Strategies for Individuals

1. Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Strategies for Individuals and Teams

2. Section 1: Teamwork and Communication

3. Critical Thinking, Problem- Solving, and Teamwork Broken Squares Activity • Goal: Use pieces to assemble 5 squares, all of equal size. • No talking, pointing, or gesturing. • You may give pieces to another team member, but not take pieces from anyone. • Pieces must be given directly to another, not just placed in the center of the table.

4. Critical Thinking, Problem- Solving, and Teamwork Broken Squares Activity • What part of the game was the most fun? • Were some members frustrated? Why? • Were any members always/never willing to give away their pieces? • Did some members dominate the play? • Were some members willing to violate the rules?

5. Critical Thinking, Problem- Solving, and Teamwork Broken Squares Activity • How did team members interact? • Were any members always/never willing to give away their pieces? • Was there a turning point where cooperation began? • What role does communication play in solving problems?

6. Critical Thinking, Problem- Solving, and Teamwork Broken Squares Activity • What strategies could group members have used to make theteam’s outcome more successful? • What lessons did you learn from the game that could be applied in other problem-solving situations?

7. Critical Thinking, Problem- Solving, and Teamwork Broken Squares Activity • Cooperation by all team members is necessary to solve team problems. • It is important that everyone understand and follow guidelines. • Everyone’s efforts are important. • Recognize that your contributions are important. • Communication in many forms is vital for success.

8. Section 2: Making Decisions

9. Your Decision-Making Skills • How many decisions do you make in a day? • How do you make a decision? • What is a good decision? • Describe how you recently made a good decision? What was the process?

10. Making Decisions • Flip a coin, roll a die, “draw a card.” • It “feels right.” • Formal or logical methods; ranking the options. • Eliminating decisions. • For each approach: • Is this sometimes an appropriate method? • Is this a good method? • Any drawbacks? • What will be the likely outcomes?

11. Section 3: Solving Problems

12. Problem-Solving Strategies Draw a diagram. • “A picture is worth a thousand words.” • Are you a visual learner? • Turn an abstract problem into a concrete problem by making a sketch. • Example: Determine the order of the houses.

13. Problem-Solving Strategies Make a list. • A systematic listing of options/choices can make the answer clearer. • Use a methodical approach to cover all options/choices. • Example: How many possible tile arrangements are there?

14. Problem-Solving Strategies Trial and error • Sometimes known as “guess and check.” • Good if the cost of a wrong guess is minimal. • Good if the number of possible answers is not too large. • Example: The product of five consecutive integers is greater than one million. What are the smallest values that do this?

15. Problem-Solving Strategies Divide and conquer. • Break big problems into several smaller problems that are more easily solved. • Example: How many tiles should be ordered for a countertop with complex geometry?

16. Problem-Solving Strategies Look for a pattern. • Often other approaches yield a pattern that suggests a possible solution. Test the solution. • Example: 1000 students have 1000 lockers. Starting at locker 0001, Student #1 opens every locker. Student #2 closes every other locker. Student #3 changes every 3rd locker. Student #4 changes every 4th locker. And so on, through Student #1000. What lockers will be left open?

17. Problem-Solving Strategies Working backward might be useful when... • The final result is clear, but the initial conditions are not. • The beginning situation is complicated but the end is simple. • The direct approach would involve a complicated equation. • The problem involves a sequence of reversible actions. • Example: What was your previous month’s bank balance if this month’s statement shows $493.18, after checks for $17.73 and $88.10, and a deposit of $193.22 and interest of $0.26?

18. Section 4: Quality Improvement

19. Seven-Step Strategy for Quality Improvement • Identify and define the problem. • Brainstorming • Impact changeability tool • Problem statement • Study the current situation. • Force-field analysis • Flow chart

20. Seven-Step Strategy for Quality Improvement • Find the root cause. • Asking “why” five times • Fishbone diagram • Choose a solution. • Brainstorming • Evaluation grid

21. Seven-Step Strategy for Quality Improvement • Develop and action plan. • Specific and clear • Logical sequence • Comprehensive • Shared with whole team • Reviewed frequently

22. GANTT Chart • Illustrates the beginning and completion dates for sub-tasks within a project

23. PERT Chart • Project Evaluation and Review (PERT) shows the sequence of tasks in a project or problem-solving process

24. Seven-Step Strategy for Quality Improvement • Implement the action plan. Includes five Ws and one H: • Who • What • Where • When • Why • How

25. Seven-Step Strategy for Quality Improvement • Check the results. • Force-field analysis • Brainstorming • Evaluation grid

26. Quality-Control Charting • X-bar and R-charts • “X-bar” (orx ) is the average of sample measures. • “R” is the range, themaximum value minus minimum value. • X-bar shows “drift.” • R shows variation.