Week 3: You Can’t Get There From Here: Reasoning and Pathways

A traveler comes upon a farmer and asks him for directions to his destination. The farmer scratches his head and begins to give directions, but then stops, shakes his head, and begins again. After a few attempts the farmer says, “You can’t get there from here.”

Note: To begin this week, review the following media piece. For a citation of this media piece, refer to this week’s Learning Resources.
Accessible player –Downloads–Download Video w/CCDownload AudioDownload TranscriptCredit: Provided by- Laureate Marketing

Are there problems that cannot be solved? The homeless problem in Miami would seem to be a hopeless and insurmountable social problem. In Raymond Kayal’s Walden Social Change video, he states: “City streets paved in despair can be a pathway to hope.” Kayal is a board member of a community ministry that positively impacts Miami by providing a continuum of care to the homeless population. How does an individual begin to approach such a momentous issue?

Throughout the problem-solving process, the solution depends on the approach you take and the pathways you decide to follow. The type of reasoning you employ and the resources to which you have access will guide your problem-solving process, as well as assist you in forming a solution.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Evaluate problem-solving approaches to resource-related problems
• Analyze impact of resources on problem solving
• Analyze how reasoning relates to problem-solving processes
• Apply reasoning to problem-solving processes
• Analyze insights related to problem solving
• Identify social change issues

Discussion: Reasoning and Resources

Note: Please read the Introduction to all Discussions. Then proceed to participate in the required Discussion A, and your choice of Discussion B or C. There is also an 

Optional Open Forum

 you may participate in at any time.

Discussion Introduction (Applies to Discussions A, B, and C)

The mind has an amazing ability to notice and remember certain things and ignore or to forget others. This is known as cognitive inattention. It is similar to what happens when a magician focuses your attention in one area, so that you will miss, by inattention, what is slyly happening somewhere else. What influences which details we notice and remember and those that are ignored or forgotten?

What individuals choose to see and the type of reasoning they use can taint their observation and interpretations of the details and resources necessary for solving a problem. For instance, a child traumatized by someone wearing a red shirt might reason that all people wearing red shirts are violent and do bad things. In problem solving, this becomes a critical issue. A problem solver’s reasoning works in accord with the resources available. As you read and view this week’s Learning Resources, consider how an individual’s reasoning and the available resources can impact the problem-solving process.

Credit for graphic: Microsoft Corporation (Producer). MP900321217 [Photo of magician silhouette]. Retrieved October 2nd, 2013, from: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=magician&ex=1#ai:MP900321217|

Discussion A (Required for all students)

The study of organizations suggests that many problems arise when resources are scarce or access to those resources is limited. In other cases, the resources may be available, but may be too costly, for example, in time or money, to make solving the problem a wise choice. Finally, in some cases, a problem originally identified as a resource issue may actually be caused by something quite different.

Consider your personal, academic, and professional experience. Identify a situation in which a problem was identified as resulting from limited resources or a limited access to resources.

Then consider how the affected parties approached the resource-related problem and whether they were successful.

Explain a situation in which a personal, academic, or workplace problem was identified as resulting from limited resources or a limited access to resources. Then explain how the affected parties approached the resource-related problem and why you think they approached the problem in this manner. Finally, explain whether or not the approach was effective.

By Day 3

Post a minimum of 100 words to Discussion Question A.

Be sure to support your ideas by connecting them to at least one of this unit’s Learning Resources.

 Additionally, you may opt to include an academic resource you have identified or something you have read, heard, seen, or experienced.

By Day 5

Respond to the posts of at least two different colleagues. One must be a response to a colleague’s post about the question you did not select. Respond in one of the following ways:

• Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting.
• Expand on your colleague’s posting.

Discussion B (Select B or C)

Scenario:

Police officers arrive at a crime scene to investigate a robbery and shooting. The following four descriptions of the suspect are given by eyewitnesses (EW). These eyewitness descriptions are resources.

EW 1: He flashed about the store with the movement of a wolf, growling at people to get down on the floor.

EW 2: He was 6’2” tall with a scar over his eye, kind of like one that my uncle got in the first Gulf war from shrapnel.

EW 3: He drove away in a metallic gold 2004 Monte Carlo with double spinners on the wheels and no door handles—they had been filled in and painted over. The car was loud like there was no muffler on it. There was an emblem on the right-rear fender. He probably is a member of a gang.

EW 4: Given how many people are out of work in this section of town, he was probably laid off from one of the local garages since he wore a grease-stained, red-hooded sweatshirt.

Select two of the descriptions above to address in the Discussion.

Write a brief analysis of the impact these two descriptions have on the police officer’s problem-solving process.

By Day 3

Post a minimum of 100 words to your choice of Discussion Question B.

Be sure to support your ideas by connecting them to at least one of this unit’s Learning Resources. 

Additionally, you may optto include an academic resource you have identified or something you have read, heard, seen, or experienced.

By Day 5

Respond to the posts of at least two different colleagues. One must be a response to a colleague’s post about the question you did not select. Respond in the one of the following ways:

Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting.
Expand on your colleague’s posting.

Discussion C (Select B or C)

When a problem occurs, it is unlikely that you will always have complete information, adequate time, or sufficient resources to fully analyze the situation. It is also unlikely that you will always be able to consider all the possible solutions and evaluate their potential impact on a situation before you need to attempt a solution.

View one of the following movies and identify a decision a character(s) had to make before all the facts were in.

The King’s Speech (R rating)

Zero Dark Thirty (R rating)

I, Robot (PG-13 rating)

In the movie that you selected to watch for this Discussion question, identify a decision that had to be made before all the facts were in. Write a brief analysis of the impact these insufficient resources had on the problem-solving process in the movie scenario.

By Day 3

Post a minimum of 100 words to your choice of Discussion Question C.

Be sure to support your ideas by connecting them to at least one of this unit’s Learning Resources.
Additionally, you may optto include an academic resource you have identified or something you have read, heard, seen, or experienced.
By Day 5
Respond to the posts of at least two different colleagues. One must be a response to a colleague’s post about the question you did not select. Respond in the one of the following ways:
Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting.
Expand on your colleague’s posting.
Optional Open Forum

Add anything that is interesting or notable based on your study of problem solving in this week’s resources, other resources, or your problem-solving experiences.

Submission and Grading Information

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:
Week 3 Discussion Rubric

Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 5

To participate in this Discussion:
Week 3 Discussion A
To participate in this Discussion:
Week 3 Discussion B
To participate in this Discussion:
Week 3 Discussion C
Optional Open Forum
To participate in this Discussion:
Open Forum