. Mention any creative approaches or techniques that you used.

For instance, “I conducted thorough research to identify potential new suppliers. After creating a shortlist, I initiated contact, negotiated terms, assessed samples for quality and made a selection. I also worked closely with the team to re-adjust the project timeline.”

Result: Share the outcomes of your actions. How did the situation end? Did your actions lead to success? It’s particularly effective if you can quantify these results.

For instance, “As a result of my active problem solving, we were able to secure a new supplier whose costs were actually 10% cheaper and whose quality was comparable. We adjusted the project plan and managed to complete the project just two weeks later than originally planned, despite the major vendor setback.”

Remember, when you’re explaining your problem-solving skills to an interviewer, what they’re really interested in is your approach to handling difficulties, your creativity and persistence in seeking a resolution, and your ability to carry your solution through to fruition. Tailoring your story to highlight these aspects will help exemplify your problem-solving prowess.

Go Deeper: STAR Interview Method Examples

Benefits of Problem-Solving

Problem-solving is beneficial for the following reasons (among others):

• It can help you to overcome challenges, roadblocks, and bottlenecks in your life.
• It can save a company money.
• It can help you to achieve clarity in your thinking.
• It can make procedures more efficient and save time.
• It can strengthen your decision-making capacities.
• It can lead to better risk management.

Whether for a job interview or school, problem-solving helps you to become a better thinking, solve your problems more effectively, and achieve your goals. Build up your problem-solving frameworks (I presented over 40 in this piece for you!) and work on applying them in real-life situations.

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 5 Top Tips for Succeeding at University
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 50 Durable Goods Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 100 Consumer Goods Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 30 Globalization Pros and Cons

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The Lean Post / Articles / How the A3 Came to Be Toyota’s Go-To Management Process for Knowledge Work (intro by John Shook)

Problem Solving

How the A3 Came to Be Toyota’s Go-To Management Process for Knowledge Work (intro by John Shook)

By Isao Yoshino

August 2, 2016

A3 thinking is synonymous with Toyota. Yet many often wonder how exactly this happened. Even if we know A3 thinking was created at Toyota, how did it become so firmly entrenched in the organization’s culture? Retired Toyota leader Mr. Isao Yoshino spearheaded a special program that made A3s Toyota’s foremost means of problem-solving. Read more.

In the late 1970s, Toyota decided to invest in cultivating the managerial capabilities of its mid-level managers. Masao Nemoto, the same influential executive who led Toyota’s successful Deming Prize initiative in 1965, led a development program especially for non-production gemba managers called the “Kanri Nouryoku Program” – “Kan-Pro” for short. Nemoto chose to structure this critical management development initiative around the A3 process .

The A3 is well established now in the lean community. As a process, as a tool, as a way of thinking, managing and developing others. The question often comes up of where did it come from and how did it become a common practice. The basic answer is that it dispersed mainly from Toyota. But how did it become so prevalent in Toyota? And how did it evolve from its humble beginnings as a tool to tell a PDCA quality improvement story on an A3-sized sheet of paper, as it had been commonly used by many Japanese companies since the 1960s?

What had started as a simple tool to tell PDCA stories grew at Toyota into something more: the A3 process came to embody the company’s way of managing in an extraordinarily profound sense. How did this happen?

My first “kacho” (manager) at Toyota (in Japan starting in 1983), Mr. Isao Yoshino, was a member of Nemoto’s four-man team that created and delivered the “Kan-Pro” manager-development initiative that directly answers that question. The program has been unknown outside Toyota … until now.  

-John Shook

Interview with Mr. Isao Yoshino

Q: what was the purpose of the kanri nouryoku program.

A: The main purpose was to nurture “Management Capabilities” of employees who were at manager (kacho) level and above. There were four rudimental capabilities for managers:

• Planning capability, judging capability
• Broad knowledge, experiences and perspectives
• Driving force to get job done, leadership, kaizen capability
• Presentation capability, persuasion capability, negotiation capability

Mr. Nemoto decided to take actions in reinvigorate managers (especially administrative) and help heighten awareness of their role. Mr. Isao Yoshino

Q: Why did Toyota decide it needed this program?

