Problem and

Solution
Outline

By Derek Sears
Problem and Solution

• This strategy involves showing the steps to a development of a problem.

• It also shows how there could possibly be more than one way to find the
solution.
• It typically would come in the form of an outline.
 • Osborn and then later Sidney Parnes are
Who Created credited with the origination of creative
problem solving.
Problem Solving
• They are said to have originated it in the
Creative Problem Solving was originated by
Alex Osborn in the 1940s and further 1940s, but continues to work with it
developed by himself, and Sidney Parnes. throughout their lifetimes.
• They did not specifically create the graphic
organizer, but they did create the idea of
problem solving in different forms.
How it looks
It would go something like this

You would write the original problem up top.

This could be a summarized version of the
problem.

Then you would write the ways you might

have attempted to solve the problem.

Finally, you would write out the best solution

to the problem and specify which way that you
used to find it.
Why would I use it?

• I think this strategy helps us simplify what we are looking for.

• In math the hardest part of a word problem is determining what the actual
question is asking.
• In books it can be difficult to determine what is going on. This could help us
simplify what we are reading and put it into smaller bits.
• Finally, it breaks complex problems, or readings, into smaller bits and pieces.
Marzano’s Top Nine
• Marzano’s Top Nine:
• 1) Identifying similarities and differences
• 2) Summarizing and Note-taking
• 3) Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition
• 4) Homework and Practice
• 5) Nonlinguistic Representation
• 6) Cooperative Learning
• 7) Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback
• 8) Generating and Testing Hypothesis
• 9) Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers
• Top 9 I associate it with:
• Summarizing and note-taking This
is because this outline would require our students to
summarize what they had read.
• Cooperative Learning
This is because I would use this strategy in groups. Not
all the time because I would want them to work on it
solo sometimes, but group work can be very beneficial
• Generating and Testing Hypothesis
This strategy would require my students to
generate a hypothesis for how to create the
solution. Then testing how successful their way
of solving the problem works.
How other classes could use it.
• Science: you could use this in a
physics or chem class to also solve
mathematical problems. In a bio
class you could use it to break
down the lifecycles, or other things
like that. You could provide the
“problem” and then allow students
to determine how to find a good
solution, and finally what the actual
solution is.
• History: In history you could use
this organizer to identify problems
that have come about during
history. You could allow students to
think of different solutions to solve
them, and then also show them the
actual solution taken and how it
resulted.
How other classes could use it.
• English: In English you could use
this to have students help interpret
their readings. They could identify
the problem in the book, and then
determine their own solutions, and
then continue to read and find the
final solution.
• In all, you could find problems
throughout any different course. The
problems don’t have to be actual math
problems, but maybe just a problem
like, “how does an asexual organism
reproduce?” and allow students to
work through something like that.
• It is a good strategy to use when you
want to break something down into
smaller parts and look for solutions
throughout it.
Example Problem:

• TriCity Taxi Company charges $3 for the first mile and $0.20 for every tenth of a
mile thereafter. If your trip is measured in tenths of a mile, how far can you ride
in a TriCity Taxi for $12.
Now you do it:

• Jamie needs to lease a car. At Big City Nissan, Jamie can lease an Altima for
$3,000 down plus $420 per month. Big City will also give her the first two
months of her lease free. At Rye Town Nissan, they offer her the same car for
$3960 down plus $400 per month. Rye Town will give her the first four months
free. After how many months would both deals cost the same?