i need it in 5 hours
Situation Awareness (Wiig, 2003)
Figure 9.3 A model of problem solving in which the “problem” occurs in a context where the problem solver needs to recognize a “situation” that needs action, and bases that action on a series of steps in which she makes sense out of the situation, decides what action to take based on guiding principles, and then implements the action. Figure from Wiig, K. M. (2003). Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol 7, No 5 (2003), pp 6-24, Knowledge Research Institute. www.krii.com.
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Stages in Problem-Solving
Preparation or Familiarization Stage*
Production Stage
Judgment or Evaluation Stage
This stage includes the time spent in understanding the nature of the problem, the desired goal, and the givens
During this stage, the problem solver produces solution paths that define the problem space
The problem solver evaluates solution paths to select the best one
a period in problem-solving when the problem solver is not actively working on the problem
Sometimes people report that a solution comes to them during this “time-out” period
Insight is the sudden knowledge of a solution to a problem (the “Aha!” experience)
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Are you persistent at your task?
Let’s test one aspect of your personality. Write down the numbers 1 - 12 in different Rows
Very much like me (VM)
Mostly like me (M)
Somewhat like me (S)
Not much like me (NM)
Not like me at all (N)
VM M S NM N
1. I have overcome setbacks to conquer an important challenge.
2. New ideas and projects sometimes distract me from previous ones.
3. My interests change from year to year.
4. Setbacks don’t discourage me.
5. I have been obsessed with a certain idea or project for a short time but later lost interest.
VM M S NM N
6. I am a hard worker.
7. I often set a goal but later choose to pursue a different one.
8. I have difficulty maintaining my focus on projects that take more than a few months to complete.
9. I finish whatever I begin.
10. I have achieved a goal that took years of work.
11. I become interested in new pursuits every few months.
12. I am diligent.
Scoring
For questions 1, 4, 6, 9, 10 and 12 assign the following:
5 = VM
4 = M
3 = S
2 = NM
1 = N
For questions 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 11 assign the following:
1 = VM
2 = M
3 = S
4 = NM
5 = N
Add up all the points and divide by 12.
The maximum score on this scale is 5 (extremely gritty), and the lowest scale on this scale is 1 (not at all gritty).
Video on Grit
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Did you define your problem well?
Well-Defined Problems
Ill-Defined Problems
e.g.,
Write a beautiful poem.
What is the area of this parallelogram?
5 in
3 in
are problems with a single correct answer
CAN tell if getting closer to goal
are problems with many possible correct answers
Can’t tell if getting closer to goal
The difficulty with ill-defined problems lies in evaluating possible solutions to decide which one is best
Often the goal in these problems is vague or incomplete
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Did you define your problem well?
Well-Defined Problems
Ill-Defined Problems
e.g.,
Write a beautiful poem.
Many possible answers.
What is the area of this parallelogram?
One clear answer.
5 in
3 in
are problems with a single correct answer
CAN tell if getting closer to goal
are problems with many possible correct answers
Can’t tell if getting closer to goal
The difficulty with ill-defined problems lies in evaluating possible solutions to decide which one is best
Often the goal in these problems is vague or incomplete
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Problem Planning and Representation
Is it well defined problem?
I should get serious about my life now.
Restate the goal in multiple ways to generate different solutions:
Goal #1: become responsible.
Possible solutions:
Find a solid job.
Move out of parent’s place.
Complete education
Problem Solving Strategies
Let’s have some fun solving problems.
Problem Planning and Representation: 1. Draw A Graph or Diagram
Irvin has begun a jogging program. He jogs 2 miles north, then turns right and jogs 3 miles, then heads left 1 mile, then turns and jogs 2 miles to the right, then he jogs 3 miles south, and finally 5 miles west. How far is he from his starting point? (Hint: draw a map.)
Answer: He is at his starting point.
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2. Use a table format
There are four dogs sitting in front of their doghouses. The dogs, in left to right order, are Pizza, Tiger, Lady, and Sancho. Based on the information given below, figure out which dog eats Crunch Blend dog food.
1. Pizza lives in a blue doghouse.
2. The dog who lives in a red house eats Yummies.
3. Sancho eats Butcher Boy dog food.
4. Lady lives next to the dog with the green house.
5. Tiger lives next to the dog who eats Crunchy Blend.
6. The dog in the white house is next to the dog who eats Butcher Boy.
7. The dog who eats medium rare steak is farthest away from the dog who eats Butcher Boy.
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Answer
| Dogs: | Pizza | Tiger | Lady | Sancho |
| Food: | Rare steak | Yummies | Crunch Blend | Butcher Boy |
| House: | Blue | Red | White | Green |
Trial & Error: Form a sensible word.