A:  After introducing Total Quality Control (TQC) in 1961 and receiving the Deming Prize in 1965, TQC-based perspective had taken root widely across the company. In the late ‘70s, Mr. Nemoto (one of the main people behind launching TQC) noticed that management capabilities and TQC awareness was decreasing among managers, particularly within the non-manufacturing gemba or office divisions. Mr. Nemoto decided to take actions to reinvigorate the managers (especially administrative) and help heighten awareness of their role. And so, in 1978, he formed a task force that promoted a two-year program (the Kanri Nouryoku Program) for two thousand managers from all over the company. I was one of the four staff members on the task force in Toyota City.  

Q: What sort of tools and activities did the Kanri Nouryoku employ?

A:  All the managers went through “a presentation session” twice per year (June and December). The officers in charge of each department attended to have a Question and Answer session with the managers. Officers tried to focus on the problems each manager was facing as well as the effort and process needed to solve the problems. Officers focused more on “What is the major cause of the problem?”, rather than “Who made those mistakes?” This problem-focused attitude (as opposed to the who-made-the-mistake attitude) of the officers encouraged managers to share their problems rather than hide them.

The key to giving the presentations was that they had to be done using an A3. The managers learned how to select what information/data was needed and what was not needed, since an A3 has only limited space. This helped them acquire the seiri and seiton functions of the 5S concept as applied to knowledge work . A3 was also a great tool for officers. They could easily see, at a glance, all the key points that the presenter wanted to convey. As it is just one single document, you can quickly see from the left top corner to the right bottom of an A3 and grasp the key things the writer wants to communicate. This is something that you cannot get from a written document or PowerPoint presentation.

Q: What was your personal experience with the program?

A:  First, I was fortunate to get acquainted with many admirable managers, who inspired me in many ways. I also learned how to express myself more effectively by studying A3 documents from two thousand managers. Strikingly, I discovered that managers whose A3s were excellent were also excellent managers at work.

Strikingly, I discovered that managers whose A3s were excellent were also excellent managers at work. Mr. Isao Yoshino

Nemoto-san highly praised managers who took a risk to report their mistakes (not success stories) on A3s with a hope of finding a solution. Nemoto valued their sincere and proactive attitudes. “Nemoto Lectures” were held for managers three or four times a year. Mr. Nemoto went through every single impression memo from the audience as feedback for his next speech.

Mr. Nemoto also appreciated the efforts by managers who tried to nurture excellent subordinates. This created a new company-wide notion that “developing your subordinates is a virtue.” It was amazing to see managers in their 40s and 50s willing to give 100 percent of their energy to work on hoshin kanri and A3 reporting, because they were convinced the program was practical and useful and worth using to bring themselves up to a higher level. Seeing all this happen at work truly helped me grow professionally.

Q: What was the effect of the program on Toyota?

A:  Well for one, every mid-level manager who was involved in this program over the two years came to clearly understand their roles and responsibilities and also learned the importance of the hoshin kanri system. People at Toyota don’t hesitate to report bad news, which has been Toyota’s heritage since day one. The Kanri Nouryoku program has further reinforced this tradition because of its praise toward managers and others who were honest about their mistakes. And after the program was implemented to the back-office managers, the level of their awareness of their role rose up to the same level of that of manufacturing-related managers, which significantly strengthened the management foundation. 

Everybody became familiar with using the A3 process when documented communication was needed – A3 thinking eventually became an essential part of Toyota’s culture. People learned how to distinguish what is important from what is not. 

Managing to Learn

An Introduction to A3 Leadership and Problem-Solving.

Written by:

About Isao Yoshino

Isao Yoshino is a Lecturer at Nagoya Gakuin University of Japan. Prior to joining academia, he spent 40 years at Toyota working in a number of managerial roles in a variety of departments. Most notably, he was one of the main driving forces behind Toyota’s little-known Kanri Nouryoku program, a development activity for knowledge-work managers that would instill the A3 as the go-to problem-solving process at Toyota.

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5 Examples of Problem-Solving in The Workplace

By Christina Colclough

Last updated: January 12, 2024

When you’re in a job interview, you can almost bet on being asked about your problem-solving experiences. This skill is always high on employers’ wish lists. Walk in with a few solid examples up your sleeve and talk about them with confidence – that’s what grabs their attention.

In this post, I’ll guide you through picking the right problem-solving in workplace examples and articulating them in a way that will make you stand out.

