using the problem solving process word search

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Problem Solving Word Search

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Frequently asked questions, what is a word search.

A word search is a puzzle where there are rows of letters placed in the shape of a square, and there are words written forwards, backwards, horizontal, vertical or diagonal. There will be a list of words for the player to look for and the goal of the player is to find those words hidden in the word search puzzle, and highlight them.

How do I choose the words to use in my word search?

Once you’ve picked a theme, choose words that have a variety of different lengths, difficulty levels and letters. You don’t need to worry about trying to fit the words together with each other because WordMint will do that for you!

How are word searches used in the classroom?

Word search games are an excellent tool for teachers, and an excellent resource for students. They help to encourage wider vocabulary, as well as testing cognitive abilities and pattern-finding skills.

Because the word search templates are completely custom, you can create suitable word searches for children in kindergarten, all the way up to college students.

Who is a word search suitable for?

One of the common word search faq’s is whether there is an age limit or what age kids can start doing word searches. The fantastic thing about word search exercises is, they are completely flexible for whatever age or reading level you need.

Word searches can use any word you like, big or small, so there are literally countless combinations that you can create for templates. It is easy to customise the template to the age or learning level of your students.

How do I create a word search template?

For the easiest word search templates, WordMint is the way to go!

Pre-made templates

For a quick an easy pre-made template, simply search through WordMint’s existing 500,000+ templates . With so many to choose from, you’re bound to find the right one for you!

Create your own from scratch

• Log in to your account (it’s free to join!)
• Head to ‘My Puzzles’
• Click ‘Create New Puzzle’ and select ‘Word Search’
• Select your layout, enter your title and your chosen words
• That’s it! The template builder will create your word search template for you and you can save it to your account, export as a Word document or PDF and print!

How can I print my word search template?

All of our templates can be exported into Microsoft Word to easily print, or you can save your work as a PDF to print for the entire class. Your puzzles get saved into your account for easy access and printing in the future, so you don’t need to worry about saving them at work or at home!

Can I create a word search in other languages?

Word searches are a fantastic resource for students learning a foreign language as it tests their reading comprehension skills in a fun, engaging way.

We have full support for word search templates in Spanish, French and Japanese with diacritics including over 100,000 images.

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Overview of the Problem-Solving Mental Process

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Rachel Goldman, PhD FTOS, is a licensed psychologist, clinical assistant professor, speaker, wellness expert specializing in eating behaviors, stress management, and health behavior change.

• Identify the Problem
• Define the Problem
• Form a Strategy
• Organize Information
• Allocate Resources
• Monitor Progress
• Evaluate the Results

Frequently Asked Questions

Problem-solving is a mental process that involves discovering, analyzing, and solving problems. The ultimate goal of problem-solving is to overcome obstacles and find a solution that best resolves the issue.

The best strategy for solving a problem depends largely on the unique situation. In some cases, people are better off learning everything they can about the issue and then using factual knowledge to come up with a solution. In other instances, creativity and insight are the best options.

It is not necessary to follow problem-solving steps sequentially, It is common to skip steps or even go back through steps multiple times until the desired solution is reached.

In order to correctly solve a problem, it is often important to follow a series of steps. Researchers sometimes refer to this as the problem-solving cycle. While this cycle is portrayed sequentially, people rarely follow a rigid series of steps to find a solution.

The following steps include developing strategies and organizing knowledge.

1. Identifying the Problem

While it may seem like an obvious step, identifying the problem is not always as simple as it sounds. In some cases, people might mistakenly identify the wrong source of a problem, which will make attempts to solve it inefficient or even useless.

Some strategies that you might use to figure out the source of a problem include :

• Asking questions about the problem
• Breaking the problem down into smaller pieces
• Looking at the problem from different perspectives
• Conducting research to figure out what relationships exist between different variables

2. Defining the Problem

After the problem has been identified, it is important to fully define the problem so that it can be solved. You can define a problem by operationally defining each aspect of the problem and setting goals for what aspects of the problem you will address

At this point, you should focus on figuring out which aspects of the problems are facts and which are opinions. State the problem clearly and identify the scope of the solution.

3. Forming a Strategy

After the problem has been identified, it is time to start brainstorming potential solutions. This step usually involves generating as many ideas as possible without judging their quality. Once several possibilities have been generated, they can be evaluated and narrowed down.

The next step is to develop a strategy to solve the problem. The approach used will vary depending upon the situation and the individual's unique preferences. Common problem-solving strategies include heuristics and algorithms.

• Heuristics are mental shortcuts that are often based on solutions that have worked in the past. They can work well if the problem is similar to something you have encountered before and are often the best choice if you need a fast solution.
• Algorithms are step-by-step strategies that are guaranteed to produce a correct result. While this approach is great for accuracy, it can also consume time and resources.

Heuristics are often best used when time is of the essence, while algorithms are a better choice when a decision needs to be as accurate as possible.

4. Organizing Information

Before coming up with a solution, you need to first organize the available information. What do you know about the problem? What do you not know? The more information that is available the better prepared you will be to come up with an accurate solution.

When approaching a problem, it is important to make sure that you have all the data you need. Making a decision without adequate information can lead to biased or inaccurate results.

5. Allocating Resources

Of course, we don't always have unlimited money, time, and other resources to solve a problem. Before you begin to solve a problem, you need to determine how high priority it is.

If it is an important problem, it is probably worth allocating more resources to solving it. If, however, it is a fairly unimportant problem, then you do not want to spend too much of your available resources on coming up with a solution.

At this stage, it is important to consider all of the factors that might affect the problem at hand. This includes looking at the available resources, deadlines that need to be met, and any possible risks involved in each solution. After careful evaluation, a decision can be made about which solution to pursue.

6. Monitoring Progress

After selecting a problem-solving strategy, it is time to put the plan into action and see if it works. This step might involve trying out different solutions to see which one is the most effective.

It is also important to monitor the situation after implementing a solution to ensure that the problem has been solved and that no new problems have arisen as a result of the proposed solution.

Effective problem-solvers tend to monitor their progress as they work towards a solution. If they are not making good progress toward reaching their goal, they will reevaluate their approach or look for new strategies .

7. Evaluating the Results

After a solution has been reached, it is important to evaluate the results to determine if it is the best possible solution to the problem. This evaluation might be immediate, such as checking the results of a math problem to ensure the answer is correct, or it can be delayed, such as evaluating the success of a therapy program after several months of treatment.

