Chapter 11

Problem-Solving Methods to
Facilitate Inclusive Education

Michael F. Giangreco, Chigee J. Cloninger,

Ruth E. Dennis, and Susan W. Edelman

Inclusive education practices require people to work together to invent

opportunities and solutions that maximize the learning experiences of
all children. This chapter presents ways of planning, adapting, and
implementing inclusive educational experiences for students of vary-
ing abilities. It is a how-to chapter that is based on the assumption that
inclusive educational experiences are desirable for children with and
without disabilities. As Giangreco and Putnam (1991) pointed out,
when people use terms such as inclusion, they may mean different
things. To assist readers to understand what we mean by inclusive edu-
cation in this chapter, a five-point definition is presented in Table 1.

This chapter is adapted from Giangreco, M.F., Cloninger, C.J., Dennis,

R.E., & Edelman, S.W. (1994). Problem-solving methods to facilitate inclusive
education. In J.S. Thousand, R.A. Villa, & A.I. Nevin (Eds.), Creativity and col-
laborative learning: A practical guide to empowering students and teachers (pp.
321–346). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.; adapted by permission.
293
294 Giangreco et al.

Table 1. Basic components of inclusive education

Inclusive education is in place when each of these five features occurs on an ongoing,
daily basis.
1. Heterogeneous Grouping All students are educated together in groups where the
number of those with and without disabilities approximates the natural proportion.
The premise is that “students develop most when in the physical, social, emotion-
al, and intellectual presence of nonhandicapped persons in reasonable approxima-
tions to the natural proportions” (Brown et al., 1983, p. 17). Thus, in a class of 25
students, perhaps there is one student with significant disabilities, a couple of oth-
ers with less significant disabilities, and many students without identified disabilities
working at various levels.
2. A Sense of Belonging to a Group All students are considered members of the class
rather than visitors, guests, or outsiders. Within these groups, students who have
disabilities are welcomed, as are students without disabilities.
3. Shared Activities with Individualized Outcomes Students share educational experi-
ences (e.g., lessons, labs, field studies, group learning) at the same time (Schnorr,
1990). Even though students are involved in the same activities, their learning objec-
tives are individualized and, therefore, may be different. Students may have different
objectives in the same curriculum area (e.g., language arts) during a shared activity.
This is referred to as multilevel instruction (Campbell, Campbell, Collicott, Perner, &
Stone, 1988; Collicott, 1991; Giangreco & Meyer, 1988; Giangreco & Putnam, 1991).
Within a shared activity, a student also may have individualized objectives from a
curriculum area (e.g., social skills) other than that on which other students are
focused (e.g., science). This practice is referred to as curriculum overlapping
(Giangreco & Meyer, 1988; Giangreco & Putnam, 1991).
4. Use of Environments Frequented by Persons without Disabilities Shared educational
experiences take place in environments predominantly frequented by people with-
out disabilities (e.g., general education classroom, community worksites).
5. A Balanced Educational Experience Inclusive education seeks an individualized bal-
ance between the academic/functional and social/personal aspects of schooling
(Giangreco, 1992). For example, teachers in inclusion-oriented schools would be as
concerned about students’ self-image and social network as they would be about
developing literacy competencies or learning vocational skills.

Inclusive education is in place only when all five features occur on an

ongoing, daily basis.
An inclusive school, therefore, is “a place where everyone belongs,
is accepted, supports, and is supported by his or her peers and other
members of the school community in the course of having his or her
educational needs met” (Stainback & Stainback, 1990, p. 3). It is designed
to benefit everyone—students with varying characteristics (including
those with disabilities) as well as teachers and other school personnel.
Readers who are interested in the philosophical rationale for inclusive
education are referred to the wide variety of resources available (e.g.,
Bauer & Shea, 1999; Hunt & Goetz, 1997; Lipsky & Gartner, 1997;
McGregor & Vogelsberg, 1998; Stainback & Stainback, 1996; Villa &
Thousand, 1995).
Problem-Solving Methods to Facilitate Inclusive Education 295

The remainder of this chapter is divided into six sections. The first
section presents contextual information regarding the challenges asso-
ciated with educating a diverse group of students in general education
environments and activities. The second describes characteristics of
effective problem solvers as well as the Osborn–Parnes Creative
Problem-Solving (CPS) process. The third section delineates three vari-
ations of the CPS process that utilize the creative powers of children
and adults to generate options for the inclusion of classmates with
diverse needs. The fourth section offers suggestions for evaluating the
impact of CPS strategies on the educational experiences of students,
and the fifth section discusses implications of using CPS in education.