In this article:

What is problem solving.

At its core, this skill is all about spotting issues and then working out the smartest ways to sort them out. In the workplace, this skill keeps things running smoothly because challenges always pop up.

In any job, you’re bound to bump into a range of problems. It could be meeting a tight deadline, handling customer complaints, or resolving misunderstandings among team members. Each of these difficult situations needs a cool head and a clear strategy.

Dealing with these issues well is crucial because it keeps the wheels turning. Effective problem-solving means fewer hiccups in projects, better teamwork, and happier customers. It’s like oiling the cogs of a machine.

That is why interviewers like myself often drill down into the candidates’ problem-solving abilities with questions like “ Tell me about a time you solved a problem ” or “ Can you describe a situation where you had to overcome a significant challenge? “

We want to know if you’re the kind of person who faces challenges head-on or if you tend to sweep them under the rug. We’re looking for someone who not only spots issues but also comes up with smart solutions and puts them into action. It’s all about ensuring that, when the going gets tough, you’ve got the skills to keep things on track.

How to Answer Problem-Solving Interview Questions

When you’re in an interview and asked about problem-solving, it’s a golden opportunity to show your skills. In my experience, a great approach is to use the STAR technique. This strategy helps structure your answer in a clear and compelling way.

Let’s break down what each part of STAR stands for:

• Situation : Describe the context within which you had to solve a problem.
• Task : Explain the actual problem or challenge you were facing.
• Action : Describe the actions you took to address the problem.
• Result : Share the outcomes of your actions.

In this step, your goal is to give the interviewer a snapshot of your scenario.

Let’s say you had to deal with a significant drop in team morale and productivity. At the beginning of your response, you want to set the context for your story. This should include where you were working, your role, and the initial problem.

The key here is to be concise but provide enough detail to paint a clear picture like this:

“In my previous role as a team leader, I noticed a sudden drop in team morale and productivity. This was unusual for our normally energetic and efficient team.”

Common Situations

Here are some other common situations you can mention in your answer:

• Resolving an issue with a difficult client when they complain about a product or service
• Figuring out a solution when equipment or technology breaks down or fails
• Dealing with a mistake you’ve made on an important project
• Handling a tight deadline when unexpected challenges threaten completion
• Settling a dispute between colleagues who aren’t getting along
• Improving productivity for a team that is underperforming
• Persuading colleagues to get on board with an idea they are resistant to

How to Answer With Limited Experience

Don’t worry if you just graduated or have little work experience. Think about examples from school group projects, internships, or part-time jobs like these:

• Coordinating schedules for a group presentation when everyone has different availabilities
• Resolving a disagreement over roles for a big class project
• Finding ways to improve your team’s process when a professor gives feedback
• Managing deadlines and deliverables with classmates who had competing priorities
• Convincing peers to adopt your proposed solution for an assignment
• Addressing complaints from a classmate about unequal workloads

Clarify the problem you had to tackle. What was expected of you? What complex challenge did you need to address? Here, you’re setting up the specific problem that you were tasked with solving.

Remember, the focus is on the problem, not yet on your actions. Using the above example, here is what you can talk about:

“My task was to identify the causes of this decline and implement a strategy to boost morale and productivity. I needed to make sure our team could return to its usual high-performance level.”

Describe the steps you took to solve the problem. Think about how you analyzed the situation, decided on a course of action, and implemented it. It should show your critical thinking and analytical skills.

“To tackle this, I first conducted one-on-one meetings with team members to understand their concerns and gather feedback. Based on these insights, I realized that a recent change in company policy was causing stress.

I advocated for my team’s concerns with upper management and worked with them to modify the policy. At the same time, I initiated team-building activities and regular check-ins to foster a more supportive and open team environment.”

Finally, talk about the outcomes of your actions. Employers want to know your problem-solving drives real improvements. Also, highlight any positive feedback from your boss or team members, and if possible, quantify the success.

“As a result of these actions, we saw a significant improvement in team morale within a month. Productivity levels bounced back, and the team’s overall satisfaction with their work environment increased.

This experience not only taught me valuable lessons about team dynamics but also reinforced the importance of proactive communication and advocacy for team needs.”

