Root Of It!

Open Ended

What is a possible consequence of Ms. Alvarez playing calm instrumental music over the hallway speakers during passing periods?

One possible consequence could be _____ because ______.

Open Ended

Describe a situation where you tried to fix a problem, but it wasn't solve. What could be the reason for this?

Open Ended

What if the obvious answer isn’t the real cause? How can we find out?

If the obvious answer isn’t the real cause, we can find out by _____ because _______.

Open Ended

Why might this be happening?

This might be happening because of_____.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following are symptoms and which are causes in the context of a wilting plant?

• Wilting leaves - Symptom, Overwatering - Cause

• Healthy roots - Symptom, Lack of sunlight - Cause

• Wilting leaves - Cause, Overwatering - Symptom

• Lack of sunlight - Symptom, Healthy roots - Cause

Multiple Select

Which of the following are steps you would take to confirm the root cause of a problem, according to the checklist?

• Ask 'Why?' repeatedly

• Look for evidence to support the most likely cause

• Confirm the root cause by ensuring it fully explains the problem

• Ignore the symptoms

Open Ended

Explain how you would use the root cause analysis checklist to solve a problem with a broken electronic device.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT a step in the root cause analysis checklist?

• Identify and review the symptoms

• Ask 'Why?' repeatedly to explore deeper causes

• Look for evidence to support the most likely cause

• Immediately implement a solution without analysis

Categorize

Options (4)

The Wilting Plant

Identify and review the symptoms.

Ask "why" repeatedly for deeper cause

Look for evidence to support cause

Confirm the root cause by explaining

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements best describes the difference between a symptom and a root cause, as illustrated by the wilting plant example?

• A symptom is the underlying reason for a problem, while a root cause is what you observe.

• A symptom is what you observe happening, while a root cause is the underlying reason for the problem.

• A symptom and a root cause are always the same thing.

• A root cause is less important than a symptom.

Open Ended

How does the image represent a symptom of a problem?

The image represents a symptom of a problem because ____.

Open Ended

What could be a root cause of this problem?

A root cause of this problem could be ____ because _____.

Draw

The principal at your school reviewed the enrollment numbers for after school clubs and sports and noticed that fewer students are participating in after school activities this school year.

What could be symptoms of this problem?

Open Ended

After conducting a survey to find out why student participation is low, the principal found out that the after school activities were not advertised on campus or the school’s social media account.

What could be the root cause of this problem?

Open Ended

Use a mind map and the symptom “Players frequently leave 1-star reviews for a new mobile game.” to conduct a root cause analysis.

Using the mind map, what is the most likely root cause of the 1-star reviews? Explain.

Open Ended

How can understanding root causes help solve problems more effectively?

Multiple Choice

A neighborhood grocery store keeps running out of fresh fruit by early afternoon. Which of the following is most likely the root cause of the problem?

• Customers are suddenly buying less fruit each day

• The store is ordering too little fruit for demand

• The price tags are missing from the fruit shelf

• The fruit section is located near the front door

​Canvas: Problem Solving Progress Check