Wicked Problem Group Planning Document

PROBLEM OVERVIEW

PROBLEM

Keepingeducationrelevant

MEMBERS

Shari,Mary,andJohn

PROBLEM SUMMARY
Relevanceineducationdependsontheviewpointoftheindividualandthetopicbeing
discussed.Weasagroupallhavedifferentopinionsabouttheissuesintodayseducation
system.Thisissuchanimportantproblembecauseitrelatestopreparingstudentsforthe
realworld.
Intodaysworldeducationneedstoberelevantasitpertainstoworkforcedevelopmentand
technologyupdates.Thereneedstobeafocusonincorporatingtechnologyandhandson
experiencesintoeducationtobetterpreparestudents(i.e.makinglearningrelevant).
Ifeducationdoesntstay(orisnt)relevant,thenwhatsourpurposeasteachers?

UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM :

(1) Brainstorm Questions
(asynchronous)
UsetheQuestionFormulationTechnique(citation)tojumpstartyourthinkingwithregardto
yourWickedProblem.YouwillengageinQFTasynchronously,meaningthateachgroup
membershouldaddatleast15questions,(andshootforatotalof50)ontheirown,sometime
beforeyourgroupmeetingisscheduled.
ThesewillmostlybeWHYquestionsatthispoint.

1.Writedown(orrecord)asmanyquestionsasyoucanaboutyourWickedProblem,
shootforatleast15perperson.DONOTASKABOUTSOLUTIONSfocusonthe
problemandwhatyouneedtoknowtotrulyunderstanditswickedness.

2.Don'tstoptojudge,discuss,oransweranyquestion.

3.Ifyounoticeanystatementshaveemerged,changethemintoquestions.

4.Onceyouhavebrainstormed,lookbackthroughandseeifthereareanyofyourown
questionsyouwanttoreviseandimprove.

QUESTIONS TO HELP US UNDERSTAND OUR PROBLEM

1. Whatmakesthisproblemsowicked?
2. Howlonghasthisbeeninquestion?
3. WhyisthisconsideredaWickedProblem?
4. Whyisitimportanttokeepeducationrelevant?
5. WhyhaventIheardalotaboutthisproblem?
6. Whyisthisimportantforteacherstoknowabout?
7. Whydopolicymakersneedtoknowaboutit?
8. Whyisthissuchanimportantissue?
9. Whatisthedefinitionofrelevant?
10. Whydosomethinkeducationisntrelevant?
11. Whydoothersthinkeducationisrelevant?
12.
Whataspectsofeducationdoteachersfeelneedtostayrelevant?
13.
Whataspectsofeducationdoadministratorsfeelneedtostayrelevant?
14. Howcanweasteacherskeepeducationrelevant?
15. Whatcantheschoolboarddokeepeducationrelevant?
16. Howcanweexpresstheimportanceofkeepingeducationrelevant?
17. Whyiseducationnotrelevantrightnow?
18. Whyisitthatway?
19. Whyisitimportanttokeepeducationrelevant?
20. Whatdoesitmeantoberelevant?
21. Whydopolicymakersrulehowteachersteach?
22. Whydontteachershaveasay?
23. Whydosometeacherfearchange?
24. Whydosomestudentsfearchange?
25. Whydoschoolenvironmentsnotmodelworkenvironments?
26. Whyisitimportanttoalwayshaveacorrectorrightanswer?
27. Whyisfailureviewednegativelyinschools?
28. Whydowegiveeverythingagrade?
29. Whyaregradesimportant?
30. WhyareAsperceivedasbeingsuccessful?
31. Whatissuccessfulinaneducationalsetting?
32. Whyisthereagapbetweeneducatorsandpolicymakersonwhethereducationis
relevant?
33. Istechnologyrelevant?
34. Whatarerelevantusesfortechnology?
35. Iseducationrelevanttoworkforcedevelopment?
36. Iseducationalhandsonexperiencesworththetime?
37. Whydontstudentschoosemorerelevantclassoptions?
38. WhatisthecosttodistrictsandISDstostayuptodate?
39. Whathastochangetoberelevantintherealworld?
40. Isrelevanceandchangethesamething?
41. Whodecideswhethereducationisrelevantornot?

