Performance Improvement • Volume 44 • Number 9 45

BOOK REVIEW

At the core of our professional mission is solving problems. Whether we use theterm “problem,” “opportunity,” “challenge,” or another euphemism, we arefocused on figuring out how to change behaviors or a state of being, given a cer-tain set of existing or impending conditions.

In addition to our overt problem-solving goals as performance improvement pro-fessionals, we solve problems constantly during our personal and professionallives. Considering the ever-present requirement of solving problems (both bigand small, simple and complex), it is interesting that most of us cannot articulatethe very specific steps we use to solve problems or the methods we use to teachother people to solve problems.

Fortunately, people like David Jonassen have spent years researching problemsolving. Jonassen’s Learning to Solve Problems is a detailed, thought-provokingwork that will both challenge and enlighten readers. Situated within the domainof instructional design, Jonassen’s effort is focused on providing guidance forteaching people how to solve problems. This is of twofold importance for theperformance improvement community.

First, the book helps fill a hole in the instructional design literature. What are thebest methods to use when teaching people how to become better problemsolvers? Second, anyone who teaches or mentors performance improvement spe-cialists is teaching those people how to be problem solvers in their daily profes-sional endeavors. This second point is directly tied to the first, but for thosereaders who do not consider themselves instructional designers (the primaryintended audience of Jonassen’s book), there is still value in reading this bookbecause of the problem-solving framework it provides. Even if you are not devel-oping formal instruction with, for example, the goal of teaching learners how tosolve story problems, you can still glean many useful guidelines and strategiesfrom Learning to Solve Problems.

Speaking of Story Problems…

How can any of us forget our first experience in grade school learning how tosolve story problems? You know, “If the train left the station at noon, traveling60 miles per hour toward New York City….” For some people, solving theseproblems is a snap, but for many, the paragraph of words interspersed with num-bers causes the immediate formation of a mental brick wall. If we look carefullyat Jonassen’s work, we can begin to understand why some people seem proficientat solving such story problems and others less so. But this is not the appropriateplace to start. In fact, Jonassen contends that we first must realize that problemscome in many different kinds and vary in several ways.

Learning to Solve Problemsby David H. Jonassenreviewed by Erika R. Gilmore, CPT

46 www.ispi.org • OCTOBER 2005

Because not all problems are alike, Jonassen has developeda classification scheme to help us first understand the dif-ferent forms problems take. It is then—after we understandthe basic structure of problems—that we can delve into thetopic of how to teach people to solve the different problemsthey face.

Jonassen has identified 11 kinds of problems. Some usefamiliar terms, while the definition of others may be lessobvious. It is beyond the scope of this review to detail thecharacteristics of each problem type, but Jonassen’s bookprovides a careful treatment of each, enabling readers tounderstand why each deserves its own mention, and thusdifferent instructional design approaches.

Kinds of Problems • Logical problem• Algorithm• Story problem• Rule-using problem• Decision making• Trouble-shooting• Diagnosis-solution• Strategic performance• Case analysis• Designs• Dilemmas

Prior to listing the 11 kinds of problems, Jonassen sets thestage by explaining that problems vary in four ways. He pro-vides convincing justifications and examples to make hispoints. The dimensions on which problems vary are:• Structuredness• Complexity• Dynamicity• Domain specificity or abstractness

After accounting for how problems vary and naming 11kinds of problems in the first chapter, Jonassen launchesinto specific guidance for people who aim to provideinstruction in problem solving. Even if you stopped readingafter Chapter 1, you would have a better understanding ofwhy some people seem to be better at solving story prob-lems than others, or why some people seem to be able totroubleshoot complex systems quickly and successfully. Justthis insight alone can affect your understanding of how peo-ple learn and approach problems—two key factors that canfacilitate performance improvement.