CHALLENGE OF EDUCATING DIVERSE

GROUPS IN HETEROGENEOUS GENERAL
EDUCATION ENVIRONMENTS AND ACTIVI-
TIES

We can, whenever and wherever we choose, successfully teach all chil-

dren whose schooling is of interest to us. We already know more than we
need in order to do this. Whether we do it must finally depend on how we
feel about the fact that we haven’t done it so far. (Edmonds, 1979, p. 29)

Edmonds’s (1979) comment reflects a vision of U.S. education that

remains unfulfilled and acknowledges the challenges that schools face
in realizing this vision. Table 2 contrasts major distinctions between
traditional approaches of coping with students’ diversity and more
contemporary, inclusion-oriented approaches. These distinctions are
presented in order to set a context—to highlight the assumptions and
approaches that enable educators to meet the challenge of educating
diverse groups of students in heterogeneous general education envi-
ronments and activities more effectively.
It should be noted that even if educators embrace the inclusion-
oriented educational tenets presented in Table 2, they still should and
do have legitimate questions about how educational alternatives work
and what the impact of these practices will be. Their questions include
the following:

• How can I, as a teacher, accommodate such a wide array of student

needs without sacrificing quality?
• Is it not a lot of pressure on one person—the teacher—to generate all
of the accommodations that need to be made?
• How will the inclusion of students with diverse needs affect the
296 Giangreco et al.

Table 2. Approaches to educating students with diverse characteristics

Traditional approaches Inclusion-oriented alternatives

The teacher is the instructional leader. Collaborative teams share leadership.

Students learn from teachers, and Students and teachers learn from each
teachers solve the problems. other and solve problems together.
Students are purposely grouped by Students are purposely grouped by
similar ability. differing abilities.
Instruction is geared toward middle- Instruction is geared to match
achieving students. students at all levels of achievement.
Grade-level placement is considered Grade-level placement and individual
synonymous with curricular content. curricular content are independent
of each other.
Instruction is often passive, Instruction is active, creative, and
competitve, didactic, and/or collaborative among members of the
teacher-directed. classroom community.
People who provide instructional People who provide instructional
supports are located, or come supports are located, or come
primarily from, sources external primarily from, sources internal
to the classroom. to the classroom.
Some students do not “fit” in All students “fit” in general education
general education classes. classes.
Students who do not “fit in” are All students are included in general
excluded from general classes class activities.
and/or activities.
The classroom teacher and general The classroom teacher and general
education team assume ownership for education team (including special
the education of general education educators, related services staff,
students, and special education staff and families) assume ownership for
assume ownership for the education educating all students attending the
of students with special needs. school.
Students are evaluated by common Students are evaluated by individually
standards. appropriate standards.
Students’ success is achieved by The system of education is considered
meeting common standards. successful when it strives to meet
each student’s needs.

social and academic outcomes of the other students?

• How will the inclusion of students with diverse needs affect my
capacity to provide a quality education to all of my students?

Research in North American schools has yielded sufficient evi-

dence to convince us that the answers to these questions are positive,
although much remains to be done. Specifically, our conclusions include
the following:
Problem-Solving Methods to Facilitate Inclusive Education 297

• Diverse student needs can be accommodated within general class activ-

ities while a high-quality education is maintained for all students.
• The responsibility for developing accommodations can and should
be shared among many members of the classroom community,
including not only the adults within the school but also the students.
• Well-planned inclusion can have positive social and academic out-
comes for students with and without disabilities.
• Teachers who choose to meet the challenge of educating diverse
groups of students improve their teaching for the entire class (Hunt &
Goetz, 1997; McGregor & Vogelsberg, 1998).

