Nama : Reinaldo Raymond

NPM : 1806148561

An Evidence-Based Strategy for Problem Solving

A. 150 Published Strategies

More than 150 basic strategies to solve problems in life such as business, math, engineering an
others.
An analysis of these basic strategies shows:
• The published strategies are similar. Most start with words describing an “awareness of a
problem”; most close with an evaluation or verification. Most have a “definition stage.”
• Most have between two and seven stages.
• A few explicitly link the problem solving process with subject knowledge (context-specific
knowledge), past experience and past solved problems.

B. Is A Strategy Useful?
Using a strategy helps problem solvers

• Overcome any initial distress encountered naturally when they begin an ambiguous and
challenging problem.
• Focus on the different cognitive and attitudinal skills used in each stage.
• Providing natural times at the start and end of each stage to explicitly monitor and reflect.
• Giving a common language to improve communication and help teams stay on task.
• Improve their confidence and skill in problem solving.

C. An Evidence Based Strategy

1. The basic strategy that can be applied universally, has several criteria:
2. Strategies are general but specific enough to be useful for all kinds of problems
3. Be consistent in order to represent our understanding of how we solve problems.
4. If possible, no stage should include a descriptive title skills or attitudes
5. The number of stages identified must be more than three and less than nine
6. Strategy should be useful and not academic discovery
7. The strategy should promote flexibility in its application
8. The stages in the strategy most people do the same way should be separated from the steps
where each someone applies his own style
9. Particular emphasis should be placed on the stages at which search evidence shows that people
have the most trouble.
10. Strategy must be related to the results expected from stage rather than method
11. The strategy should promote behaviors of successful problem solvers.
6 Stage Problem Solving Strategy

Stages Task Cognitive Attitudinal

Engage : Read the Problem, Listening, Observe Read, Listen Courage,
I want and and identify situation Distress
I can management,
Willing to cope
with ambiguity
and to risk,
Monitor.
Define the Classify given information into : goasl, Identify main items, Patient,
stated contraints, inferred constraints , Analyze/ Classify Attentive,
Problem criteria, inferred criteria, description of Systematic,
system Monitor.
Explore This stage starts with a problem Simplify, Identify, Distress
statement, with background subject Analyze Management
knowledge and with a series of Persistent,
problems that we solved successfully. Systematic,
relentlessly in the past. Use pattern Organized,
recognition to decide if this is true Consistent,
exercise or problem. Trying to find out Monitor
what the "real" problem is..

Plan a Listing the data to be collected and Analyze, managing Systematic,

solution noting the hypotheses to be tested. resources, Organized,
identify,Judge Careful,
criticically Monitor
Do it Methodically and systematically we Analyze, managing Detail,
carry out the plan. resources, ,Judge Systematic,
criticically Monitor,
Careful
Evaluate : Re-Evaluate previous stages. Reflect, elaborate, Stress
Check and Judge critically management,
Look Back persistent,
monitor

Reference:
Woods, D. (2000). An Evidence-Based Strategy for Problem Solving. Journal Of Engineering
Education, 89(4), 443-459.