Why do smart people do not so smart things?

In week two of CEP-812 we began reading the book The Anti-Education Era: Creating Smarter Students through Digital Learning by James Paul Gee.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Anti-Education-Era-Creating-Students/dp/0230342094

The focus of our reading was Part 1 of the book: How To Be Stupid. In these sections, Gee explains why he believes smart people do stupid things. Here are my thoughts and reflections on The Anti-Education Era: Creating Smarter Students through Digital Learning, Part 1.

References:

Gee, J. P. (2013). The Anti-Education Era: Creating Smarter Students through Digital Learning. New York N.Y.: Palgrave MacMillan.

James Paul Gee. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved January 24, 2004, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Paul_Gee

The Anti-Education Era: Creating Smarter Students through Digital Learning [Online Image]. (2013). Retrieved January 24, 2014, from http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71UJjxNLuhL.jpg

The Problems We Face

In the first week of my CEP-812 class at Michigan State, we are being introduced to problems and the different types that we face every day and that we present to our students. Three types of problems are; Well-Structured, Complex (also known as Ill-Structured) and Wicked.

Well-Structured problems are those that have one best way to solve them, an example would be that of a math equation.  Complex problems are challenges where creativity is needed to find a solution; write me a poem, best route from point A to point B on a map, etc.  Finally, Wicked problems are just that wicked; they are very intricate with multiple variables, so a perfect solution is typically not available.

This week’s focus is on Well-Structured and Complex problems.  Below is an example of a Complex problem we recently faced in my work at Kettering University, and the solution we devised.

We now have a solid foundation of problems and how they are categorized.  Next week may not be so easy considering it is time to get “wicked”.