Types of problems
In everyday life, we all have to solve a wide variety of problems. In school, these problems may be how to complete an algebraic equation or remember the order of the U.S. presidents. In everyday life, the problems may be how to maintain a long-distance relationship or how to pay bills on a limited income. Either way, to be successful, we must have the ability to solve different types of problems using different types of solution strategies.
Problem solving is the application of ideas, skills or factual information to achieve the solution to a problem or achieve a desired outcome. Let’s talk about different types of problems and different types of solutions.
Educational psychology has broken down problems in two different ways. The first way is to make a distinction between well-defined and ill-defined problems. A well-defined problem is one that has a clear goal or solution, and problem-solving strategies are easily developed. In contrast, an ill-defined problem is the opposite. It is one that is unclear, abstract, or confusing, and has no clear problem-solving strategy.
For example, imagine you are in school. If your teacher gives you a test that asks you to list the first ten presidents of the United States in order and name one important historical fact about each, that would be a well-defined problem. The instructions and expected outcome are clear, and you can use a simple recall strategy to arrive at the correct answer. However, if your teacher gives you a quiz that instead asks you, ‘think about some history, then draw a picture and be sure to wash your hands,’ you’re not really sure what to do. What does the teacher expect from you? This is an ill-defined problem, because you don’t know how to arrive at a solution or answer.
The second way educational psychology has analyzed different types of problems is by making a distinction between routine and non-routine problems. As the name implies, a routine problem is one that is typical and has a simple solution. In contrast, a non-routine problem is more abstract or subjective and requires a strategy to solve it. Routine problems are what most people do in school: memorizing simple facts, how to add and subtract, how to spell words, and so on. However, in more advanced years or in more advanced subjects in school, teachers can present students with non-routine problems that require critical thinking.skills and subjective solutions. For example, the ethics of social issues such as the death penalty or the role of civil rights in laws, or topics from famous literature, could be considered non-routine problems. Non-routine problems require more complicated or creative problem-solving strategies.
Problem-Solving Strategies
Depending on the type of problem, you have many options regarding possible solution strategies. In this lesson, let’s start with solutions that are common strategies for routine or well-defined problems.
The first strategy you can try when solving a routine problem is called an algorithm. Algorithms are strategies or step-by-step processes for how to solve a problem or achieve a goal. The most common example you might think of for using algorithms might be in math class. When presented with an algebraic equation, you may have learned how to solve for x using certain well-defined steps. But algorithms can also be used in other subjects. For example, when you are learning how to disassemble and clean a car engine, you will want to approach this problem using a set series of established steps, making sure not to lose or mix up any of the parts.
Another solution that many people use to solve problems is called heuristics…. Heuristics are general strategies used to find quick and fast solutions to problems that sometimes lead to solutions but sometimes lead to errors. Heuristics are sometimes called mental shortcuts and we often form them based on past experiences. You have probably used heuristics all the time in your daily life, perhaps without knowing what they are called. For example, when you go to the store to buy a product, there will probably be several options on the shelf. When trying to decide the quality of the different options, many people use the heuristic rule, “you get what you pay for,” meaning that the more expensive items will be of higher quality. While this may be true in many cases, it is not always necessarily true. Therefore, using this strategy allows for a quick decision, but could be counterproductive.
Another example of a heuristic is “shorter lines will move faster”. Once you select the item you want to buy in the store, head to the cash registers. Choose the line with the fewest people, assuming it will move the fastest. While normally this strategy would work, you may be backing up someone who needs to check the price or a cashier who is new to the job and doesn’t know how to use the cash register. So, in summary, heuristics are a common problem-solving strategy for everyday types of problems and usually lead to good decisions, but sometimes they can lead to mistakes.
A third type of problem solving that you might have used in the past is to use graphical representations. Graphical representations are visually based illustrations of a problem that can lead to clarification of a problem or creative solutions. Examples of graphical representations are flowcharts, diagrams, schematics or mind maps. With any of these options, you can extract the problem and this may help you see the problem in a new way.
Let’s talk about one more problem-solving strategy that comes from educational psychology. This final strategy is called The IDEAL strategy, where ‘IDEAL’ is an acronym, meaning that each letter stands for an idea. This strategy includes five steps, each corresponding to a letter.
- The ‘I’ stands for identify , which is the first step in the IDEAL strategy. Here, identify what the problem is, as clearly as possible.
- ‘D’ stands for define . Here, you define what the possible solution or ultimate goal could be.
- Next, ‘E’ stands for explore . This is the step where you explore possible ways to achieve the solution or goal. You can use other strategies we have discussed here, such as a graphical representation, heuristics or brainstorming.
- The fourth letter is ‘A’, which stands for anticipate . In this step, you wait for the possible outcomes of the different solutions you have created and try to see which one will work best. You then choose one of the solutions and act accordingly. While the ‘A’ in IDEAL means anticipate, not act, you may remember that the ‘A’ could include anticipation and action if it is useful.
- The last step in the IDEAL solution is the ‘L’, which stands for learning. Having chosen a solution and acted on it, you now look back and learn from what you did. So, again, you could think of the ‘L’ as representing both looking and learning.
Did your solution lead to a positive outcome? If not, go back to the beginning and try to find a different solution. While the IDEAL solution may seem complicated with many steps, it is actually a fairly intuitive way to solve problems. Identify the problem, define what you want to accomplish, explore possible solutions, choose one, and see what happened. Most of us use this general strategy when solving problems; we may not label it IDEAL.
Lesson Summary
In summary, problem solving is the application of ideas, skills, or factual information to achieve a solution to a problem or reach a desired outcome. Before solving a problem, we must know what type of problem it is. There are well-defined problems and ill-defined problems, as well as routine and non-routine problems. There are many possible solutions or strategies for solving problems. This lesson covered algorithms, heuristics, graphical representations and the IDEAL strategy.