Here are some other outcomes to highlight in your answer:

• Resolving an issue with a difficult client : Client satisfaction restored, future business secured
• Fixing broken equipment : Equipment operational again, no more disruptions to operations
• Dealing with a mistake : Error corrected, a new process implemented to prevent recurrence
• Handling a deadline : Project completed on time, client received deliverable as promised
• Settling a dispute : Conflict resolved, team collaboration and morale improved
• Boosting team productivity : Increased output, goals reached, performance metrics improved
• Persuading colleagues : Proposal approved, a new initiative launched successfully

5 Examples Of Problem-Solving Skills

1. Improving Collaboration in a Stalled Project

Here is a sample you can use when explaining how you improved team collaboration on a project:

“Our team was tasked with developing a new financial management web application. However, we hit a snag and missed two crucial milestones. The core issue was a breakdown in communication – team members were not proactively sharing updates on delays or challenges they encountered.

To address this, I instituted daily 15-minute standup meetings. These sessions provided a platform for everyone to voice concerns and update the team on their progress. We also started tracking tasks in a shared spreadsheet so everyone had more visibility into the project.

Within two weeks, collaboration and communication improved significantly. We renegotiated the timeline with stakeholders, and the project team delivered the web app only 1 week after the original deadline.

The processes we put in place didn’t just help us with this project but also significantly boosted our efficiency on later projects.”

2. Revitalizing a Marketing Campaign

This is how you can describe a time you turned around a marketing campaign:

“In my last marketing role, I was responsible for a campaign promoting a new line of eco-friendly skincare products. Midway through, we found that our engagement metrics were dismal, particularly with our targeted demographic of people aged 20-30.

Upon reviewing our approach, I realized our messaging was too generic and failed to connect with this specific group’s interests and values. I spearheaded a strategy shift, focusing on the environmental benefits and ethical sourcing, aspects we found resonated more with a slightly older demographic, females aged 25-35, who were more invested in sustainable living.

We also pivoted our advertising to platforms popular with this demographic, like eco-conscious lifestyle blogs and organic beauty forums. This shift led to a 40% increase in engagement and contributed greatly to the success of our product launch, exceeding our initial sales targets.”

3. Streamlining Operational Processes

Here’s an example to illustrate how you tackled inefficiencies in operational processes:

“As an operations manager at a mid-sized electronics manufacturer, I noticed our product delivery was consistently delayed.

I identified the root cause as a bottleneck in our supply chain. In particular, a stage where manual data entry from manufacturing to logistics was causing significant hold-ups.

Realizing the need for efficiency, I proposed automating this stage. We collaborated with the IT department and implemented a barcode scanning system that integrated manufacturing output with our logistics database.

This change cut down the processing time by 30%, drastically improving our on-time delivery rate. It not only led to an upswing in customer satisfaction but also streamlined our inventory management, reducing both operational delays and costs.”

4. Resolving Communication Barriers Between Teams

This example demonstrates a solution for inter-departmental communication issues:

“In my previous role, I observed recurring conflicts between the sales and product development teams. These were mainly due to misunderstandings and a lack of clear communication about product updates. This led to promises being made to customers that the product team couldn’t fulfill.

To bridge this gap, I proposed and facilitated a series of joint workshops between the two teams. These sessions focused on aligning the teams’ understanding of product capabilities and timelines. Additionally, I initiated a bi-weekly newsletter and a shared digital workspace where both teams could update each other on developments and feedback.

The result was a significant improvement in inter-team collaboration. The sales team was better informed about product limitations and timelines, leading to more realistic commitments to customers.

Meanwhile, the product team received valuable market feedback directly from the sales team. It helped them tailor developments to customer needs. This collaborative approach not only reduced conflicts but also led to better product-market alignment.”

5. Resolving Customer Complaints and Enhancing Service Quality

This highlights an approach to customer service challenges:

“In my role as a customer service manager, I was faced with increasing customer complaints regarding delayed response times. This issue was affecting customer satisfaction and had the potential to harm our company’s reputation.

I started by analyzing our customer service processes and discovered that our response system was outdated and inefficient. To rectify this, I led the implementation of a new customer relationship management (CRM) system that streamlined our customer service workflow.

This system included automated responses for common queries and a more efficient ticketing process for complex issues. I also organized a series of training sessions for the customer service team to ensure they were well-versed in using the new system and could provide more effective solutions to customers.