Once a problem has been solved, it is important to take some time to reflect on the process that was used and evaluate the results. This will help you to improve your problem-solving skills and become more efficient at solving future problems.

A Word From Verywell​

It is important to remember that there are many different problem-solving processes with different steps, and this is just one example. Problem-solving in real-world situations requires a great deal of resourcefulness, flexibility, resilience, and continuous interaction with the environment.

Get Advice From The Verywell Mind Podcast

Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares how you can stop dwelling in a negative mindset.

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You can become a better problem solving by:

• Practicing brainstorming and coming up with multiple potential solutions to problems
• Being open-minded and considering all possible options before making a decision
• Breaking down problems into smaller, more manageable pieces
• Asking for help when needed
• Researching different problem-solving techniques and trying out new ones
• Learning from mistakes and using them as opportunities to grow

It's important to communicate openly and honestly with your partner about what's going on. Try to see things from their perspective as well as your own. Work together to find a resolution that works for both of you. Be willing to compromise and accept that there may not be a perfect solution.

Take breaks if things are getting too heated, and come back to the problem when you feel calm and collected. Don't try to fix every problem on your own—consider asking a therapist or counselor for help and insight.

If you've tried everything and there doesn't seem to be a way to fix the problem, you may have to learn to accept it. This can be difficult, but try to focus on the positive aspects of your life and remember that every situation is temporary. Don't dwell on what's going wrong—instead, think about what's going right. Find support by talking to friends or family. Seek professional help if you're having trouble coping.

Davidson JE, Sternberg RJ, editors.  The Psychology of Problem Solving .  Cambridge University Press; 2003. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511615771

Sarathy V. Real world problem-solving .  Front Hum Neurosci . 2018;12:261. Published 2018 Jun 26. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00261

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Pilot - U1L02 - The Problem Solving Process

Please leave any feedback, thoughts, or resources for the lesson here. As a reminder, good feedback has the following elements:

• description of your school and classroom context
• details on what went well when teaching this lesson
• details on what didn’t go well when teaching this lesson
• a description of the changes you would recommend to improve the lesson (including formative assessment opportunities you added to the lesson)
• details on the types of deviations you made from the lesson

For more details on what good feedback looks like, check out the feedback guide !

Forgot to set the context in my Lesson 1 post.

Class of 35 students with enough desktops for pair programming. Students also have 1:1 Chromebooks that they use throughout the day. This is a semester long elective class.

Lesson 2 was a good walk through of the Problem Solving Process. I second my own previous suggestion (can you do that?) that this be placed before the foil boat design challenge so that students can learn and discuss the problem solving process before putting it into action. The activity guide could then more closely match the problem solving process.

Student were antsy toward the end of this lesson. It took the whole 59 minute period to work through the discussions, activity guide, and listing the student suggested strategies. To be frank, I think the kids were getting tired of the cycle by the end of the lesson, but they were good sports about it.

My only real deviation from the plan was instead of using posters, I made separate google docs for each part of the problem solving process and listed student suggestions on them. I then shared those strategies on my Google Classroom page. I tend to lose anything in paper form.

Hi @krisaturner

Thanks so much for sharing how things went in your class! I’m interested to hear more about students getting tired of the cycle by the end of class. Any ideas on what might help with this in the future?

I used Padlet for the poster section of this lesson. Similar approach to the Google Docs. Docs might even be a better choice since it records who said what (just in case!)

Thanks for updating everyone on how it went @edavis . Its good to hear more about your experiences.

I don’t think that I would change the order of lessons one and two. Having made the boats with the guidance of the activity sheet first, I was able to refer back to the activity as we discussed the 4 steps in the problem solving process. This forced them to reflect on the previous activity and apply what they had experienced to this new set of guidelines - which is what I want them to do - apply the process to any problem they need to solve. I took a couple of minutes to show an example of solving a multi-step Algebra problem, and how these steps applied even to this. They had been using the process in their math class all along - also in their Language Arts class writing assignments. These were a couple of real life areas they could relate to. I am including a link to the Google slide presentation I used for this lesson. This lesson took over 2 hours to complete. One 90 minute class that stopped before we got to having students think of a problem they were good at solving. The second day was a 40 minute class where we worked on completing the process for problems they are good at solving and one that they would like to be better at solving. Students keep their work in their notebook and reflect on the work for the day as homework.

Hey Debbie,

Glad to hear things went well and that you’re seeing connections to what students are learning in other classes. I noticed you forgot to post that link to your slides if you still wanted to share that with the group. I’d be interested to see what you made.

Thanks as always for sharing! GT

FYI At my school we refer to students as scholars. I am going to use that term, since by now I have to consciously think about using the word student.

This week I worked on Lesson 2 and started Lesson 3.

The scholars had trouble brainstorming problems they had, even when I gave them several examples. I was able to write a short list on the board, but overall I don’t think they understood. They did understand how to evaluate their Aluminum Boat Activity through the lens of the Problem Solving Process, but their answers ranged from very specific and detailed to very vague. The next day I had all the scholars copy the best response so they could practice writing an ‘A’ answer. A lot of my scholars have a limited English vocabulary, and that is reflected in their writing. The class then continued on to the second page, which they completed. They are generally used to writing as little as possible. Some of my SpEd scholars’ handwriting is illegible. I am working with their SpEd teacher to arrive at a grade.

I will revisit the Problem Solving Process several more times.

This week I dealt with scholars who do not normally bring supplies to class, and who don’t normally do much work. I posted the supply list on the wall to remind scholars who would otherwise claim they didn’t know they had to bring anything. This afternoon, during class, several scholars asked to go to the library to buy spiral notebooks. The school has a color poster-maker and laminator which is much appreciated. I am making posters for the room.

I also made a seating chart to create heterogenous groups, which took some time as I reviewed their fall semester grades. Each group now has an ‘A’ scholar, a Special Ed scholar, and two from the middle. I was surprised that it worked out, given 36 random individuals.

I am pushing forward at what I think is a reasonable pace, but I have scholars who are used to not putting in a whole lot of effort, and try to make up the work before progress reports or report cards. I am always watching the clock, and how much work is getting done, but I am not going to slow to a snail’s pace, which would happen if I let it.

I took a look at Lesson 3. I knew the scholars would not understand the point of the word search, and will insist on finishing it, even when I tell them to put down their pencils. Instead, I discussed the fact that when they complete a task, even a basic one, they don’t think about it in terms of a series of steps. A computer does, however. I assigned the groups the task of listing at least 10 – 15 detailed steps required to eat an Oreo cookie, starting them off. I will have cookies on Monday to have them compare what they wrote to what is required. THEN, 5 minutes before the end of the period, I passed out the word searches, which only a few were able to complete. On Monday, they will come up with a system for completing a word search more efficiently, and continue with Lesson 3.