Solve the following anagrams. (Hint: Use the strategy that is recommended for problems with few solution paths.)
CRA NTU ETA NIK
CAR NUT EAT INK
Find 5 words using following letters
STIHN
HINTS
THIS
THIN
TIN
SHIT
Trial & Error
Trial & Error
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Hint: This problem will also require that you break a mental set
Using only six short sticks, arrange them to form four equilateral triangles.
Getting out of Mental Set
Functional fixedness
Complete the following letter series. (This problem has been used in intelligence tests for English school children.)
OTTFFSS---
What are the next three letters? (Hint: Thinking about repeating sequences of letters will lead to blind paths.)
This letter series is made up of the first letters of One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven. Therefore, the next three letters are E, N, T, for Eight, Nine, and Ten, respectively.
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Problem-Solving Strategies
Generalization is a problem-solving strategy in which the problem is considered as an example of a larger class of problems
E.g., All parents try to make life difficult for their children.
Specialization involves considering the problem as a special case drawn from a larger set of problems
E.g., my parents have rules for everything.
Generalization & Specialization
The alphabet is presented below in two rows. What is the rule that determines whether a letter belongs in the top or bottom row?
A E F H I K L M N T V W X Y Z
B C D G J O P Q R S U
Means-end Analysis
Break problems into mini problems or subproblems and set subgoals
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2
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Problem-Solving Strategies
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This is a well-defined problem, it can be solved in 7 moves
http://www.mazeworks.com/hanoi/index.htm
Note: the disks can be moved
Step 1: Move Disk 1 to Tower 3
Step 2: Move Disk 2 to Tower 2
Step 3: Move Disk 1 to Tower 2
Step 4: Move Disk 3 to Tower 3
Step 5: Move Disk 1 to Tower 1
Step 6: Move Disk 2 to Tower 3
Step 7: Move Disk 1 to Tower 3
3) In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half the lake?
24 days
Working Backwards
On day 48, the lake is full. On day 47, the lake is half full. On day 46, the lake is ¼ full.
THE NINE-DOT PROBLEM AND SOLUTION
Using no more than four straight lines and without lifting your pencil from the paper, draw a line through all nine dots.
Figure 9.15 The nine-dot problem. Using no more than four straight lines and without lifting your pencil from the paper, draw a line through all nine dots.
Figure 9.16 One possible solution to the nine-dot problem. Note that the solution involves breaking “set.” Most people assume that the lines must form a square and that each line must pass through the center of each dot.
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Without lifting your pencil from the paper, draw the envelope.
Farm Problem
Divide into four parts that are equal in size and shape
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Early attempts at solutions
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Advanced solution attempts
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Final problem! Write down any information you think is important.
Suppose you are a bus driver. On the first stop, you picked up 6 men and 2 women. At the second stop, 2 men left, and 1 woman boarded the bus. At the 3rd stop, one man left, and 2 women boarded. At the 4th stop, 3 men left, and 3 women boarded.
What is the bus driver’s age?
Mindfulness
End-Quarter Student Evaluation
Link on blackboard
Practice questions:
In which PS strategy do you test all solution paths?
Trial & errors
What makes decision making different from PS?
Generating many alternatives vs. one clear solution
What is generalization?
Consider the problem as an example of a larger class. E.g., ADHD in children
What is specialization?
Consider the problem as an example of a special case. E.g., Children with ADHD who are born to 50+ parents.
I made a Thai curry last weekend. My wife tried to reproduce the dish. What would be the best strategy of PS for her task?
Backward thinking
Practice questions:
In a late night of March 2015, I heard the news that the magnitude of 7.8 earthquake hit my district. I needed to spread the news and get some help. What was the best PS strategy for me?
Crowdsourcing
Your parents always think about expenses when you share your plan to move out of state for medical school. They are stuck in
Mental set.
When you try to solve a problem, it’s wise to ‘sleep on it’ instead of trying too hard to solve it in one shot. The idea of sleep on it is similar to which stage of PS?
Incubation
We generate many solutions in the ____ stage of PS.
Production
Our brain is like a computer. The STM is like RAM in computer. I am using ___ thinking to aid my understanding about the problem.
Analogical
I used my skateboard to role a new set of furniture to my apartment. I am not limited by
Functional fixedness.
Thank you for being a wonderful class!
You will be missed
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