Solving Personal Problems with the Five-Step Model
Enter your name here:
Ashley Johnson
List the five steps in the model for problem solving from Ch. 3 of Critical Thinking in the first column below.
Write a brief description of each in your own words in the middle column.
In the third column, select a personal problem in your life and apply the five-step model to solve it; this should be a problem you’re currently experiencing, not one that you’ve already solved. Write in complete sentences and short paragraphs.
Cite any sources you use and enter the full reference for them on the reference page below.
Step
Description
Application
Step 1: What is the problem
The problem that I was facing was stay working full time during the day or stay at home with my two toddlers.
Step 2: What are the alternatives
My alternatives are being a full time mom at home or work just to pay for daycare.
Step 3: What are the advantages or disadvantages of each alternative
The advantages of being a stay at home mom is being with my toddlers all day and watching them grow. The disadvantages of working full time is to be working just to pay for daycare for my two children.
Step 4: What is the solution
The solution that my husband and I both agreed upon was for me to stay at home with our children and only work 15 to 20 hours a week.
Step 5: How well is the solution working
Being a stay at home mom and only working 15 hours a week is actually working out very well. I love being an at home mom full time. I love seeing my children every day all day long I would not change it for the world.
Write a 100+ word paragraph characterizing yourself as either a Problem Creator, Problem Experiencer, Problem Solver or a Problem Eliminator – and explain why you chose that category.
Refer ‘to Ridel’s (2015) definitions from page 141 of his text Critical Thinking in Everyday Life:
Problem Creators – people who create their own problems and don’t make...