Well my friends, we have a wicked problem on our hands.
What is a wicked problem, you ask? “…wicked problems, in contrast to tame problems…have incomplete, changing and contradictory requirements. Solutions to wicked problems are often difficult to realize… because of complex interdependencies among a large number of contextually bound variables. Wicked problems, they argue, cannot be solved in a traditional linear fashion…” (Koehler & Mishra, 2008). In other words, these are problems that have no definite solution and no clear way of how it should be solved.
When solving a wicked problem, your goal is to find the ‘best bad solution.’
My fellow MAET students and I were challenged to work in groups to find the best bad solution to wicked problems posed by the New Media Consortium’s Horizon Report.
Michelle, Ashley, Nate and I were assigned the wicked problem: rethink what it means to teach, and reinvent everything about teaching. While it was a challenge, we were able to arrive at a solution through collaboration, patience, and by (of course) asking plenty of questions.
Starting with questions
We met weekly via Zoom
Before we could even consider solutions to this wicked problem, we knew that we needed to ask some questions (ok…a lot of questions). So, we followed author Warren Berger’s sequential inquiry process and asked ourselves WHY, WHAT IF, and finally HOW questions related to our wicked problem (2014, p. 175). By following this process, we were able to eventually narrow down our thinking and arrive at a possible solution.
In order for this inquiry process to be successful, we made sure to establish a feeling of trust and respect among all group members. As a group we knew we needed to ask ALL of our questions in order to eventually arrive at a solution, so we needed to “have a culture that engenders trust,” (Berger, 2014, p.80).
“We allow people to fall backwards and be caught by one another,”
(Berger, 2014, p.80)
Michelle, Ashley, Nate & I collaborated via an ongoing planning document using Google Docs.
Understanding the problem
Aside from questioning, it was critical for us to make sure we had a clear understanding of our problem and why it is considered ‘wicked.’ I personally find wicked problems to be very abstract and ‘hard to wrap your brain around,’ so this step was very important to me. By visualizing my thinking in the form of an infographic, I developed a more clear understanding of the problem and the direction we needed to take.
Created using Canva.
Seeking Answers
A final very important step in our process was to create a survey to be shared with the public. As our wicked problem involves many stakeholders (teachers, parents, students, administrators, community members), we felt it was vital for us to seek their opinion on questions related to the problem. So, we created and distributed a survey that was sent out via social media. After carefully analyzing the data, we were able to come up with our ‘best bad solution.’
Arriving at a solution
I’m sure my group members would agree- this was no easy problem to tackle. While I do feel that we did a great job getting into depth with our problem and finding a ‘best bad solution,’ there certainly were times where I felt unsure of what our solution would be.
That’s the trick with wicked problems, as I mentioned above. There really is no way to solve them. Even though we (as well as others, I’m sure) arrived at a solution, it is important to understand that this solution is only temporary. Just think about it: rethink teaching? That’s a HUGE idea. This is a conversation that has a numerous amount of factors that play a role as well as a numerous amount of individuals that should be involved in the conversation. You can wrestle with this problem all day long and still not find the perfect solution.
My take-away
Much like everything else that I’ve done throughout this MAET program, this problem was a challenge. However, I feel that I walk away from this wicked learning project with a truly valuable experience. Tackling a wicked problem, although not easy, pushes you to your limits intellectually.
No matter what problem I face or how wicked it may seem, I know I can always find the ‘best bad solution.’
Natalie D'Amico 