Course Syllabus – Creative Problem Solving and Decision Making
SELF PACED MOOC - 2015
Structure of the course
This course consists of five steps, which all have the same structure. We start each step by introducing
a new technique and discussing its application in a video. The video refers to some part of the book
you can study, if you decided to purchase the book. Reading these chapters is recommended, but not
required. You can find the first two chapters of the book on edX for free. After having watched the
video and possibly having read the book, you can discuss your questions about the video or the book
content in the discussion forum.
After this, you can test yourself by answering a few Multiple Choice questions. If you make mistakes,
no worries, you will get feedback and these questions do not count for your grading. By testing your
knowledge this way you learn the course better.
You then learn to master the techniques by applying them on a case. Either your own case, or one of
the five cases we provided to you in the ‘getting started’ tab. We invite you to discuss the questions
that arise while working on the assignment and your result of the assignment on the discussion forum
or on Facebook.
The last thing you have to do to complete a step, is making the Homework Multiple Choice test. Each
test consist of around 8-10 Multiple Choice questions to measure your pace in the course. These
Multiple Choice questions eventually determine your result.
Grading
The grading of this MOOC is totally based on the Multiple Choice questions you answer at the end of
each step; the ‘homework’ test; there is no such thing as a final exam. Note that the Multiple Choice
practice questions after every video do not count for a grade. The percentage cutoff for passing for
this course is 60%, that means, in order to receive a certificate, you need to score at least 60% for your
total grade. Each homework multiple choice test accounts for 20% of your total grade.
We really do think you learn this course by doing. Applying the techniques is the only way for you to
get more grip on your own problem situation. If you don’t have your own case, then apply the
techniques on one of the five cases we provided you in the ‘getting started’ folder. Nice thing about
these cases is, that there is a real problem owner that asks you for your help. There are also a lot of
people worldwide working on these cases, so you have many opportunities to collaborate or ask for
advice.
Role of discussion fora and facebook – importance of working together
Working together makes this course all the more easy and all the more fun. Since this course is selfpaced, everybody will be working on different steps of the course at the same time. It is up to you to
find people to share your learning experience with. You can discuss the analytical techniques, your
questions and casework et cetera on edX. Our experience from earlier MOOCs is that most of these
collaborations arise from the users who participate actively in the discussion forum and facebook. So
make sure you make contact with others! Either in the virtual world worldwide, or find people that live
or work close to where you live or work and meet each other to work together!