I am very happy with how this week went.

Sorry about the missing link. I added it to this section of the forum. Would love feedback.

@sfollansbee08 Thanks for sharing so much about your classes experience. I like the use of the word scholar for students. It sounds like many of the challenges you are running into I’m sure are shared by other teachers. Its great that you shared some strategies you used to help bring the material to a more accessible place for your students. I’m interested to see how the word search example went yesterday.

I know this should be under Lesson 3, but this is a follow-up to my long post. Background: The first two weeks the class tested how serious I am. I could get them silent, but scholars did not bring any supplies (or claimed not to have them). So I told them that quizzes would be open-note, but done individually. I usually don’t do that, but this is a lot of totally new information presented rather quickly. It’s amazing how many scholars have a planner and notebook now. I always post the agenda, but now I started having the class copy definitions and other things they need to know, and refer to, as their do-now. I hope to get them to where the do-now can be a short activity or response to a discussion question. They are not there yet.

I did the word search activity Friday. I gave it out at the end of the period. Almost everyone either finished it or almost did in 5 minutes. I had given them several process / strategies to try, but the response was that they just looked for the words, ignoring the directions. The words search was too easy.

Monday I made a word search for yesterday with more words. I put several strategies on the board, and told them they must try one, and write down which one their table selected. With a longer word bank, the groups saw the necessity of trying strategies. Two groups wrote “working with their table group” as their strategy. Today I am going to explain why they get credit for their response, but it does not meet the definition of a process.

My follow-up activity, Friday and Monday, to help teach process was to ask the class to write down the steps involved in eating an Oreo with a picture on the board, versus having a cookie in hand was VERY successful. Some of the steps written were very clever, like “inspect the cookie” or writing “chew” 25 times to indicate 25 steps. Much better than the first time, which was the point.

The Oreo activity sounds fun, glad to hear it went so well for you! Would you mind sharing the additional word search you created, I’m sure others would find it useful.

Thank you for the kind comment on the Oreo activity.

This is an excellent free online Word Search maker that you can use any time.

I used the following words: administrator, application, bit, byte, code, computer, define, disc, kilobyte, language, monitor, platform, process, program, reflect, sequence, try, webmaster

http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/WordSearchSetupForm.asp

This is being taught to a semester 8th grade class with 56 minute periods. I just started teaching this on Wednesday as that was when our semester started. I’m late to the party with my posts, but I am grateful for the forum, as I’ve been able to read your posts before I teach the lesson. With Lesson 2 I ended doing alot of it with them. They just were not grasping how to define a problem. They were content with just listing a topic like, Time Management, as their definition of the problem. We ended upgoing through multiple examples not related to to the boats or anything. One example that helped my students was going through process with the problem being “I’m a bad cook.” It was easy to define, prepare, try, and reflect. They started to catch on after that. Doing the word search, and birthday party activities today .We will see how it goes.

Glad to hear the forum’s proving helpful Jay and also to hear that students are starting to grasp the problem solving process. If you have a chance let us know what finally makes the connections for your students. Especially if you’re finding you need to supplement it’s always valuable to hear how.

Good luck in Lesson 3! GT

Class of 20 students, 9 girls, 11 boys, 4 IEP, 70% FARM. 43 minute periods every other day. U1L2, took almost 2 days. The first day we talked about different problems. With them making a list at the beginning, I feel it was helpful for them to make a connection when we were going over the process. Due to time, I typed the list of problems on the screen instead of the posters and discussed a few of them using the problem solving process. The 2nd day we finished up the activity sheet and began the first activity for lesson 3. Time is the problem here. This class really needs to be held daily if I only see them for 42 minutes. And if they’re absent, they might only have my class once during the week. Tomorrow we will finish the word search and birthday party activities.

With my classes as 80 minutes, I had a chance to introduce the Problem Solving Process and brought up the diagram on the board at the end of my last class. We briefly talked through it and I asked them to keep it in mind the next time they solved a problem (big or small) and that we would reflect.

U1L2 - The Problem Solving Process This lesson went well, they were still in the “first days” mode and figuring out the structure of the class. They worked on the reflection problems on the activity guide individually, then worked in pairs to create a presentation for the “problem to solve”. I’m a nomad and I didn’t have poster paper and couldn’t leave them on the walls so I assigned the “presentations” through shared Google Slides and got some really creative designs (I also shared the Problem Solving Process graphic with them). We had a huge range of “problems to solve” from eating a healthy breakfast to solving world hunger. Students were engaged although they were seated. The only drawback was the lack of movement due to my changing of the lesson, other than that the lesson was a nice reflection opportunity from the day before. With 80 minute blocks I jumped into the next lesson by handing out the word search packets (followed up in another post). Again stayed close to the script, will try to as much as possible with only adding activities if needed.

Unit 1 - Lesson 2:

Slideshow for presentation

Reflection: I felt that there was not a lot of substantiveness to this lesson and a whole period of “what-ifs” was hard for my students. A problem that they are already good at didn’t allow a lot of reflection on their part. Since they already had the “define, try and prepare” part of their successes it was hard to pinpoint their reflections when they had actually already achieved in that endeavor.

Modification that I made: We needed to being “doing” something with this info. Most students were already able to define some type of problem solving process. Whether it was an engineering model or the hypothesis scientific model, they generally had a previous background. The students were asked to create their own representation of the problem solving process in a tool of their choice on the computer. I did initiate the stipulation that it had to indicate the cyclical nature of the process. Some of the creations I saw were: “Paint”, Google Drawings or Slides, Microsoft Publisher or Powerpoint and some chose paper and colored pencils. I left this really loose-ended as I no predescribed notions about how they had to represent their understanding of the process. I think this added internalization of what their processes meant to them.

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The Problem-Solving Process

Looking at the basic problem-solving process to help keep you on the right track.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Problem-solving is an important part of planning and decision-making. The process has much in common with the decision-making process, and in the case of complex decisions, can form part of the process itself.

We face and solve problems every day, in a variety of guises and of differing complexity. Some, such as the resolution of a serious complaint, require a significant amount of time, thought and investigation. Others, such as a printer running out of paper, are so quickly resolved they barely register as a problem at all.