(2) Group Discussion - Circle of Viewpoints

(synchronous)

HostavirtualvideomeetingusingZoom.Letyourinstructorsknowthetime/dateandwewill
createalinkforyoutoaccess.Youhavetwoimportanttasksduringthismeeting

1. Prioritize35questionsrelatedtoyourWickedProblemfromyourBrainstormed
Questionsabove.

Wheredoyourquestionsintersect?Wheredotheydiverge?What
aremostcentral/criticaltoyourunderstanding?
Notethesebyhighlightingorboldingin
thebrainstormsectionabove.

2. UsetheCircleofViewpointsVisibleThinkingRoutinetodiscussyourproblem
frommultipleperspectives.
Thisprotocolmayseemoverlystructured,butisisa
helpfultoolforconsideringperspectives,andnotjumpingtowardssolutionstoosoon.

Brainstormalistofdifferentperspectives
(parent,administrator,policymaker,student,
innovativeeducator,stubborneducator,homeschoolparent,etc.)
andthenusethisscript
skeletontoexploreeachone.Goroundrobinandsticktothescriptuntileveryonehashada
chancetorespond,thenyoucanopenthediscussion.

1. Iamthinkingof
...thetopic...
Fromthepointofviewof
...theviewpointyou've
chosen
2. Ithink
...describethetopicfromyourviewpoint.Beanactortakeonthecharacterof
yourviewpoint
3. AquestionIhavefromthisviewpointis
...askaquestionfromthisviewpoint

MEMBER NAME

ROLE FOR DISCUSSION

Shari

Administrator

John

Employer

Mary

Stubbornteacher

Wrapup:
Aftereachrolehassharedtheirperspective,discuss:Whatnewideasdoyouhave
aboutthetopicthatyoudidn'thavebefore?Whatnewquestionsdoyouhave?

Newerideas:
Whodoesntthinkeducationisrelevant?Manyemployersfeelstudentsshould
havebetterbaseknowledgewithinanareabeforeenteringtheworkforce.Whyarentmore
employersworkingwithschoolstokeepeducationrelevant?Whatisthecostinkeeping
educationrelevant?ArerelevantissuesthesameacrossMichigan?Acrossthecountry?Why
shouldIlearnthenewtechnology?Itsjustgoingtochangenextyear.WhyshouldIchange?
WhatIvebeendoinghasbeenworkingforyears.Whatsthelifespanofthistechnology?How
longwillitberelevant?

GROUP MEETING REFLECTIONS

Asagroupweagreethatthereissomeambiguitywhenitcometodefiningrelevance
Throughourcircleofviewpointswewereabletoaddquestionsaboutkeeping
learningrelevant
Wewereabletoseetheimportanceofthisissuethroughoutalllevelsofeducation.
Withsomanydifferenteducationalrelevanceoptionstochoosefrom,howdoyou
decidewhichtotacklefirst.
Weallhaddifferentperspectivesbasedonthegradeandsubjectweteach.Thisledto
adiscussiononwhatiscurrentlyrelevantaswebranchedoutintodevelopingmore
questions.

GATHERING RESEARCH & INFORMATION

Usethissectiontoshareandsummarizeresearchfindingsrelatedtoyourproblem.

JohnsResearch
Helpingstudentsfindrelevance
TheauthorRobinRobersondiscusseshowteachersneedtoshowstudentstherelevanceof
theirsubjectmatter.Thiscanbedonetwodifferentways,oneisutilityvaluewhichanswersthe
questionYeah,butwhatamIgonnausethisfor?.Utilityvalueshowsstudentstheimportance
thatcontenthasontheirfuturegoals.Thesecondisrelatedness,thisanswersthequestion
Whatsthishavetodowithme?.Relatednessistheneedforstudentstofeelclosetothe
significantpeopleintheirlives,liketeachers.Whenteacherscanshowstudentstherelevance
ofasubject,thiscausesthemtoengageinsideandoutofclass.

