Facilitating a Problem-Solving Approach for Families
Step 1: Defining the problem with information
(Objective)
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What is the problem?
Who is affected? How?
What do they believe about the problem?
What is the impact?
What could happen if it is ignored?
What could happen if it is addressed?
What are the facts? What is believed? What is valued?
When, where, how, and who should join in the problemsolving process?
Step 2: Generating ideas (Reflective)
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Step 3: Evaluating ideas, choosing solutions
(Interpretive)
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What key factors must be considered?
What ideas “jump” to the top of the list?
How can ideas be combined to improve quality?
Are there any that can be eliminated as not feasible or
contraindicated by the research?
What has been ignored that should be reviewed?
Have any new ideas come up for consideration?
What looks like the best solution?
What might go wrong? What is the back-up plan?
What has been tried? What worked? What didn’t? Any
ideas why?
What evidence based practices, strategies or guidelines
have worked before?
What other ideas or hunches should be considered?
Suppose we couldn’t do it the way we always have, what
would we do?
What would other methods/models suggest?
How does it match cultural-, resource-, value-wise?
What could technology offer? Additional resources of
people, time, money?
Is the idea congruent with the NE theoretical principles?
Step 4: Developing and implementing the plan
(Decisional)
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What should be tried first?
What is an alternate plan?
Are resources (people and objects) available?
Who will do what? When? How?
What are the most important steps to prevent problems?
Who will monitor actions?
How will we know if it works?
The Communication and Early Childhood Research and Practice Center is a collaborative center within the College of Communication and Information,
School of Communication Science and Disorders at Florida State University