Page 134 - Keys To Community College Success

get practical

TAKE A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO
BUILDING SUCCESSFUL INTELLIGENCE

Complete the following on paper or in digital format.
Considering the three thinking skills, write the one in which you most need to build strength (look back at your
Wheel of Successful Intelligence if you completed one in your text).
Then, name and describe two practical actions you can take that will improve your skills in that area. For example,
someone who wants to be more creative could take a course focused on creativity; someone who wants to be more
practical could work on paying attention to social cues; someone who wants to be more analytical could decide to
analyze one newspaper article every week. Be as specific as you can about your plans, noting what you will do,
when, and how.

HOW CAN YOU SOLVE PROBLEMS AND
make decisions effectively?

Successful problem solvers and decision makers put their analytical, creative, and
practical thinking skills together to solve problems and make decisions. Problem solv-
ing and decision making follow similar paths, both requiring you to identify and ana-
lyze a situation, generate possibilities, choose one, follow through on it, and evaluate
its success. Key 4.10 gives an overview of the paths, indicating how you think at each
step. Later in the chapter, Keys 4.12 and 4.13 show how to use this path, and a visual
organizer, to map out problems and decisions effectively.
Understanding the differences between problem solving and decision making will
help you know how to proceed. See Key 4.11 for more information. Whereas all prob-
lem solving involves decision making, only some decision making requires you to solve
a problem.

Solve a Problem

Use these strategies as you move through the problem-solving process outlined in
Key 4.10.
Use probing questions to define problems. Ask: What is the problem? And what
is causing the problem? Engage your emotional intelligence. If you determine that you
are not motivated to do your work for a class, for example, you could ask questions
like these:
■ Do my feelings stem from how I interact with my instructor or classmates?
■ Is the subject matter difficult? Uninteresting? Is the volume of work too much?
Chances are that how you answer one or more of these questions may help you
define the problem—and ultimately solve it.

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