Problem Solving and How to Teach It

This page is a work in progress. If you have suggestions for content, please contact the director.

There are two dimensions to problem solving in a tutoring session: your ability to solve problems that come up during the session, and how to help writers learn to solve problems within their own papers.

What is problem solving?

In the context of the Writing Center, we can think of a problem as anything that interferes with progress toward our goals. For you, the tutor, this could be a situation in which you’re having a hard time helping the writer with what they want help with. For the writer, that could be trying to reorganize their paragraph or come up with more ideas for their paper. Just like doing a math problem or trying to troubleshoot a computer that won’t turn on, you have to figure out the path for a solution and take steps toward it.

Steps to problem solving

The content of this section was created by and adapted from CReducation.org and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.

The four basic steps to problem solving are

1. Defining the problem.
2. Gathering facts.
3. Evaluating and selecting alternatives.
4. Implementing solutions.

1. Defining the problem

The first step is the most difficult of all. After the problem has been sufficiently defined, you gather factual information, who, what, when, and where. Then you generate alternative options bringing in other people who might have a different problem solving style. Next you evaluate the types of solutions presented, weighing the advantages and and disadvantages against the goals you have for what you have defined as the problem. Then you implement. Finally and equally important, monitor the implementation and evaluate your results.

Sometimes problem solving involves diagnosing the situation so that the focus on the real problem and not on its symptoms. Problem definition, however, may be nothing more than the art of asking the right questions at the right time.

Example

You’re having trouble following a writer’s essay. You have to reread paragraphs a couple of times before you can understand their ideas, and sometimes even then, you can’t do it. These are the symptoms, but what exactly is the problem? You might ask yourself why you’re having so much trouble. Are you distracted? Does the essay lack logical connections?

2. Gathering facts

Let’s say you’re well-rested and focused, but the writer’s essay lacks logical connections. Now that you’ve defined the problem, it’s time to bring the writer into the problem solving process. Gathering facts in this case might mean asking the writer to explain their ideas so you can understand them better and be better informed about helping them make the best solution. Collaboratively gathering facts is important; you might be the experienced reader, but the writer knows the essay’s topic better.

But let’s say you’re distracted. Before you can figure out how to solve that problem and get more focused, you have to think about the 5 WHY’s. The 5 WHY’s consist of asking a series of questions about a problem until a cause that can be resolved is found. The more WHY’s you ask about a problem, the closer you get to finding the cause.

• I can’t focus right now. Why?
• I’m really tired. Why?
• I didn’t sleep enough last night. Why?
• I was up late last night finishing a project. Why?
• I started too late. Why?
• I was at work most of the afternoon, then I ended up going out to eat.

The ultimate reason why you’re experiencing a problem will help you create an effective solution.

3. Evaluating and selecting alternatives

One way to identify potential solutions is to represent the problem either internally or externally. You can work through the problem in your mind–not recommended–bring someone else in to discuss it, or write it down on your purple sheet. Then, you can keep goals and challenges in mind. There are a few ways to find the most effective solution(s).

• Systematic trial and error: this works for simple problems when one path seems more likely to lead to the goal than any other path. In a systematic trial and error, paths that fail are automatically eliminated.
• “One step closer”: look just one step ahead of what will take you closer to your goal. Asking your writer to explain their ideas to you, as with the example above, is a first step toward understanding how their ideas connect.
• Breaking down the problem: break the problem into parts that are more manageable.
• Using past experiences and knowledge: this is where your experience as a writer and reader become invaluable if you’re helping a writer. You’ve probably experienced the same problems in your writing that the writer is experiencing now. You can model or suggest ways of solving the problem that have worked for you.

For some problems, more than one strategy may be appropriate.

Example

If the writer’s essay lacks logical connections, you could suggest different solutions and decide together which would work best. You could ask the writer to explain their ideas (“one step closer,”) create a reverse outline (breaking down the problem), or just try reorganizing the information into different paragraphs. If that doesn’t work or doesn’t make it any better, you could suggest working on transitions (trial and error).

4. Implementing and evaluating

Make a list of the different options that you have generated. Select one or more solutions options from near the top of your list to try. Does the solution meet the goals and conditions set by the problem? Frequently the better option for implementation is the number two or number three choice. Measure the impact of the solution. The evaluation of your implementation is not based on whether or not you followed the steps, but on whether or not your goals are met.

Example

You want to try different things, but you only have a 25-minute session. You could

• Try to fit everything into the session (may or may not work, depending on how scattered the essay is)
• Suggest a follow-up session (may or may not work, depending on when the essay is due)
• Start working together and send the writer off with resources to complete the work on their own (could work if writer has the confidence to complete the work without your guidance)
• Work together to choose one or two solutions that are the most straightforward and which are most likely to result in success (may take up the whole session, but the writer might feel more capable of doing the work on their own)

Common obstacles to solving problems

The content of this section is CC licensed, shared previously in Educational Psychology. Authored by: Kelvin Seifert and Rosemary Sutton. Located at: https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=153. License: CC BY: Attribution

One of these is functional fixedness: a tendency to regard the functions of objects and ideas as fixed (German & Barrett, 2005). Over time, we get so used to one particular purpose for an object that we overlook other uses. We may think of a dictionary, for example, as necessarily something to verify spellings and definitions, but it also can function as a gift, a doorstop, or a footstool.

Using the example above, the problem may ultimately arise from functional fixedness. Writers who are very used to writing five-paragraph essays may automatically make every essay only five paragraphs. Often, this means that the three body paragraphs are very long and have several different ideas that would be easier to follow if they were separated into smaller paragraphs with transitions. This can result in the scattered essay you see.

Functional fixedness is an obstacle in problem representation, the way that a person understands and organizes information provided in a problem (in this case, how to write an essay). If information is misunderstood or used inappropriately (assuming that every essay needs to be a five-paragraph essay), then mistakes or problems are likely. Another (real life) example: a writer writing a personal narrative makes a comma mistake. The teacher, correcting their comma use, says, “You need a comma before ‘trees.'” The writer then overgeneralizes and assumes that a comma always belongs before the word “trees.”

How would you help this writer? First, you would need to define the problem: the fact that the writer, writing a biology paper about deciduous forests, has a lot of weirdly-placed commas before the word “trees.” Second, you would gather facts by asking the writer why they used commas before every incidence of the word. You’ve discovered what their teacher told them years ago, giving you an opportunity to explain that comma rules don’t involve the word “trees” at all. You could then help the writer figure out better ways to use commas.

Problem-solving example scenario

A writer comes in with an assignment for a five-page paper. The writer tells you that they received a zero, and they need to revise it. It’s due in two hours. The writer can’t understand their teacher’s comments. The assignment requires the writer to analyze rhetorical appeals, but the writer doesn’t understand those, either. They need to use MLA citations, but they’re struggling to use them correctly. They have trouble understanding English and mostly communicate using a translating app on their phone. As a result, they can’t stop checking their phone, even when it’s not to use their translator. What would you do in this situation?

External Links

Some of these pages are written for teachers, but they’re useful for you as well.

“Teaching Problem Solving” from the University of Waterloo

“What is Problem Solving?” from MindTools.com

WikiBooks: “Cognition and Instruction/Problem Solving, Critical Thinking and Expertise“