SUBMITTED BY

PRIYANKA KUMARI

POOJA KUMARI

INTRODUCTION TO PROBLEM SOLVING• Everyone must have felt at least once in his or her

life how wonderful it would be if we could solve a problem at hand preferably without much difficulty or even with some difficulties. Unfortunately the problem solving is an art at this point and there are no universal approaches one can take to solving problems. Basically one must explore possible avenues to a solution one by one until one comes across a right path to a solution. Thus generally speaking, there is).

• guessing and hence an element of luck involved in problem solving. However, in general, as one gains experience in solving problems, one develops one's own techniques and strategies, though they are often intangible. Thus the guessing is not an arbitrary guessing but an educated one. In this chapter we are going to learn a framework for problem solving and get a glimpse of strategies that are often used by experts. They are based on the work of Polya. For further study, his book, and others such as Larson are recommended (but not required).

• A Framework for Problem Solving

The following four phases can be identified in the process of solving problems:

(1) Understanding the problem (see below)(2) Making a plan of solution (see below)(3) Carrying out the plan (4) Looking back i.e. verifying

PROBLEM DEFINITION

• We know in our gut when there is a problem, whether or not we can easily put it into words. Maybe you feel uncomfortable in a given place, but you're not sure why. A problem might be just the feeling that something is wrong and should be corrected. You might feel some sense of distress, or of injustice.

• Stated most simply, a problem is the difference between what is, and what might or should be. "No child should go to bed hungry, but one-quarter of all children do in this country," is a clear, potent problem statement. Another example might be, "Communication in our office is not very clear." In this instance, the explanation of "what might or should be" is simply alluded to.

• As these problems illustrate, some problems are more serious that others; the problem of child hunger is a much more severe problem than the fact that the new youth center has no exercise equipment, although both are problems that can and should be addressed. Generally, problems that affect groups of people - children, teenage mothers, the mentally ill, the poor - can at least be addressed and in many cases lessened using the process outlined in this Chapter.

• Although your organization may have chosen to tackle a seemingly insurmountable problem, the process you will use to solve it is not complex. It does, however, take time, both to formulate and to fully analyze the problem. Most people underestimate the work they need to do here and the time they'll need to spend. But this is the legwork, the foundation on which you'll lay effective solutions. This isn't the time to take shortcuts.

• Three basic concepts make up the core of this chapter: clarifying, deciding, and analyzing. Let's look at each in turn.

PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS

• There are many tools for problem diagnosis and improvement that can be used in a Problem Diagnosis and Improvement Process. The basic tools that are used for process improvement are the 'first seven tools', as follows:

• Cause-Effect Diagram, for identifying root causes of problems.

• Pareto Chart, for prioritising actions.• Check Sheet, for collecting data.• Scatter Chart, for understanding correlation.• Bar Chart and other graphs, for visualising data

• Histogram, for understanding distribution.

• Control Chart, for identifying special causes of variation.

• Other useful tools include:

• Affinity Diagram, for exploring qualitative information.

• Process Flowchart, for mapping a sequence of actions.

• Brainstorming, for identifying solutions.

• Gantt Chart, for laying out a plan of action.

PROBLEM REMEDY

• Common barriers to problem solving are mental constructs that impede our ability to correctly solve problems. These barriers prevent people from solving problems in the most efficient manner possible. Five of the most common processes and factors that researchers have identified as barriers to problem solving are confirmation bias, mental set, functional fixedness, unnecessary constraints, and irrelevant information.

LESSION LEARNED BY TEAM

• Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy in which students learn about a subject through the experience of problem solving. Students learn both thinking strategies and domain knowledge. The PBL format originated from the medical school of thought, and is now used in other schools of thought too. It was developed at McMaster University School of Medicine in Canada in the 1960s and has since spread around the world.

• The goals of PBL are to help the students develop flexible knowledge, effective problem solving skills, self-directed learning, effective collaboration skills and intrinsic motivation.[1]

Problem-based learning is a style of active learning.

• Working in groups, students identify what they already know, what they need to know, and how and where to access new information that may lead to resolution of the problem.

• The role of the instructor (known as the tutor in PBL) is to facilitate learning by supporting, guiding, and monitoring the learning process.[2] The tutor must build students' confidence to take on the problem, and encourage the students, while also stretching their understanding. PBL represents a paradigm shift from traditional teaching and learning philosophy,[3] which is more often lecture-based. The constructs for teaching PBL are very different from traditional classroom/lecture teaching.

•THANK YOU