Think about the Problem Problem Solving Module Session 3

Step #2: Think about it Once the problem is defined, it should be analyzed to see what is the real cause “Analyze” means to examine something carefully or to divide something into its parts.

Don’t get caught up in symptoms or effects of a problem or issue or you will have trouble finding the real cause Emotions may come into play and often people will get angry at attitude, anger, or actions, which are not the cause of the problem The key is to focus on analyzing the problem for the real or underlying cause

Analyzing a problem may require additional information to be gathered If there is not enough information, you need to do some research Focus on facts Use the information gathered to really look at or analyze what is going on If you are working with other people to solve a problem try to come to an agreement on what the particular problem or issue is

Look at the causes It's amazing how much you don't know about what you don't know. Therefore, it's important to talk to other people who know about the problem and who are affected by it.

Look at the causes It's often useful to collect input from other people one at a time. Otherwise, people tend to be inhibited about offering their impressions of the real causes of problems.

Look at the causes Write down what your opinions are and what you've heard from others.

Look at the causes Use the information you have gathered to write down a description of the cause of the problem and in terms of what is happening, where, when, how, with whom and why.

Strategies “Let it simmer” –ponder the problem and the information you have collected Identify potential causes of the problem

Strategies Identify specific pieces of knowledge- what do you already know? Have you encountered this type of problem before? If so, what did you do then to address it? Were you successful in solving the problem? What did you do right? What did you do wrong?

Strategies Identify specific pieces of knowledge- what do you already know? Do you know anyone who has had this problem before? If so, talk with that person (or people) and get some advice on how to handle the problem.

Knowing what you know from past experiences, and information from others, what can you do to help you solve the problem at hand?

Strategies Revise your problem statement based on all the information you have Revisit your original statement and revise it if necessary Identify root causes of the problem Collect additional data if needed to verify root causes

Build Your Skills Understanding the difference between fact and opinion, good communication skills and persuasive writing skills support your ability to identify and think about problems. In the activities that follow, you will be building skills that will help you think critically about solving problems.

Fact v. Opinion A fact is something that you know is true. An opinion is what you think about something or a belief. The Internet makes it easy to share information today. But not everything you read on the Internet is factual. Can you think of some examples?

Snopes.com is a website where you can look up urban legends, internet rumours, suspicious forwards and stories that you think might not be true to see whether or not they are true Also called the Urban Legends Reference Pages

Activity: Fact or Opinion

Activity: Problem-Posing Dialogue

Letter to the Editor A letter written about a concern or issue you have Most commonly sent to newspapers Have you ever read the letter to the editor in your local newspaper? Have you ever written a letter to the editor?

Common reasons to write a letter to the editor: To oppose or support an article that has been written Comment on a current issue Remark on stories that have appeared in previous issues Correct something that has been misrepresented

Activity: Letter to the Editor

Practice John was told by his boss four weeks ago that he would have to do a big presentation at work. The presentation needed to be prepared in addition to a number of regular daily tasks. He focused on his daily tasks and did a good job completing them but the presentation kept "slipping" his mind. On the night before the due date of the presentation, he realized that he had at least 8-10 hours' worth of work left to do on the presentation. This wasn't the first time he had procrastinated on a major work assignment and left it until the last minute. Last year he received a note on his personal file for a similar situation. Think about the problem. What do you already know? What are the causes?

Credits This Power Point was created by Laubach Literacy Ontario. The resources can be downloaded free of charge at This Employment Ontario project was funded by the Ontario Government All website links were accurate at the time of original distribution-March All of the images and clip art used in this Power Point are from Clipart.com and Microsoft Office.com.