Quotes About Problem-solving

Strategy #5: Breaking the unsolved problem down into its component parts.

Some adults, having now made some headway toward understanding their kids' concerns, have difficulty resisting the temptation to revert to form by being dismissive or offering solutions, thereby ending the problem-solving process.

Speculation is a no-win proposition. Solving problems collaboratively is a win-win proposition.

Many parents, in their eagerness to solve the problem, forget the Invitation step. This means that just as they are at the precipice of actually collaborating on a solution, they impose a solution. Too often we assume that the only person capable of coming up with a good solution to a problem is the adult.

When you use Plan B, you do so with the understanding that the solution is not predetermined. If you already know how the problem is going to be solved before you start trying to solve it, then you're not using Plan B . . . you're using a "clever" form of Plan A. Plan B is not just a "clever" form of Plan A. Plan B is collaborative, Plan A is unilateral.

You sure you can do that? Let's make sure we come up with a solution we can both do").

Adults sometimes become impatient in the midst of Plan B and head for Plan A or Plan C.

Plan B consists of three steps or ingredients: The Empathy Step: Gathering information about and understanding what's making it hard for your child to meet a given expectation. The Define Adult Concerns Step: Being specific about why it's important that the expectation be met (how the problem is affecting the kid and/or others). The Invitation Step: Collaborating with your child to find a solution that is realistic and mutually satisfactory.

In schools, as in homes, there's a tendency to work on the hot-button problem that precipitated a challenging episode on a particular day. But because unsolved problems wax and wane, the hot-button unsolved problem that was the focal point on one day is often replaced by a different hot-button unsolved problem the next.

Moreover, there are many kids who can't think of any solutions at all. So, the problem remains unsolved. And the concerning behaviors being caused by that problem persist. Difficulty expressing concerns, needs, or thoughts in words

There's an excellent video of full-class Plan B on the Lives in the Balance website.

the skill of putting one's emotions on the shelf so as to think through solutions to problems more objectively, rationally, and logically—a skill called separation of affect—is really important. Kids who are pretty good at this skill tend to respond to problems or frustrations with more thought than emotion, and that's good.

Exhausted after a full day of treating patients, William Carlos Williams angrily answered the phone. "Doctor," said a woman's voice, "my child has swallowed a mouse." "Then get him to swallow a cat," he replied, and slammed down the receiver.

The use of violent or oppressive means to solve problems is a common feature in both instrumental and idealistic evil. There is an important difference, however, and that is the extent to which the ends justify the means.

The successful man is the one who finds out what is the matter with his business before his competitors do.

Be your own dentist!

Critical thinking is one of our highest achievements besides eating with a fork, so when we emotionally can't get what we want, we have to think our way towards the resolution and this is where we crash and burn.

Successful problem solving requires finding the right solution to the right problem. We fail more often because we solve the wrong problem than because we get the wrong solution to the right problem.

Our ability to solve problem is limited by our conception of what is feasible.

Worked examples are illustrations of how to complete a task—either a step-by-step procedural task or a more strategic task that involves critical thinking or problem solving.

Variously called productive failure, invention learning, or desirable difficulties, the proposed benefits of starting with a problem include: • activating prior knowledge related to new skills • combating student perceptions that the content is easy to learn • creating a moment of need, making students more receptive to explanations.

Film work is a job I like to do because I really love to solve problems.

It's no use carrying an umbrella if your shoes are leaking. If

I have a whole set of problem-solving behaviors and I am anxious to use them, in much the same way that I would stand up on the train to give my seat to someone who seems to need it more than I do: here is something I can address, and I do, and all is well.