Many students lack problem-solving skills. As teenagers, they tend to blame external forces or other people when something goes wrong, instead of trying to understand the root cause to prevent it from happening again. This article discusses the Lean Six Sigma methodology for problem solving, which the Board of Cooperative Educational Services in…

This article outlines the last step in a five-step process for preparing students to engage in a systematic mathematics problem-solving and decision-making process. The lesson plan teaches students to reread the problem, reexamine the question, check selection of operation, and recheck calculations and compare answers. (JDD)

Intended for use in conjunction with guidance and instruction from a teacher or tutor, this guide provides an overview of the philosophy of quality as well as some tools used in business and industry today. Each of four sections consists of a teacher explanation of the topics followed by student worksheets with annotated teacher keys. The first…

The curriculum guide is designed for a workplace education program for assembly line workers, inspectors, machine operators, packers, materials handlers, blenders, grinders, and trainers in a factory. The curriculum consists of instruction in English as a Second Language for the job, workplace communication, efficient and safe work habits, and…

This three-part instructional guide was developed to assist vocational instructors in business and office occupations in presenting broadly applicable, nontechnical (often called quality of work life--QWL) skills, such as interpersonal and group process skills, problem solving and decision making, planning, communications, business economics,…

This module for a 1-semester Total Quality Management (TQM) course for high school or community college students contains a brief overview of problem solving and offers a practical approach along with some of the tools that can be used. The following components are included: (1) narrative of the problem-solving process; (2) the problem-solving…

Project EXCEL is a federally-funded workplace literacy program involving hotel enterprises in the San Francisco (California) Bay area. Its focus is on identification and instruction of literacy skills essential to job success for limited-English-proficient (LEP) workers. Training is intended to enable employees to understand written work orders,…

This guide contains activities and resources to help adult learners develop the work-based foundation skills and knowledge areas included on the Foundation Skills Framework wheel (Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy 2000). Its four sections (basic employability skills, basic workplace knowledge, basic workplace skills, and lifelong learning…

Intended for programs and organizations that provide employment, education, and training services, this guide is organized to show how the work-based foundation skills framework tools may be used in interaction with customers. Section 1 discusses framework development, framework tools (21 work-based foundation skills and knowledge areas, lists of…

The guide outlines program design and curricula for a series of workplace education courses for limited-English-proficient adult immigrants. The courses are designed to raise basic skills in reading, writing, mathematics, problem-solving, and communication. Sections describe the program's target audience, objectives, goals, design, staff, theory…