Despite the everyday occurrence of problems, many people lack confidence when it comes to solving them, and as a result may chose to stay with the status quo rather than tackle the issue. Broken down into steps, however, the problem-solving process is very simple. While there are many tools and techniques available to help us solve problems, the outline process remains the same.

The main stages of problem-solving are outlined below, though not all are required for every problem that needs to be solved.

1. Define the Problem

Clarify the problem before trying to solve it. A common mistake with problem-solving is to react to what the problem appears to be, rather than what it actually is. Write down a simple statement of the problem, and then underline the key words. Be certain there are no hidden assumptions in the key words you have underlined. One way of doing this is to use a synonym to replace the key words. For example, ‘We need to encourage higher productivity ’ might become ‘We need to promote superior output ’ which has a different meaning.

2. Analyze the Problem

Ask yourself, and others, the following questions.

• Where is the problem occurring?
• When is it occurring?
• Why is it happening?

Be careful not to jump to ‘who is causing the problem?’. When stressed and faced with a problem it is all too easy to assign blame. This, however, can cause negative feeling and does not help to solve the problem. As an example, if an employee is underperforming, the root of the problem might lie in a number of areas, such as lack of training, workplace bullying or management style. To assign immediate blame to the employee would not therefore resolve the underlying issue.

Once the answers to the where, when and why have been determined, the following questions should also be asked:

• Where can further information be found?
• Is this information correct, up-to-date and unbiased?
• What does this information mean in terms of the available options?

3. Generate Potential Solutions

When generating potential solutions it can be a good idea to have a mixture of ‘right brain’ and ‘left brain’ thinkers. In other words, some people who think laterally and some who think logically. This provides a balance in terms of generating the widest possible variety of solutions while also being realistic about what can be achieved. There are many tools and techniques which can help produce solutions, including thinking about the problem from a number of different perspectives, and brainstorming, where a team or individual write as many possibilities as they can think of to encourage lateral thinking and generate a broad range of potential solutions.

4. Select Best Solution

When selecting the best solution, consider:

• Is this a long-term solution, or a ‘quick fix’?
• Is the solution achievable in terms of available resources and time?
• Are there any risks associated with the chosen solution?
• Could the solution, in itself, lead to other problems?

This stage in particular demonstrates why problem-solving and decision-making are so closely related.

5. Take Action

In order to implement the chosen solution effectively, consider the following:

• What will the situation look like when the problem is resolved?
• What needs to be done to implement the solution? Are there systems or processes that need to be adjusted?
• What will be the success indicators?
• What are the timescales for the implementation? Does the scale of the problem/implementation require a project plan?
• Who is responsible?

Once the answers to all the above questions are written down, they can form the basis of an action plan.

6. Monitor and Review

One of the most important factors in successful problem-solving is continual observation and feedback. Use the success indicators in the action plan to monitor progress on a regular basis. Is everything as expected? Is everything on schedule? Keep an eye on priorities and timelines to prevent them from slipping.

If the indicators are not being met, or if timescales are slipping, consider what can be done. Was the plan realistic? If so, are sufficient resources being made available? Are these resources targeting the correct part of the plan? Or does the plan need to be amended? Regular review and discussion of the action plan is important so small adjustments can be made on a regular basis to help keep everything on track.

Once all the indicators have been met and the problem has been resolved, consider what steps can now be taken to prevent this type of problem recurring? It may be that the chosen solution already prevents a recurrence, however if an interim or partial solution has been chosen it is important not to lose momentum.

Problems, by their very nature, will not always fit neatly into a structured problem-solving process. This process, therefore, is designed as a framework which can be adapted to individual needs and nature.

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SOLVING WORD PROBLEMS: A VISUAL APPROACH: HOME

Step 1: Identify the given information in the problem.

Underline the information in your problem. Then create a checklist. As you use the information in your solution, make sure to check off each box.

Understanding a math word problem is 50% of the work. So give yourself a pat on the back when you’ve finished it! 

Step 2: Find the question in the passage and state it in your own words.

Underline the question with a different color than you used for the first step. After you have underlined the question, write the information out in your own words, so that you understand what is being asked. 

Step 3: Devise a strategy to solve the problem.

Now that you have collected the information you need to solve the problem, you need to come up with a strategy to conquer the problem.

Think about what’s being asked. Is there a formula you need to use? Do you need to calculate a percentage for your final answer? Write out the steps you need to use to solve the problem, so that you can carry out your plan.

THE STEPS TO SOLVING A WORD PROBLEM

• Identify the given information.
• Find the question and state it in your own words.
• Devise a strategy to solve the problem.
• Carry out your plan.

Use three different colored pencils/pens to separate each of the first three parts of the problem solving process.

Here are a few examples of how to use this process in solving a mathematical problem.

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Ask the asc for help.

Need Academic Help? Contact the Academic Success Center (ASC)!

Step 4: Once you have created a plan, then you need to solve the problem. Make sure you have used all the given information in the problem, answered the question, and followed each step in your strategy.

Keep Calm.   Be confident.  You’ve got this! 

• Last Updated: Nov 22, 2017 12:17 PM
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What is Problem Solving? Process, Techniques, Examples

Home Blog others What is Problem Solving? Process, Techniques, Examples

Whether tackling a technical issue at work or finding our way around a roadblock unnoticed by Google Maps, problem-solving is a daily occurrence for most people. But how prepared are you to overcome life's challenges? Do you rely on a structured process to ensure successful outcomes, or do you navigate through problems impulsively? 

Here's the crux: the strength of your problem-solving skills significantly impacts the ease and success of your life, both professionally and personally. Practical problem-solving is a valuable career and life skill. You're in the right place if you're eager to enhance your problem-solving abilities efficiently. 

In this blog post, I will delve into what is problem solving the steps, techniques, and exercises of the problem-solving process. Whether seeking to troubleshoot technical issues or navigate life's complexities, mastering organized problem-solving can elevate your capabilities and lead to more favorable outcomes. 

What is Problem Solving? And Its Importance

First, let me help you understand what is problem solving. Problem-solving is a comprehensive process involving identifying issues, prioritizing based on urgency and severity, analyzing root causes, gathering pertinent Information, devising and assessing solutions, making informed decisions, and planning and executing implementation strategies. 

This skill set also encompasses critical thinking, effective communication, active listening, creativity, research, data analysis, risk assessment, continuous learning, and decision-making abilities. Effective problem-solving strategies mitigate potential losses or damages and enhance self-confidence and reputation. Problem-solving is essential in personal and professional contexts as it allows individuals and teams to navigate obstacles, make informed decisions, and drive progress. 

