Building effective problem-solving skills
Problem-solving is a skill you can build and perfect, but it's also a skill of great value that will help you in all parts of your life. The skills you learn to solve problems are applicable to work, school, and at home. You'll have no trouble getting what you need or doing what needs to be done when you use the resolve these problems effectively. In fact, when your problem-solving skills are on point, life becomes less complicated and more manageable for everyone involved.
Here are a few tips and tricks for developing problem-solving skills and perfecting them down to a science:
Focus on being solution-oriented: The first thing you should know about problem solving is that its focus is on finding solutions to problems. This doesn't just mean that you're going to find the easiest way to make your life work, it also means you're going to use your superior problem solving skills in the future too. The more you practice these skills, the more likely they are to come naturally and be applied effectively when it's time to use them. Get really involved in solutions: In order for this strategy to work, you have to find a way into your problems. The best way to do this is to really put your mind into your problem, and try to get involved in it from the inside out. When you really start thinking about a problem, find some solutions that seem interesting, then use them as a basis for more questions. Once you feel like you have gone through all the possible solutions thoroughly, you need to look at each of them carefully so that it's not a matter of blind guessing or the use of retrograde logic. You might want to use something like Elimination Charts for this purpose. Make sure you are as thorough as you can be, and don't rush the process. This is where the problem solving really begins to pay off. Rehearse solutions: Once you have a solution or two for your problem, you need to test them out and see if they work. Do this by thinking about things in terms of what will happen if everything goes right, or what will happen if everything goes wrong. Now it's time to put these rehearsed plans into action, which is something you have probably already done when planning your solutions. But now that they're in motion it's important not to revise your solutions on the fly; be patient and stick with them until they play out the way you planned. This is also where the learning comes in, because one of the biggest challenges you face with problem solving is just getting over the fact that you can't exactly know before you try. Resist impulse: One of the biggest things to remember when it comes to problem solving is that impulse and intuition are often not your best buddies. This means that before you take some action with a plan, you want to think twice about it and verify that it's going to work. That way, if something goes wrong, you will have made an error in judgment instead of making a big mess of things right off the bat. Practice makes perfect: If there's one thing problem solving for this skill has taught me, it's that practice makes perfect. No major skill can be built up without a little bit of hard work. This means that you can't fall into the trap of thinking that you're good at problem solving because you have a natural talent for it; this is something that is learned over time, and the more time you spend on it, the better off your life will be.
Posted by Samantha A. Fowlkes at 7:00 AM No comments: Links to this post
Title: What are Reflection Questions? And why should I use them? [ARTICLE START] Reflection is a technique for improving your achievement in study and education. By working with reflection, you learn to pay attention to your own learning, as well as the learning of others. It is a way of thinking about your work that will also help you make decisions and solve problems. If you are new to reflection, try our starters below. Reflective starter: How does writing this paragraph feel? Think back on how you felt writing it, or even reading it now. What do you notice? If there had been more time, what would you have liked to do differently with this paragraph? Why?
Reflection starters are a way to help improve your thinking about something, which in turn helps your learning. You might like to reflect on the different things in life that affect how hard you think, such as talking to others or watching TV. Try these starters out and see how they can help you to keep learning!
Posted by Samantha A. Fowlkes at 7:00 AM No comments: Links to this post
Title: How to Take Care of a Finicky Eater [ARTICLE START] When your little one is dieting or training, they're going to want something specific. This is when you're going to have to step up and become the spy for the family that makes sure that everyone's eating what's needed at the right time. Dieting often forces us into eating more foods than we used to or liking foods we wouldn't normally eat. Suddenly everyone is getting dessert as soon as they get home, and having a little more protein means that you'll be asked to eat meat. When you're on a diet or training, you'll need to learn how to make sure that everyone is eating their food at the right time. There are a few strategies that can help you take care of your child's delicate stomachs: 1. List the foods! The first thing you want to do is figure out what your child should be eating and when they should be eating it. Most people have about three major meals, but this might not always work for an athlete who just wants something small all day long or for a picky eater who can't take more than four hours between meals. List the foods your child should eat at each of these times, and begin with breakfast. 2. Know when to eat! This is the most important thing. Your child will normally have their most successful diet when they are eating a large amount of food during one hour of the day. When they're able to get food in during this time, they're going to be more likely to maintain their weight and be happy with what they eat for their next meal. 3. Talk it out! It's not enough for you to tell your child what they need to do; you'll have to help them figure it out on their own too. If your child has a hard time figuring out what they need to be eating, give them the opportunity. If they seem to be getting it from something else, you may want to look into other foods that can help. 4. Use the bathroom! When your child is training or dieting, they're going to have a really strong desire to go check their weight again at least once an hour or so. It can help to remind them when they will do this and what foods are allowed for that hour. This will make sure they eat enough throughout the day without going back too often for more of their favorite foods. 5.
Conclusion It's not easy to help your little one stay on track for training or dieting. You have to make sure that they'll eat enough and that they'll get enough food in their system without getting sick or over eating. The best thing you can do is to find some foods that they like and help them build a schedule around those foods. When you're managing the diet, you'll also want to remember the bathroom rule: use it at least once an hour!
Posted by Samantha A.