Back to Critical Thinking

Purpose

The purpose of this wiki project is to engage students in the full process of problem-solving, including defining the problem and working as a team toward problem solution.  Each group first drafts a problem, providing any necessary supporting definitions and data.  The problems are then "passed" to another group for solving.

Frame

Home Page - The home page should provide the directions for the activity at the top of the page.  Links should be provided for the problems with the teams assigned to create them (e.g., Problem #1 - Team A, Problem #2 - Team B, etc.)  A link to a sample problem might also be included.

Problem Pages - There should be a page provided for each problem, with enough problems so there is at least one per team.  These pages will first be assigned to a team to add the problem definition.  After a determined deadline, the pages will then be reassigned or "passed" to another group for problem solving.  The problem pages could be scaffolded as follows:

• Problem - Description
• Problem - Supporting Data
• Problem - Questions that Must be Answered
• Solution -  Analysis
• Solution - Potential Solutions
• Solution - Recommendations 

Management Tips

• Set a firm deadline when problems should be completed and when they will be passed to the other groups for solving.
• Provide resources on problem solving as a process such as www.managementhelp.org/prsn_prd/prb_bsc.htm.