Importance: 

• Enhances Decision-Making: Effective problem solving leads to better decision-making by evaluating various options and selecting the most suitable solution. 
• Promotes Innovation: Problem solving encourages innovation and creativity as individuals seek new approaches to tackle challenges. 
• Improves Efficiency: By resolving issues efficiently, problem solving helps streamline processes and optimize resource allocation. 
• Builds Resilience: Successfully overcoming obstacles builds confidence and resilience, enabling  
• individuals and teams to tackle future challenges with greater confidence.  

Problem-solving Process 

Now that we have a clear understanding of the problem solving definition as to what is problem solving let us now navigate the problem solving process. Effective problem-solving is a valuable skill sought after by employers in various fields. Here's a breakdown of a common problem-solving process, presented in a pointwise manner: 

1. Identifying the Problem 

The first step in the problem-solving process is clearly defining the issue. This involves gathering relevant Information, observing patterns or trends, and understanding the impact of the problem on stakeholders. 

2. Analyzing the Situation 

Once the problem is identified, it's essential to analyze its root causes and contributing factors. This may involve conducting research, gathering data, and exploring different perspectives to comprehensively understand the situation. 

3. Generating Solutions 

With a clear understanding of the problem solving methods, brainstorming potential solutions is the next step. Encouraging creativity and considering various alternatives can lead to innovative ideas. Evaluating each solution based on feasibility, effectiveness, and alignment with goals and values is crucial. 

4. Evaluating Options 

After generating a list of potential solutions, it's essential to carefully evaluate each option. This involves weighing the pros and cons, considering potential risks and benefits, and assessing the likelihood of success. Consulting with relevant stakeholders or experts can provide valuable insights during this stage. 

5. Selecting the Best Solution 

Based on the evaluation, one or more solutions are the most viable options. It's essential to prioritize solutions that address the root cause of the problem and have the most significant potential for long-term success. Communicating the chosen solution effectively to stakeholders is crucial for garnering support and buy-in. 

6. Implementing the Solution 

Once a solution is selected, it's time to put it into action. This involves developing a detailed action plan, allocating resources, and assigning responsibilities. Effective communication, coordination, and monitoring are essential during the implementation phase to ensure smooth execution and timely resolution of the problem. 

7. Monitoring and Reviewing 

After implementing the solution, it's essential to monitor its progress and evaluate its effectiveness over time. This may involve collecting feedback, analyzing performance metrics, and making adjustments as needed. Continuous monitoring and review allow for ongoing improvement and refinement of the problem-solving process.  

How to Solve Problems in 5 Simple Steps? 

Here's a breakdown of the 5 problem-solving steps for your understanding: 

1. Define the Problem (Understand & Gather Information)  

• Identify the Issue: Clearly understand what the problem is. What isn't working, or what needs improvement? 
• Gather Information: Talk to people involved, collect data, and research relevant details to get a well-rounded picture of the situation. 
• Ask Why? Don't just focus on symptoms. Ask "why" several times to identify the root cause of the problem. 

Example: Let's say customer complaints about slow website loading times have increased. 

2. Brainstorm Solutions (Think Creatively & Be Open-Minded)  

• Think Outside the Box: Don't settle for the first solution that comes to mind. Brainstorm a variety of options, even seemingly unconventional ones. 
• Consider All Angles: Evaluate the problem from different perspectives. What are potential solutions from a technical standpoint? From a user experience point of view? 
• Build on Ideas: Don't shut down ideas prematurely. Encourage others to build upon and refine suggestions collaboratively. 

Example: Potential solutions for slow website loading times could include optimizing images, upgrading server capacity, or implementing a content delivery network (CDN). 

3. Evaluate & Choose a Solution (Consider Feasibility & Impact)  

• Weigh the Pros & Cons: Analyze the feasibility, resource requirements, and potential risks and benefits of each solution. 
• Align with Goals: Ensure the chosen solution directly addresses the root cause of the problem and aligns with your overall objectives. 
• Prioritize Impact: Choose the solution with the most significant potential to achieve a positive outcome and lasting improvement. 

Example: Upgrading server capacity might be a very effective solution, but it could be expensive. Optimizing images is a more feasible solution that could yield significant improvement. 

4. Implement the Solution (Take Action & Communicate Clearly)  

• Develop a Plan: Create a clear action plan outlining the steps involved in implementing the chosen solution. Assign tasks and set deadlines. 
• Communication is Key: Clearly communicate the plan to everyone involved, including stakeholders and team members. 
• Monitor Progress: Track the implementation process and make adjustments as needed based on the results. 

Example: The website optimization plan might involve tasks like image resizing, code minification, and implementing caching mechanisms. 

5. Evaluate the Outcome (Learn & Adapt)  

• Measure Success: Assess whether the implemented solution effectively resolved the problem. Did it meet your goals? 
• Lessons Learned: Reflect on what worked well and what could be improved during the problem-solving process. 
• Continuous Improvement: Use this experience to refine your problem-solving approach and enhance your skills for future challenges. Enroll in free online certification courses for professional development and skill enhancement. 

Example: After website optimization, monitor website loading times and customer feedback to see if the issue has been resolved. If not, repeat the process, considering new solutions based on the learnings from this attempt. 

Remember, problem-solving is an iterative process. Be prepared to adapt your approach as you gather more Information and evaluate the effectiveness of your solutions.  

Essential Things to Consider in Each of the Problem-solving Steps

Creative problem solving requires careful consideration at each stage. Here are vital things to focus on: 

1. Identifying & Defining the Problem 

• Gather Information: Consult stakeholders, review data, and gain insights from various perspectives. 
• Identify Root Cause: Address the underlying reason, not just symptoms. 
• Define Scope: Clearly outline the problem's boundaries to maintain focus. 

2. Analyzing the Problem 

• Consider Multiple Perspectives: Explore diverse angles to uncover potential factors. 
• Brainstorm Freely: Foster creativity without judgment to generate innovative ideas. 
• Analyze Impact: Evaluate the severity and consequences of the problem if left unresolved. 
• Think Creatively: Explore unconventional solutions beyond initial ideas. 
• Consider Feasibility: Assess the practicality and resource requirements of each option. 
• Identify Potential Risks & Benefits: Weigh the pros and cons to select the most balanced approach. 