Structure of the Book

Jonassen presents the conceptual foundation and practicaladvice for teaching how to solve problems in eight chapters.He effectively mixes cognitive science, learning theory, andinstructional design theory with concrete examples from hisown research to provide well-founded assertions and rec-

ommendations. Even if readers do not consider themselvesfamiliar with the terminology or concepts of the theoreticaland research domains that are the basis for Jonassen’s work,they will be able to interpret his points because of the rich,real-life examples he incorporates into each chapter.

A list of the chapter titles reveals a focus on practicaladvice, from the point of presenting problems to learners allthe way through assessing learners’ ability to solve prob-lems and their knowledge of how to solve problems:• What Is Problemsolving?• Designing Learning Environments to Support

Problemsolving• Presenting Problems to Learners• Tools for Representing Problems by Learners• Associating Solutions with Problems• Supporting Solutions• Reflecting on Problemsolving Processes• Assessing Problem Solutions and Learning

In addition to filling the book with examples and diagrams,Jonassen anchors his work with an extensive reference listthat helps readers understand the origins of the book andthe concepts within.

Conclusion

While it may seem elementary that problem solving is allaround us and that we must learn to be good at it, the waysin which we can do so are not always readily apparent.Recently I heard a respected, highly experienced manufac-turing executive challenge the performance improvementand training personnel in his organization to fill a need inhis organization. The need he expressed did not representthe typical request to develop training and performancesupport solutions that focus on making employees profi-cient at performing procedural, day-to-day tasks (how to dotheir normal jobs). Rather, he charged the group with goingthe extra mile to find ways to make employees more adeptat performing successfully in novel situations. His belief isthat teaching people to operate based on procedures is ele-mentary and obligatory; teaching them and giving them thetools to respond when an unexpected situation (problem?)arises is the more value-added solution that we can deliverin the current business environment.

This appeal for performance improvement and instructionaldesign professionals to help people become skilled problemsolvers is undoubtedly being echoed throughout organiza-tions today. Fortunately, the work of David Jonassen is avail-able to help us meet the challenge. The primarycontribution of Learning to Solve Problems revolves around clarification, description and differentiation, and demystifi-cation of problem solving. Readers will come away from thebook thinking about the depth of complexity involved inlearning to solve problems, while at the same time under-

Performance Improvement • Volume 44 • Number 9 47

standing that we still do not have completely robust instruc-tional design practices for teaching this skill set.

Jonassen’s book gets us closer, and while some degree ofproblem-solving ability is innate for all of us, we can do bet-ter. Currently, when we are faced with a situation that needsto be addressed or changed, we act to the best of our ability.It is reasonable to think—and Jonassen helps us to be opti-mistic about the possibility—that we can do even better inthe future to create techniques and processes that will helpus as we work to help others learn to be better problemsolvers and performers.

Publisher InformationISBN 0-7879-6437-9Pfeiffer, 2004Phone: 800-274-4434www.pfeiffer.com

Author BioDavid H. Jonassen is a Distinguished Professor at the School of InformationScience and Learning Technologies in the College of Education at the Universityof Missouri. He has edited, authored, or coauthored more than 25 books, as wellas hundreds of articles in journals, industry publications, and edited collections.His current research focuses on constructing design models and environmentsfor problem solving.

Reviewer BioErika R. Gilmore, CPT, is currently a Training Associate with a pharmaceu-tical company and has prior experience working in the automotive industry inperformance improvement, operations, and quality. Erika is also a doctoralcandidate at Indiana University, majoring in Instructional Systems Technologyand minoring in Organizational Behavior. Her interests include performancetechnology theory, evaluation, and organizational theory. Erika is an active ISPImember, publishing in Performance Improvement, presenting at the annualISPI conference, and serving as Book Review Editor for PI. She may be con-tacted at egilmore@tds.net.

Here’s what readers are saying…

• Important contribution to HPT literature

• No smoke, no mirrors, no double-talk

• As simple as it is brilliant

• Based on science and practice

• Much more than a how-to book

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