RUNNING HEAD: SHORT PAPER #2, OPTION 1

Short Paper #2, Option 1

Megan Anderson

Kent State University

Short Paper #2, Option 1 1

As a novice educator, there are likely still some things to learn within your organization

such as policies, processes, and roles within the organization. While there might have been

opportunities to study such processes, there likely haven’t been ample opportunities to put them

all into practice. The responsibilities of a novice educator are much like those of experienced

educators, to provide a quality education for students and advocate for their success, as well as

the success of the school or organization they work for. Professional organizations that serve

children have articulated high ethical and accreditation standards for individuals providing

services to young children. One such example of a professional standards is the Code of Ethical

Conduct developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC),

describing professional responsibilities for children, families, colleagues, the community, and

society (Friend & Cook, 2009).

Taking these responsibilities and incorporating them into problem solving is pertinent.

Once a problem has been identified and it has been determined necessary to address, the

problem-solving process should begin. The interpersonal problem solving process goes as

follows: identify the problem, generate solutions, evaluate potential solutions, select solutions,

implement the solutions, and evaluate outcomes (Howard, Williams, Miller, & Aiken, 2014).

Even as a novice educator, you should be familiar with the problem solving model and prepared

to make a contribution in the different group problem-solving situations that coincide with your

role (Howard, Williams, Miller, & Aiken, 2014). This will allow you to provide best practice,

which is your professional responsibility to children, families, colleagues, the community, and

society (Friend & Cook, 2009). Research has shown that identifying the problem is the most
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critical step in problem solving, and the other steps in the problem solving process cannot be

successful without it (Howard, Williams, Miller, & Aiken, 2014).

Within the workplace, if identifying the problem is a phase that is breezed by with little

discussion or consideration, I would have the responsibility to the organization as well as the

students to reiterate the importance of making sure the problem has been identified in a precise

manner after each team member has agreed upon what the problem is. I would remind my team

and colleagues of the problem solving process, including each stage, and how the process simply

will not be as successful if the identification stage is not met accurately. Visual information

might be helpful, so I could print out a copy of the model for interpersonal problem solving that

includes the proper steps. The specific components of the identification phase include sharing

data and other information from multiple sources to describe the data, remembering participants’

points of view, using concrete and specific language, stating the problem (preferably as a

question), and checking to ensure that all participants agree with the description of the identified

problem (Howard, Williams, Miller, & Aiken, 2014). I would make sure this information was

clear and that there was a mutual understanding of what had to be done, which in this case means

repeating the initial identification phase, to make sure all ideas for addressing the problem were

generated.

Furthermore, it is essential to fully honor each component of the various stages in the

problem solving process in order to reach a successful outcome. Skipping or shortcutting any one

of the steps in the process will entirely change the outcome and likely impede success. A novice

educator might not have as much experience as the other individuals within the organization or

school. However, it is critical that the novice educator, with a fresh picture of specific policies
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and procedures, still understands and advocates for appropriate, ethical practice. As an educator,

you should continually advocate for your students. An advocate is someone who takes up

another person’s cause, especially one that they believe in and are willing to fight for (Friend &

Cook, 2009). After some time, organizations might start to lose focus of their ethical standards,

but these standards should be motivation to provide the highest quality care possible by

collaborating with and consulting your team when problems arise.

Works Cited

Friend, M., & Cook, L. (2009). ​Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals. ​(6​th

ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Howard, V.F., Williams, B.F., Miller, D., & Aiken, E. (2014). ​Very young children with special

needs: A foundation for educators, families, and service providers​ (5​th​ Ed.). Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.