This document provides guidance on analyzing problems by focusing on identifying the underlying causes rather than symptoms. It advises gathering additional information from affected parties and past experiences. Collecting facts and opinions from others can help uncover root causes. The key steps are to: 1) Define the problem clearly; 2) Analyze causes rather than effects; 3) Gather more data through research and discussions if needed; and 4) Revise the problem statement based on all available information to identify the root causes. Strategies suggested include letting the problem "simmer" while pondering, identifying knowledge gaps, and consulting others who dealt with similar issues.

1. Think about
the Problem
Problem Solving Module
Session 3

2. Step #2: Think about it
• Once the problem is defined, it should be analyzed to see
what is the real cause
“Analyze” means to examine something
carefully or to divide something into its parts.

3. • Don’t get caught up in symptoms or
effects of a problem or issue or you will
have trouble finding the real cause
• Emotions may come into play and often
people will get angry at attitude, anger,
or actions, which are not the cause of
the problem
• The key is to focus on analyzing the
problem for the real or underlying cause

4. • Analyzing a problem may require additional information
to be gathered
• If there is not enough information, you need to do some
research
• Focus on facts
• Use the information gathered to really look at or analyze
what is going on
• If you are working with other people to solve a problem
try to come to an agreement on what the particular
problem or issue is

5. Look at the causes
• It's amazing how much you don't know about what
you don't know. Therefore, it's important to talk to
other people who know about the problem and who
are affected by it.

6. Look at the causes
• It's often useful to collect input from other people
one at a time. Otherwise, people tend to be inhibited
about offering their impressions of the real causes of
problems.

7. Look at the causes
• Write down what your opinions are and what you've
heard from others.

8. Look at the causes
• Use the information you have gathered to write
down a description of the cause of the problem and
in terms of what is happening, where, when, how,
with whom and why.

9. Strategies
“Let it simmer” –ponder the problem and the
information you have collected
• Identify potential causes of the problem

10. Strategies
Identify specific pieces of knowledge- what do you
already know?
• Have you encountered this type of problem before?
• If so, what did you do then to address it? Were you
successful in solving the problem? What did you do right?
What did you do wrong?

11. Strategies
Identify specific pieces of knowledge- what do you
already know?
• Do you know anyone who has had this problem
before?
• If so, talk with that person (or people) and get some
advice on how to handle the problem.

12. Knowing what you
know from past
experiences, and
information from others,
what can you do to help
you solve the problem at
hand?

13. Strategies
Revise your problem statement based on all the
information you have
• Revisit your original statement and revise it if
necessary
• Identify root causes of the problem
• Collect additional data if needed to verify root causes

14. Build Your Skills
• Understanding the difference between fact and
opinion, good communication skills and persuasive
writing skills support your ability to identify and
think about problems.
• In the activities that follow, you will be building skills
that will help you think critically about solving
problems.

15. Fact v. Opinion
A fact is something that you know is true.
An opinion is what you think about something or a
belief.
The Internet makes it easy to share information today.
But not everything you read on the Internet is factual.
Can you think of some examples?

16. • Snopes.com is a website where you can look up
urban legends, internet rumours, suspicious email
forwards and stories that you think might not be true
to see whether or not they are true
• Also called the Urban Legends Reference Pages

17. Activity: Fact or
Opinion

18. Activity: Problem-Posing
Dialogue

19. Letter to the Editor
• A letter written about a concern or issue you have
• Most commonly sent to newspapers
Have you ever read the letter to the editor in your local
newspaper?
• Have you ever written a letter to the editor?

20. Common reasons to write a letter to
the editor:
• To oppose or support an article that has been written
• Comment on a current issue
• Remark on stories that have appeared in previous
issues
• Correct something that has been misrepresented

21. Activity: Letter to the Editor

22. Practice
• John was told by his boss four weeks ago
that he would have to do a big presentation
at work. The presentation needed to be
prepared in addition to a number of regular
daily tasks. He focused on his daily tasks
and did a good job completing them but the
presentation kept "slipping" his mind. On
the night before the due date of the
presentation, he realized that he had at least
8-10 hours' worth of work left to do on the
presentation. This wasn't the first time he
had procrastinated on a major work
assignment and left it until the last minute.
Last year he received a note on his personal
file for a similar situation.
• Think about the
problem.
• What do you already
know?
• What are the causes?

23. Credits
This Power Point was created by Laubach Literacy Ontario.
The resources can be downloaded free of charge at www.laubach-on.ca.
This Employment Ontario project was funded by the Ontario Government. 2015
All website links were accurate at the time of original distribution-March 2015.
All of the images and clip art used in this Power Point are from Clipart.com and
Microsoft Office.com.