DigitalContent:MakingLearningRelevant
Thisarticletalksabouthowdigitaltextbooksandcontentinformationallowforflexibilityin
budgeting,curriculum,andteachingmethods.Byremovingtextbooksfromtheschoolsteachers
areforcedtolookathowtobestteachthecontentandnotjustfollowthebook.Digitalcontent
canofferbudgetflexibilitybyschooldistrictsnothavingtopurchasetextbookseveryfewyears.
Thatallowsthemtousethattowardstechnologygradesthroughtheschool.Theadvantageto
digitalcontentistohelpdifferentiatelessons,assignments,andassessmentsatalowercost.

MarysResearch
WhichRoadtoRelevantEducation?
ThisarticleisbasedonChinaseducationalsystemandquestions,Shouldruralstudentsbe
taughtskillsrelevanttotheirpresentorfuture?Thearticleexploresonetownwithtwodifferent
educationalapproachesvocationaleducationandgeneraleducation.Theauthordiscusses

howbotheducationalmethodshavetheirownuniquerolesandsupplementeachother.
Lo,L.N.K.,&Lee,C.(1996).Whichroadtorelevanteducation?EducationalLeadership,53(8),
60.Retrievedfrom
http://ezproxy.msu.edu.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.cl.msu.e
du/docview/224839852?accountid=12598

TheRealityBasedLearningMethod:ASimpleMethodforKeepingTeachingActivitiesRelevant
andEffective.
Thisarticlehighlightsthefourkeycomponentsintherealitybasedlearningframework(Student
learning,enlargingstudentexperience,transferabilityofexperience,andcoresponsibility).The
authordiscussesthebenefitsofthislearningmethodthatincludetransferabilityofknowledge,
skills,andmovingpasttheconfinesoftheclassroomthroughinteractionsintherealworld.On
page6thereisagreatquestionandanswerdialogrelatedtoconcernsaboutthispractice.
Smith,L.W.,&VanDoren,D.,C.(2004).Therealitybasedlearningmethod:Asimplemethod
forkeepingteachingactivitiesrelevantandeffective.JournalofMarketingEducation,26(1),
6674.Retrievedfrom
http://ezproxy.msu.edu.proxy2.cl.msu.edu.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.co
m.proxy2.cl.msu.edu.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/docview/204451767?accountid=12598

TheFastpacediPadRevolution:CanEducatorsStayUptoDateandRelevantAboutThese
UbiquitousDevices?
Thisshortarticlediscusseswhetherthetrendofincorporatingtechnologyineducationishelpful.
Itmentionshowsomeeducatorsjustjumpingonthetechnologybandwagonandthe
technologyisnotimprovinglearning.Finally,itdiscussesthatresearchneedstobedonetoask
studentswhattypesoftechnology(tools,websites,apps,etc.)theylikeandifthestudentsare
learningfromit.
Peluso,D.d.(2012).ThefastpacediPadrevolution:Caneducatorsstayuptodateand
relevantabouttheseubiquitousdevices?.BritishJournalOfEducationalTechnology,43(4),
E125E127.Retrievedfrom
http://za2uf4ps7f.search.serialssolutions.com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/?ctx_ver=Z39.882004&ctx_en
c=info:ofi/enc:UTF8&rfr_id=info:sid/ProQ%3Aeric&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.ge
nre=article&rft.jtitle=British+Journal+of+Educational+Technology&rft.atitle=The+FastPaced+iPa
d+Revolution%3A+Can+Educators+Stay+up+to+Date+and+Relevant+about+These+Ubiquitous
+Devices%3F&rft.au=Peluso%2C+Deanna+C.&rft.aulast=Peluso&rft.aufirst=Deanna&rft.date=2
0120701&rft.volume=43&rft.issue=4&rft.spage=E125&rft.isbn=&rft.btitle=&rft.title=British+Jour
nal+of+Educational+Technology&rft.issn=00071013&rft_id=info:doi/
SharisResearch

