A wicked problem is a problem or question that is a challenge to solve because it is often hard to define. Solutions to wicked problems are often unclear and while attempting to solve them, cause new questions to arise. As an educator I often see students struggle with the acceptance of failure. My students' growth in their ability to successfully complete technical skills is almost always accompanied with failure. While students become proficient in skills with practice and patience, they rarely realize the important role of failure and its impact on them. So how do we encourage failure and help students recognize its importance? This is the wicked problem I'll be focusing on these next few weeks.
To help me through this wicked problem journey I constructed a survey, which was no easy feat. I had several things to consider: defining the purpose of the survey, and ensuring I follow suggestions for creating a successful survey. Combining these two tasks was a challenge. I learned it's best to ask questions that lead to answers from which information can be gained. My survey is intended for my colleagues. It is important that my colleagues first think about failure personally. This helps focus on the survey's purpose, with the understanding that their responses do not give me information that I can use directly towards this wicked problem. Another survey design consideration I've incorporated is limited use of open-ended questions, as stated by Market Research Guy, "These are more taxing on respondents than structured questions and will lead to survey fatigue if overused" (Market Research Guy, 2019). With such an abstract wicked problem, it was difficult to keep these question types to a minimum.
My survey has been sent to my colleagues, and I'm awaiting their responses. Hopefully my survey can bring student failure awareness to the forefront, and we can implement changes to better encourage student failure.
References:
Market Research Guy. (2019, February 27). Survey Design Best Practices: How to Write a Good Questionnaire [Online blog]. Retrieved from http://www.mymarketresearchmethods.com/survey-design-best-practices/.
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