4. Evaluating and Selecting a Solution 

• Align with Goals: Ensure the chosen solution addresses the core issue and aligns with objectives. 
• Consider Long-Term Impact: Choose solutions with lasting benefits beyond immediate results. 
• Team Input: Involve team members to gain diverse perspectives during evaluation. 

5. Implementing the Solution  

• Develop a Clear Plan: Outline implementation steps with clear timelines and responsibilities. 
• Communication is Key: Ensure all stakeholders understand the plan to facilitate smooth execution. 
• Monitor Progress: Track implementation and adjust as needed based on results. 

6. Evaluating the Outcome  

• Measure Effectiveness: Assess if the solution effectively resolves the problem or needs refinement. 
• Lessons Learned: Identify successes and areas for improvement to enhance future problem-solving efforts. 

Problem Solving Examples

Let us look at problem solving example scenarios in a typical workplace: , example 1: project deadline challenge .

• Situation: You're a project manager leading a team that is developing a new marketing campaign website. The launch date is approaching, but a critical developer is unexpectedly out sick for a week. 
• Action: You immediately assess the workload and delegate tasks among the remaining team members. You identify an opportunity to streamline a design element, reducing development time. You also reach out to a freelancer with a proven track record to fill in for the missing developer on specific tasks. 
• Result: The team successfully launches the website on time and within budget. The streamlined design element is praised by stakeholders for its user-friendliness. 
• Highlight: This example showcases your problem-solving skills, leadership, adaptability, and ability to manage resources effectively under pressure. 

Example 2: Client Communication Breakdown 

• Situation: You're a Customer Service Representative for an e-commerce company. A regular customer expresses extreme dissatisfaction with a recent purchase due to a malfunctioning product and a negative experience with a previous representative. 
• Action: You actively listen to the customer's concerns, apologizing for the inconvenience. You then troubleshoot the product issue and offer a solution (replacement or refund). Additionally, you acknowledge the previous negative experience and offer to ensure better communication going forward. 
• Result: The customer is satisfied with the resolution and expresses appreciation for your attentiveness and problem-solving approach. They remain a loyal customer of the company. 
• Highlight: This example demonstrates your active listening skills, empathy, ability to de-escalate situations, and commitment to customer satisfaction. 

By following these examples of problem-solving skills, you can effectively tackle challenges and achieve successful outcomes. Also, explore KnowledgeHut’ s best online courses for further skill enhancement. 

Problem Solving Techniques

Effective problem-solving techniques are essential for tackling challenges and achieving desired outcomes. Here are some problem solving tools and techniques commonly used in problem-solving: 

• Brainstorming : Encourages the generation of a wide range of ideas and solutions in a non-judgmental environment. This technique promotes creativity and can uncover innovative approaches to problems. 
• Root Cause Analysis : Focuses on identifying the underlying causes of a problem rather than just addressing its symptoms. By pinpointing root causes, solutions can be targeted more effectively to prevent recurrence. 
• Fishbone Diagram (Ishikawa Diagram): Provides a visual representation of the various factors contributing to a problem, categorized into branches such as people, process, equipment, environment, and management. This technique helps analyze complex issues and identify potential causes. 
• SWOT Analysis : Evaluates the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with a problem or situation. This technique helps assess the internal and external factors influencing the problem and guides decision-making. 
• Pareto Analysis: Focuses on identifying and prioritizing the most significant causes contributing to a problem. By allocating resources to address the vital few rather than the trivial many, this technique maximizes impact and efficiency. 
• 5 Whys : Involves asking "why" repeatedly to trace the root cause of a problem. This iterative questioning technique helps uncover more profound layers of causation beyond surface-level symptoms. 
• Decision Matrix Analysis: Helps evaluate multiple options by systematically comparing their pros and cons against predetermined criteria. This technique facilitates objective decision-making by considering various factors and their relative importance. 

By incorporating these problem-solving techniques in the workplace, you can approach problems systematically, generate creative solutions, and develop a well-rounded plan for achieving success.  

Conquering challenges is a key to professional success, and practical problem-solving equips you to do just that. By following a structured approach, you can transform from a bystander to a solution-oriented individual. This involves gathering Information to clearly define the problem and identify its root cause. Analyzing the situation from various angles and brainstorming freely unlock creative solutions. Evaluating potential solutions ensures you choose the one that aligns with your goals and is feasible to implement. Clear communication and a well-defined plan are crucial for successful execution. Finally, reflecting on the outcome allows you to learn and continuously improve your problem-solving skills, making you an invaluable asset in any environment. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The best method involves identifying the problem, brainstorming solutions, evaluating options, implementing the chosen solution, and assessing outcomes for improvement.

The principles include defining the problem, generating alternatives, evaluating options, implementing solutions, and reviewing outcomes for continuous improvement.

Different types include analytical problem-solving, creative problem-solving, critical thinking, decision-making, and systematic problem-solving.

The significant elements include understanding the problem, devising a plan, executing the plan, and evaluating the results.

The skills encompass critical thinking, decision-making, and analytical reasoning. These abilities aid in identifying, analyzing, and resolving problems effectively. 

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The New York Times ’ New Game Is Genius

Word search isn’t just for children anymore.

The word search is perhaps the lowest form of puzzle. As a staple of Highlights magazines and family-restaurant placemats, its purpose is to use up time, quietly. Stare at a grid of letters and find, amid them, a list of indicated words. Is this fun? It is not. The word search is paperwork, but for kids.

Over the years, many have tried to improve the puzzle, to make it more mature. Boggle, introduced in 1972, made word search competitive. SpellTower , a 2011 smartphone game, made it strategic. And now this week, The New York Times has put out Strands, the newest product in its games empire . Strands adds two new features to the classic place-mat game: The player must guess the words to find in each scramble based on a cryptic theme, and the scrambled words, which can bend in any direction, are arranged to use up the entire letter grid. These changes may not sound so transformational, but in the context of a word search, they’re a revelation. Many of the best games succeed by offering a novel take on something familiar. Strands does exactly that.

The new game is still in beta, which means you won’t yet find it in the Times ’ games app, only on the web . The Times will kill off a game that doesn’t work, but if Strands survives the test, it will join a growing group of successful older siblings: Spelling Bee, Wordle, Connections, and, of course, the crossword. With these, the Times has single-handedly recovered the genre of low-stakes games that used to thrive in daily newspapers. In doing so, it has brought back a gentler philosophy of game design: that great joy can come from solving little problems on the regular.

