- "Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles."
The ability to assess the effectiveness of the problem-solving process, reflecting on what went well and what could be improved in future problem-solving situations.
Self-reflection: The ability to examine your own thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to gain insight and improve your problem-solving skills.
Goal setting: Setting specific and achievable objectives can help guide your problem-solving process.
Mental models: Mental models are frameworks that help you understand and solve problems in different contexts.
Mind mapping: Mind mapping is a visual technique that helps organize your thoughts and ideas to facilitate problem solving.
Creative thinking: Developing creative thinking skills can help you generate innovative solutions to complex problems.
Critical thinking: Critical thinking involves evaluating information and arguments to make informed decisions, solve problems, and form beliefs.
Decision-making: Decision-making is the process of selecting the best course of action among available alternatives.
Time management: Effective time management helps problem-solvers use their time effectively and efficiently to achieve their goals.
Systems thinking: Systems thinking is a holistic approach to problem-solving that considers the interaction between different elements of a system.
Communication: Effective communication skills enable problem-solvers to clarify their objectives, convey their ideas, and persuade others to support their solutions.
Evaluation Reflection: This involves evaluating the process and outcomes of the problem-solving approach you used. It entails looking back and assessing what worked, what didn't work, and how you could have improved the process.
Metacognitive Reflection: This type of reflection involves thinking about the thinking process. It entails exploring how you received, interpreted, and processed the information used in problem-solving.
Procedural Reflection: Procedural reflection focuses primarily on the procedural aspects of problem-solving. It explores how you put the problem-solving process into operation, such as sequencing key steps, breaking down problems into smaller ones, and creating action plans.
Conceptual Reflection: This type of reflection emphasizes the conceptual aspects of problem-solving, such as defining key concepts, framing the questions for inquiry, and posing possible solutions.
Professional Reflection: Professional reflection focuses on evaluating the learning, development, and application of problem-solving in professional contexts. It involves exploring how professional practices can be transformed by applying different problem-solving approaches.
Collaborative Reflection: Collaborative reflection emphasizes the importance of learning through interaction and dialogue with others. It explores how the collaborative problem-solving process can be optimized to increase efficiency, effectiveness and other desired outcomes.
Emotional Reflection: This type of reflection involves exploring how emotions have influenced the problem-solving process, investigating the emotional reactions throughout the process and reflecting on ways to effectively acknowledge and manage those emotions.
Comprehensive Reflection: Comprehensive reflection mirrors and integrates all of the previously described types of reflection to thoroughly evaluate the efficacy of the problem-solving process. It helps to ensure that all aspects of the problem-solving process are comprehensively evaluated and improved upon.
- "The former is an example of simple problem solving (SPS) addressing one issue, whereas the latter is complex problem solving (CPS) with multiple interrelated obstacles."
- "One classification is into well-defined problems with specific obstacles and goals, and ill-defined problems in which the current situation is troublesome but it is not clear what kind of resolution to aim for."
- "Similarly, one may distinguish formal or fact-based problems requiring psychometric intelligence, versus socio-emotional problems which depend on the changeable emotions of individuals or groups."
- "Professionals such as lawyers, doctors, programmers, and consultants are largely problem solvers for issues which require technical skills and knowledge beyond general competence."
- "Many businesses have found profitable markets by recognizing a problem and creating a solution: the more widespread and inconvenient the problem, the greater the opportunity to develop a scalable solution."
- "There are many specialized problem-solving techniques and methods in fields such as engineering, business, medicine, mathematics, computer science, philosophy, and social organization."
- "The mental techniques to identify, analyze, and solve problems are studied in psychology and cognitive sciences."
- "Problem-solving impediments include confirmation bias, mental set, and functional fixedness."
- "Solutions require sufficient resources and knowledge to attain the goal."
- "Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g., how to turn on an appliance)."
- "Complex problem solving (CPS) with multiple interrelated obstacles."
- "Socio-emotional problems which depend on the changeable emotions of individuals or groups."
- "Lawyers, doctors, programmers, and consultants are largely problem solvers for issues which require technical skills and knowledge beyond general competence."
- "Many businesses have found profitable markets by recognizing a problem and creating a solution."
- "Engineering, business, medicine, mathematics, computer science, philosophy, and social organization."
- "The mental techniques to identify, analyze, and solve problems."
- "Problem-solving impediments include confirmation bias, mental set, and functional fixedness."
- "Solutions require sufficient resources and knowledge to attain the goal."
- "One classification is into well-defined problems with specific obstacles and goals, and ill-defined problems in which the current situation is troublesome but it is not clear what kind of resolution to aim for."