Problem-Solvingor

“Problems Are Our Friends”

Mickey Hughes Christine Combs

Problems Are Our Friends

Why?

• Road to sustaining meaningful change

• Effective organizations embrace problems

• It is the difference between successful schools and non-successful schools

Fullan, 1993

Diversity and Conflict Are Our Friends

Why?

• When respected, associated with breakthroughs

• Part of being a learning organization

• Essential to forming relationships

• Encourages conversations, builds capacity

Fullan, 1999

SYST

EMS

PRACTICES

Information

DataSupportingStaff

Behavior

SupportingDecisionMaking

SupportingStudent Behavior

PositiveBehaviorSupport OUTCOMES

Social Competence,Academic Achievement, and Safety

Problem Solving

• A problem that needs addressed can burn up a lot of team time with little progress

• Team needs an agreed upon process for problem solving

• Many problem solving models available

• Basic steps are the same

“…it is dangerous and often counterproductive to put adults in a room without frameworks and tools for skilled interaction.”

The Adaptive SchoolGarmston & Wellman

Question to consider… Does your team use a process?

Benefits of problem solving in teams

• Team members can have innovative ideas based on their individual and collective skills and experience

• The total skills, experience and knowledge of the individuals in a team is greater than those of one individual

• One person’s thoughts and ideas expressed aloud can spark another person’s thoughts, resulting in a better spread of ideas

Benefits of problem solving in teams

• Solving a problem in a team gives a solution, or solutions which are taken on board by the team, rather than creating a feeling of ideas imposed by one individual

• Individuals have different ways of going about solving problems, leading to a good cross section of possible solutions

Skills for Solving Problems

Team members need to be:

• Able to listen to others

• Able to express a point of view

• Able to give and receive feedback

• Able to understand and use the problem solving process

Skills for Solving Problems

Team members need to be:

• Able to think creatively

• Able to support and encourage other team members

• Able to respect other points of view

• Able to reach a consensus

7 Norms of Collaborative Work

• Pausing• Paraphrasing• Probing• Putting forward ideas• Paying attention to self and others• Presuming positive presuppositions• Pursuing a balance between advocacy

and inquiryLipton & Wellman

7 Norms of Collaborative Work

1. Pausing (wait time)– after a question is asked

– after someone speaks

– after being asked a question -personal reflection time - a person waits before answering

– collective pause

7 Norms of Collaborative Work

2. Paraphrasing (a restatement of a text, passage, or work giving the meaning in another form)– group becomes clearer and more

cohesive about their work– reflects content back to the

speaker for further consideration– connects the response to the flow

of discourse emerging within the group

7 Norms of Collaborative Work

3. Probing for Specificity– seek to clarify something not yet

understood

– people make different assumptions about meaning of words and concepts

7 Norms of Collaborative Work

4. Putting Ideas on the Table– ideas are the heart of group work

– ideas are the heart of meaningful discussion

– to be effective they must be released to the group

– reconsidering ideas

7 Norms of Collaborative Work

5. Paying Attention to Self and Others– Skilled group members are aware

of • what they are saying• how they are saying it• how others are receiving and

responding to their ideas

7 Norms of Collaborative Work

6. Presuming Positive Presuppositions (Intentions)– encourages honest conversations

about important matters– reduces the possibility of the listener

perceiving threats or challenges in a paraphrase or question

7 Norms of Collaborative Work

7. Pursue a Balance Between Advocacy and Inquiry– spend equal amounts of time and

energy advocating for one’s own ideas and inquiring into the ideas of others

– advocacy: Make your thinking and reasoning visible

– inquiry: Ask others to make their thinking visible

The Problem

50% of staff members are reinforcing students for

meeting the school-wide expectations using verbal

phrase

Step 1Define the problem

*******What does data tell

us?

Step 2Define the desired

outcome*******

What do you want instead?

Step 3Brainstorm

*******

No judgment or evaluation at this point

Step 4Prioritize/evaluate

*******Are solutions in

alignment with PBS principles ?

Step 5Decide on best

solution*******

Will this lead to the goal or outcome?

Step 6Make

implementation plan*******

Does it include actions/tasks, who is

responsible, & timelines?

Step 7Develop evaluation

plan*******

How will you know it is working?

How will results be shared?

If all else fails…