Read: I figured out Wordle’s secret

Not so long ago, newspaper puzzles seemed on the verge of extinction. As I argued with my colleagues Simon Ferrari and Bobby Schweizer in our 2010 book, Newsgames , the print media had made the very strange decision to cede a large market for daily puzzling to mobile-game developers such as PopCap, the maker of Bejeweled. Newspapers, we observed, had forgotten that readers needed to be welcomed into the daily news—which is mostly bad news. A friendly and comforting ritual would do the trick: the sports, the weather, the comics, the crossword. But companies like the Times had not yet bothered to translate that function effectively from print to web (or app), so others had taken it from them—and made billions of dollars. The news business got Candy Crushed.

Now that trend has been reversed. The Times ’ revival of newspaper games, which really took off with the acquisition of Wordle in 2022, has helped bring in huge amounts of premium-subscription revenue, according to the company. Jonathan Knight, the paper’s head of games, told me that tens of millions of people play Wordle every week, and almost half as many play Connections. Success for a newspaper game, to Knight, means players “coming back to it every day.” The ritual is the thing.

When Wordle first appeared, I analyzed the game in hopes of understanding what made it so compelling. The secret, I suggested, was that once you’d gotten even a couple of letters, the solution space narrowed quickly. And yet, because players don’t know how few words in Wordle’s dictionary might match the pattern before them, they could still feel extremely clever when they were able to home in on the final answer. This is why Wordle is delightful—and why the game is a terrific newspaper puzzle: You can start your day with it and feel smart and capable.

I still play Wordle daily, but I no longer reliably enjoy it. I’ve sometimes felt like the game is trying too hard to bamboozle me. Wordle can perform trickery in only one way: by including the same letter more than once. Because the game offers no explicit clue to repetition, you can easily overlook solutions that involve one. I felt this acutely this past Sunday, when it took me five guesses to get to STATE, the day’s answer, after having burned two on STAGE and STAVE. “These Times bozos,” I muttered to myself. “They’re ruining Wordle.”

Read: The unspoken language of crosswords

But were they? I performed an analysis of Wordle’s daily solutions to find out. Ten of the words in February of this year had two of the same letter, but there were only six in January; back in February 2023, the game had 12. The game hadn’t changed—only my perception. If I was keyed into the idea that the Times might be trying to mislead me, perhaps this was on account of its latest hit, Connections. That game, released in the fall, presents a grid of 16 words; the player gets four tries to sort them into categories. For example, SHOUT, SNAP, WAVE, and WHISTLE are all “ways to get attention,” according to last Sunday’s puzzle. To increase the challenge, Connections throws in red herrings, words that are meant to deceive you because they might have an association with more than one group.

Wordle words are curated, but the game is just the game. Connections is different: It has a human author. And human authorship means that some specific individual—her name is Wyna Liu —is responsible for the game’s delight. Or for its suffering. Some Connections categories are nifty, and satisfying to identify. Others are so tenuous that you might never guess them on your own. For example, BASSINET, CELLOPHANE, HARPOON, and ORGANISM are “Words beginning with instruments.” BOOK, CACTUS, HEDGEHOG, and SKELETON are “Things with spines.” CLUE, FROWN, MELLOW, and PREEN are all “Colors with their first letters changed.” The latter, in particular, had produced some angry blowback on the internet . “I love that one!” Everdeen Mason, the Times ’ editorial director for games, told me this week, when I brought it up.

Many people take great pleasure from Connections. I do not. If Wordle makes me feel smart, Connections makes me feel stupid. It’s a Guess what I’m thinking puzzle, except you, the player, don’t know anything about the mind whose thoughts you are guessing. Mason clarified that this is very much her team’s goal: “We want to make games where people can feel the person on the other side,” she said. But the authorial voice behind a given puzzle, whether it’s Connections or a crossword, can feel remote from the solver. Mason, who manages the team that makes the Times ’ games, talked to me about a particular puzzle of Wyna’s, or of another editor named Joel; the app shows a byline credit for each one. But for outsiders, these names can feel like they refer to faceless puzzle overlords administering shrewdness from on high. The puzzle-maker risks coming across as better, smarter, and more clever than the rest of us.

In Connections, that feeling has a way of being amplified. You get to make only four wrong guesses, so you won’t have that much room for testing out solutions. When I asked the Times designers why players aren’t allowed a bit more leeway, Knight suggested that the four-guesses system matched the game’s “four groups of four” theme. “We tried three; we tried five; four just felt the best,” he said. The choice seemed arbitrary to me, and also punishing, but perhaps it’s wise to have at least one game in the app that’s easy to lose.

Connections does get less challenging the more you play, as its conventions and internal rules become apparent. Many categories are synonyms, for example, as are words that fill in the same blank for a set of common phrases. Crosswords are similar: They’re written in a secret language , and have a grammar that must be learned through repetition. This is not a flaw, or, not exactly. I play all of these puzzles even though they’re sometimes aggravating or arcane. I don’t love Connections, but I have great respect for its creators. After all, a feeling of frustration at one day’s crackbrained answers is intrinsic to the newspaper-puzzle genre. Perversely, getting mad about the puzzle can be part of the fun; it offers a common, lighthearted gripe in the family text chat. Tomorrow offers another shot at delight.

Strands, the new word-search game still in beta, seems to fuse some of the best features of Wordle, Connections, and the crosswords. The game might not be for everyone, but for me it represents a breakthrough. “We got really hyped about taking something classic—word search—and adding something new to it,” Mason said. Connections may torment its players with little room for error, but Strands rewards wrong guesses, in a way, by filling in a progress bar that gets you to a hint. The game displays its daily theme front and center, crossword-style, which helps you with the first, and toughest, word to find. From there, each further discovery shrinks the board and makes the next one that much easier, delivering a pleasant sense of acceleration toward victory.

With only three puzzles under my belt so far, I still find Strands intriguing. That sensation could wane—the game might be too easy—but for now, I’m interested. The game draws on a familiar format that everyone knows, and varies that format in a manner that is reminiscent of other games without being reliant on their mastery. It makes the player feel smarter than they really are. This is the purpose of newspaper games: to give players a reliable feeling of control, once a day at least, in a world that’s spinning out.

What to know about the crisis of violence, politics and hunger engulfing Haiti

A long-simmering crisis over Haiti’s ability to govern itself, particularly after a series of natural disasters and an increasingly dire humanitarian emergency, has come to a head in the Caribbean nation, as its de facto president remains stranded in Puerto Rico and its people starve and live in fear of rampant violence. 