TechnologyinEducation:Fromelectronictutortoacognitivetool
Thisarticleisfromwinter1996,soitisalittledatedbutIfoundittobeveryrelevant.Itgoes
overtheideathattechnologyisnecessarybutcanbeusedunsuccessfully.Weaseducators
needtousetechnologyasacognitivetool.Technologyintheclassroomcanhelpstudents
analyzetheworldandprovidesaccesstounlimitedinformation.Sincethisarticlewaswritten

20yearsago,itismainlyaboutusingcomputersintheclassroombutstillfocusesonthe
importanceofusingtechnologyinawaywithbettereducation.Interestingthatthesameissues
thatwereevidentthenarestillevidenttoday.
http://eric.ed.gov.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/?q=technology+in+teacher+education%3a+from+electronic
+tutor+to+cognitive+tool&id=EJ523888

BuildingStudentsSecondarySTEMSkillsThroughRelevantandInnovativeTechnology
Thisarticlewasaboutusingtechnologytoincreaseunderstandinginamathsetting.Itbrings
uptheideaofaBringYourOwnDevice(BYOD)classroom.Moststudentsalreadybring
devicestoschoolsowhynotusetheminyourclassroom?Onespecificexampleofhowthis
particularclassroomusedBYODiswithastrugglingstudent.Theteachergavetheclassa
problemtosolveandonegirlusedherphonetolookupapossibleequationtouseandwas
abletoresearchenoughinformationtosolvetheproblemwithoutevenhavingtoaskforhelp.I
likedthisarticlebecauseIwonderedhowSTEMfitintothiswickedproblem.Ifeellikeitstarted
asaproposedsolutiontokeepingeducationrelevant.
http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/printviewfile?accountid=12598

Additioninfo:HorizonReportpages3234
http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2016nmchorizonreportheEN.pdf
http://www.deakin.edu.au/library/teach/digitalliteracy/elementsofdigitalliteracy

PROPOSING POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

ONLYNOWSHOULDYOUSTARTTHINKINGABOUTSOLUTIONS.

BeginaddingWHATIF?questionstoyourplanningdocument.Thesearepossibilities,butstill
notsolutions.Then,prioritize.Arethereanythathelpmoveyourthinkingforward?Helpyou
answeryourcentral"Why"questions?Whichonesleadyoutowardsthebestbadsolution?

QUESTIONS TO HELP US UNDERSTAND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

1. Whatifwetookabusinessstyleapproachtoaddresskeepingeducationrelevant?
2. Whatifwelookedintohowotherindustries(health,business,marketing)stay
relevant?
3. Whatiftherewasatechnologycourserequiredtorenewyourteachingcertificate?(I
amthinkingaboutsomethingsimilartothereadingcoursethatallteachersare
requiredtotaketorenewcertificate)
4. WhatifteacherswererequiredtotakeacourseortraininginTPACK?
5. Whatifteachershadaworkforcedevelopmentcourse?
6. Whatiftherewasamonthlytrainingtoeducateteachersinnewtechnology?

Chooseone(or2)ofyourwhatifquestionsandbeginaskingHow?Howwouldyouimplement
oneormoreofthepossibilitiestomakeitreal?

QUESTIONS TO HELP US DEVELOP SOLUTIONS

1.
2.
3.
4.

Howcouldschoolshostmonthlytrainingabouttechnology?
HowwillTPACKsupportrelevantteaching?
Howcantheclassroomsettingmirrortheworkforceenvironment?
Howdootherindustriesstayrelevant?

SHARING OUR SOLUTIONS

UsethissectiontoshareideasandcollaborativelyplanyourMultimodalpresentation.

AreasofFocusforSolutions:Connectingeducationtoworkforce,providesupportforteachers
tointegratetechnology

Generaldefinition/questionsMary
IncludeoursurveyresultsShari
PossiblesolutionsJohn

Morethingstoconsiderduetothewickednessofthisproblem:
Clarifyingcurrentpolicyrelatedtocurriculumand
Proposechangestocurrentpolicytopromoterelevanceineducationandrelatedto
workforce
Administrationsupportforprograming
Proposeprogramingthatsupportsvocationaleducation,training,andopportunitiesfor
individualstoearnabachelor'sandmaster'sdegreesthroughonthejobtraining
Funding:)