The Mother Bright Bird suffered brain damage and lost her nest-building instinct. Through research and problem-solving steps, she studied other birds' nests and incorporated ideas to design her own nest. She combined aspects of crows' nests in trees, swallows' sturdy mud nests, and weavers' soft woven nests. Her nest provided shelter and safety for raising her chicks, allowing many more pairs of Bright Birds to thrive in the forest.

1. The Bright Bird
A Problem-Solving Allegory
Created by Brian Armour
of Redlands College

2. The Bright Birds
Years ago, a pair of Bright
Birds lived in the forest.
You can see why they
were called „Bright Birds‟.
People came from afar
just to catch a glimpse of
them and tell the tale to
their friends and family.

3. The Mother Bird’s Problem
Sadly, the Mother Bright
Bird crashed into a tree
while hunting, and suffered
brain damage.
She lost the instinct for
making nests, and that’s a
problem for a bird.

4. But The Good News is …
Luckily, the news was
not all bad. She could
now think logically -
like a human being.
So, in Spring, when it
came time to make a
nest, she decided to do
some research to solve
her problem.

5. Step 1 : Defining
Mother Bright Safe
Bird thought
deeply about the
problem. Strong
NEST
Little by little, she Shelte
r-ed
worked out what
a nest should be
for her family. Snug a healthy brood of chicks

6. Step 1 : Defining
She now knew what she
needed in a nest. The next
question was: “How do
you design a nest to satisfy
the needs?”
Her answer was, “Why not
go and see how the other
birds build their nests?”

7. Step 2 : Locating
Mother Bright Bird studied
the crow‟s nest. She noted
the strong sticks placed high
in a tree, away from
ground-based predators.
“That keeps the nest safe,
but how can the untidy
bundle of sticks withstand
strong winds?”

8. Step 2 : Locating
She liked the swallow‟s nest.
Made of mud, it was firm and
solid.
“The nest is strong,” she
thought, “but the mud will
dissolve if heavy rain falls on
it.”

9. Step 2 : Locating
She was impressed with
the nest of the busy weaver
bird. It was cleverly woven
with stalks of grass and
animal hair.
“The nest looks soft and
comfy, yet tough,” she
commented.

10. Step 3 : Selecting
In all, Mother Bright
☐ High, away from predators
Bird inspected 10 ☐ Strong sticks
types of birds‟ nests, ☐ Needs careful construction
but she chose to use
the ideas she got ☐ Firm mud
☐ Needs shelter
from the nests of
the crow, ☐ Soft and comfy
the swallow and ☐ Strongly woven
the weaver. ☐ Attached to branch

11. Step 4 : Organising
Mother Bright Bird
borrowed ideas from Sheltering Foliage
the 3 different types of
birds, and added her
own ideas to make Woven Woven grass
lining
to branch Mud holds
the finished product: sticks
together
High Branch

12. Step 5 : Presenting
To show others that
she had borrowed
some ideas, Mother
Bright Bird added
feathers from
the crow,
the swallow and
the weaver
to the nest.

13. Step 6 : Evaluating
Finally, the nest was
complete. Mother
Bright Bird couldn‟t
wait to try it out.
She snuggled deep
into its soft lining and
felt safe and cosy -
just what her chicks
would need.

14. Step 6 : Evaluating
She felt very satisfied
with the nest and was
proud of the thoughtful
way she had gone about
designing and making it.
She announced to her
mate that all was ready
for their family to be laid
and raised.

15. Mission Accomplished!
Now, there are many
pairs of Bright Birds
in the forest.
It would not be possible
if the first Mother Bright
Bird was not such a good
problem solver. With her
nest, she had bred and
raise many healthy chicks.

16. Mother Bright Bird’s Research
1. Defining
2. Locating
3. Selecting
4. Organising
5. Presenting
6. Evaluating

17. A story created by Brian Armour of Redlands College.
The Big6 by Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz.
The clipart by Corel.
The End
The Bright Bird
A Problem-Solving Allegory