The chaos engulfing the country has been bubbling for more than a year, only for it to spill over on the global stage on Monday night, as Haiti’s unpopular prime minister, Ariel Henry, agreed to resign once a transitional government is brokered by other Caribbean nations and parties, including the U.S.

But the very idea of a transitional government brokered not by Haitians but by outsiders is one of the main reasons Haiti, a nation of 11 million, is on the brink, according to humanitarian workers and residents who have called for Haitian-led solutions. 

“What we’re seeing in Haiti has been building since the 2010 earthquake,” said Greg Beckett, an associate professor of anthropology at Western University in Canada. 

What is happening in Haiti and why?

In the power vacuum that followed the assassination of democratically elected President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, Henry, who was prime minister under Moïse, assumed power, with the support of several nations, including the U.S. 

When Haiti failed to hold elections multiple times — Henry said it was due to logistical problems or violence — protests rang out against him. By the time Henry announced last year that elections would be postponed again, to 2025, armed groups that were already active in Port-au-Prince, the capital, dialed up the violence.

Even before Moïse’s assassination, these militias and armed groups existed alongside politicians who used them to do their bidding, including everything from intimidating the opposition to collecting votes . With the dwindling of the country’s elected officials, though, many of these rebel forces have engaged in excessively violent acts, and have taken control of at least 80% of the capital, according to a United Nations estimate. 

Those groups, which include paramilitary and former police officers who pose as community leaders, have been responsible for the increase in killings, kidnappings and rapes since Moïse’s death, according to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program at Uppsala University in Sweden. According to a report from the U.N . released in January, more than 8,400 people were killed, injured or kidnapped in 2023, an increase of 122% increase from 2022.

“January and February have been the most violent months in the recent crisis, with thousands of people killed, or injured, or raped,” Beckett said.

Armed groups who had been calling for Henry’s resignation have already attacked airports, police stations, sea ports, the Central Bank and the country’s national soccer stadium. The situation reached critical mass earlier this month when the country’s two main prisons were raided , leading to the escape of about 4,000 prisoners. The beleaguered government called a 72-hour state of emergency, including a night-time curfew — but its authority had evaporated by then.

Aside from human-made catastrophes, Haiti still has not fully recovered from the devastating earthquake in 2010 that killed about 220,000 people and left 1.5 million homeless, many of them living in poorly built and exposed housing. More earthquakes, hurricanes and floods have followed, exacerbating efforts to rebuild infrastructure and a sense of national unity.

Since the earthquake, “there have been groups in Haiti trying to control that reconstruction process and the funding, the billions of dollars coming into the country to rebuild it,” said Beckett, who specializes in the Caribbean, particularly Haiti. 

Beckett said that control initially came from politicians and subsequently from armed groups supported by those politicians. Political “parties that controlled the government used the government for corruption to steal that money. We’re seeing the fallout from that.”

Many armed groups have formed in recent years claiming to be community groups carrying out essential work in underprivileged neighborhoods, but they have instead been accused of violence, even murder . One of the two main groups, G-9, is led by a former elite police officer, Jimmy Chérizier — also known as “Barbecue” — who has become the public face of the unrest and claimed credit for various attacks on public institutions. He has openly called for Henry to step down and called his campaign an “armed revolution.”

But caught in the crossfire are the residents of Haiti. In just one week, 15,000 people have been displaced from Port-au-Prince, according to a U.N. estimate. But people have been trying to flee the capital for well over a year, with one woman telling NBC News that she is currently hiding in a church with her three children and another family with eight children. The U.N. said about 160,000 people have left Port-au-Prince because of the swell of violence in the last several months. 

Deep poverty and famine are also a serious danger. Gangs have cut off access to the country’s largest port, Autorité Portuaire Nationale, and food could soon become scarce.

Haiti's uncertain future

A new transitional government may dismay the Haitians and their supporters who call for Haitian-led solutions to the crisis. 

But the creation of such a government would come after years of democratic disruption and the crumbling of Haiti’s political leadership. The country hasn’t held an election in eight years. 

Haitian advocates and scholars like Jemima Pierre, a professor at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, say foreign intervention, including from the U.S., is partially to blame for Haiti’s turmoil. The U.S. has routinely sent thousands of troops to Haiti , intervened in its government and supported unpopular leaders like Henry.

“What you have over the last 20 years is the consistent dismantling of the Haitian state,” Pierre said. “What intervention means for Haiti, what it has always meant, is death and destruction.”

In fact, the country’s situation was so dire that Henry was forced to travel abroad in the hope of securing a U.N. peacekeeping deal. He went to Kenya, which agreed to send 1,000 troops to coordinate an East African and U.N.-backed alliance to help restore order in Haiti, but the plan is now on hold . Kenya agreed last October to send a U.N.-sanctioned security force to Haiti, but Kenya’s courts decided it was unconstitutional. The result has been Haiti fending for itself. 

“A force like Kenya, they don’t speak Kreyòl, they don’t speak French,” Pierre said. “The Kenyan police are known for human rights abuses . So what does it tell us as Haitians that the only thing that you see that we deserve are not schools, not reparations for the cholera the U.N. brought , but more military with the mandate to use all kinds of force on our population? That is unacceptable.”  

Henry was forced to announce his planned resignation from Puerto Rico, as threats of violence — and armed groups taking over the airports — have prevented him from returning to his country.  

Now that Henry is to stand down, it is far from clear what the armed groups will do or demand next, aside from the right to govern. 

“It’s the Haitian people who know what they’re going through. It’s the Haitian people who are going to take destiny into their own hands. Haitian people will choose who will govern them,” Chérizier said recently, according to The Associated Press .

Haitians and their supporters have put forth their own solutions over the years, holding that foreign intervention routinely ignores the voices and desires of Haitians. 

In 2021, both Haitian and non-Haitian church leaders, women’s rights groups, lawyers, humanitarian workers, the Voodoo Sector and more created the Commission to Search for a Haitian Solution to the Crisis . The commission has proposed the “ Montana Accord ,” outlining a two-year interim government with oversight committees tasked with restoring order, eradicating corruption and establishing fair elections. 

For more from NBC BLK, sign up for our weekly newsletter .

CORRECTION (March 15, 2024, 9:58 a.m. ET): An earlier version of this article misstated which university Jemima Pierre is affiliated with. She is a professor at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, not the University of California, Los Angeles, (or Columbia University, as an earlier correction misstated).

Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.

Char Adams is a reporter for NBC BLK who writes about race.