Implementing these changes led to a huge reduction in response time and a significant drop in customer complaints. Our team also received positive feedback for improved service quality, which was reflected in our customer satisfaction surveys.”

Tips on Improving Problem-Solving Skills

Problem-solving is a career-long skill, not just needed for some interviews. Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned pro, honing these skills can make a big difference in how you handle challenges at work.

Understand Before Assuming

Jumping to conclusions can be a trap. When a problem arises, take a step back and get a clear picture of what’s actually going on. This means holding off on assumptions until you’ve gathered all the facts.

Sometimes, the real issue isn’t what it seems at first glance. Doing a bit of digging to understand the root cause can lead you to a more effective solution.

Research and Learn from the Past

History often repeats itself, and this is true for workplace problems, too. When faced with a challenge, look into whether similar issues have popped up before.

How were they handled? What worked and what didn’t? Learning from past experiences, whether your own or someone else’s, can be a goldmine of insights.

Brainstorm With Creative Thinking

When thinking about potential solutions, avoid locking yourself into the first idea that comes to mind. Brainstorming can open up a world of possibilities and creative solutions. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Sometimes, the most unconventional ideas turn out to be the best solutions.

Always Have a Plan B

Even the best-laid plans can go awry. That’s why having a contingency plan is a must.

Think about what could go wrong and how to contain any further issues. This doesn’t mean you’re expecting the worst, but rather, you’re prepared to handle it efficiently if it does happen.

Team Decisions and Communication

Solving problems isn’t a solo mission. Make decisions as a team and keep everyone in the loop.

Clear communication is a valuable soft skill that helps everyone understand the plan and their role in it. Plus, this is how you can bring new perspectives and ideas to the table and make your solution even stronger.

Timeframe and Flexibility

Set a timeframe for your action plan, but be flexible. If something isn’t working, be ready to pivot and try a different approach. Sticking rigidly to a plan that’s not delivering results won’t do anyone any favors.

See more interview tips: How To Write A Follow-Up Email After Interview 3 Examples For Thank-You Email After Interview 8 Examples of Challenges You Have Overcome At Work 6 sample answers of accomplishments at work 5 Examples of Problem-Solving in The Workplace How To Ask for Feedback After Job Rejection How to Explain The Reason for Leaving a Job on Applications For Interview Question: What Do You Like To Do For Fun? What Are You Most Passionate About? What Are You Looking For In Your Next Job? Why Are You Interested In This Position? What Accomplishments Are You Most Proud Of?

Frequently Asked Questions

Are problem-solving skills that important.

Absolutely. No matter where you work, there’s always a curveball now and then. Having the knack to quickly think on your feet, break down a problem, and come up with a solution is a game-changer.

How Do I Sell Myself as a Problem Solver?

Storytelling is your best bet here. The trick is to paint a picture where you’re the person who spots the problem and then creatively solves it, not just someone who follows instructions.

How Do I Choose Good Examples for a Job Interview?

Pick examples that show you’re not just a one-trick pony. What I find impressive is when someone can demonstrate their thought process – how they analyzed the issue, got creative with solutions, and then put their plan into action.

What Are the Key Attributes of a Good Problem Solver?

They’re the kind of people who don’t rush to conclusions. Instead, they take their time to understand the problem, explore different angles, and weigh their options.

Adaptability is also key – they can roll with the punches and adjust their plans as needed. And, of course, they’re great at getting their point across, ensuring everyone’s on the same page.

What Are the Major Obstacles to Problem Solving?

From what I’ve seen, the big hurdles are often not having enough info, sticking too rigidly to old mindsets, and letting biases lead the way. It’s easy to get tunnel vision, especially if you’re used to doing things a certain way.

Also, not bringing different perspectives to the table can really limit your options.

As you step into the next interview, remember two key things: confidence and clarity. Trust in your abilities and the experiences you bring to the table. Learn how the above problem-solving examples can paint a vivid picture of your challenge and how you tackled it. Most importantly, let those stories reflect your skills and how you can be an asset to any team.

Christina J. Colclough

Dr Christina J. Colclough is an expert on The Future World of Work and the politics of digital technology advocating globally for the importance of the workers’ voice. She has extensive regional and global labour movement experience, is a sought-after keynote speaker, coach, and strategist advising progressive governments and worker organisations.

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