OSBORN–PARNES CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLV-

ING AS A METHOD FOR INCLUDING STU-
DENTS WITH DIVERSE NEEDS IN THE
CLASSROOM
The CPS process (Parnes, 1985, 1988, 1992, 1997) is one method for
empowering teams of teachers and students to work together to meet
the challenges of educating a heterogeneous school population. CPS is
a generic strategy designed for addressing a variety of challenges and
opportunities. The process was articulated first in 1953 by Osborn
(1953/1993), the person who coined the term brainstorming. CPS was
further developed by Osborn’s protegé and colleague, Parnes, who
promoted the use of CPS in many fields—advertising, product devel-
opment, business, and education. Clearly, creativity is recognized as a
valuable process and outcome in education and a necessary skill for
professionals who must restructure schools to meet the changing needs
of society. Within education, CPS historically was associated with the
education of children labeled as gifted. Only since the late 1980s has
CPS been applied to inclusion-oriented education issues. As a conse-
quence, in the late 1990s people increasingly began recognizing that
approaches to teaching students at opposite ends of the academic
achievement continuum hold benefits for the multitude of children in
between. What follows are some basic tenets of the Osborn–Parnes CPS
process represented as characteristics of effective problem solvers.

Characteristics of Problem Solvers

To be optimally successful in using the CPS process, participants must
exhibit certain behaviors and dispositions identified as characteristic of
effective problem solvers. Six of these characteristics are described in
this section:
298 Giangreco et al.

1. Problem solvers believe everyone is creative and has the capacity

to solve problems.
2. Problem solvers are optimistic.
3. Problem solvers alternate between divergent and convergent
thinking.
4. Problem solvers actively defer and engage their judgment.
5. Problem solvers encourage “freewheeling” and fun.
6. Problem solvers take action.

Problem Solvers Believe Everyone Is Creative and

Has the Capacity to Solve Problems Everyone has heard
statements such as “I’m not creative” or “I could never come up with
those kinds of ideas.” Many people limit the many useful ideas that
they are capable of generating by minimizing their personal creative
potential. The fact is that people use their creative problem-solving
abilities constantly in daily life without even noticing it. Creative abil-
ities are being used every time a person rearranges the furniture,
makes a substitution in a recipe, improvises by using an object in place
of an absent tool, adapts a game to play with a child, or plans a sched-
ule.
In education, as in many other fields, people have been encour-
aged to believe that certain experts hold the key to special knowledge
or creative solutions. As a result, there is a tendency to become unnec-
essarily dependent on outside consultants to solve problems while
becoming increasingly less confident in one’s own abilities in deference
to others’. In contrast, this chapter’s authors believe any group of peo-
ple has the ability to solve the many challenges of inclusion-oriented
schooling through the use of CPS. By working together, teams of peo-
ple can identify solutions and take actions that no individual could
accomplish alone. The practice of using CPS strategies within teams
can enhance individual team members’ personal growth and creative
capacity in a broad range of situations.
The steps of CPS take advantage of the abilities that people already
have and encourage people to emphasize and deliberately use their
existing abilities to solve problems. Learning the basics of CPS is easy.
People already know how to do most or all of what is needed, and they
have been doing it naturally for all of their lives. The new learning comes
in practicing the use of these existing skills in new and deliberate ways.
Problem Solvers Are Optimistic CPS, or any other prob-
lem- solving method, is based on optimism. Problem solvers enter the
process with the knowledge that every challenge they face can be
Problem-Solving Methods to Facilitate Inclusive Education 299

solved, usually in more than one way.

Problem Solvers Alternate Between Divergent
and Convergent Thinking A central concept embedded in
the Osborn–Parnes CPS process is that of actively alternating between
divergent and convergent thinking. This means that at each stage of the
CPS process, there is a time to consider the challenge in broad, diver-
gent ways and to be open to many possibilities. Then, within the same
stage, the problem solver is encouraged to think convergently—to nar-
row the focus and make a choice from among the many possibilities,
allowing the process to continue.
Problem Solvers Actively Defer and Engage Their
Judgment People frequently inhibit their creative abilities by pre-
maturely engaging their judgment; in essence, they are generating
ideas and attempting to evaluate them at the same time. Firestien
(1989) likened this to driving a car with your feet on the brake and the
gas pedal at the same time. Firestien’s analogy points out that such an
approach is unlikely to get anyone far. Effective problem solvers refrain
from this practice and identify times to actively defer judgment and
times to engage judgment purposefully. These times correspond with
divergent and convergent thinking. In a divergent phase, judgment is
actively deferred. In a convergent phase, judgment is purposefully
engaged.
Problem Solvers Encourage Freewheeling and
Fun Having fun and being playful with ideas is crucial to effective
problem solving. We might think of humor and playfulness as the oil
that keeps the creativity engine lubricated and running smoothly.
Creative insights as well as humor can be facilitated by bringing
together elements that seem incongruent. Gary Larson’s The Far Side
cartoons are prime examples of incongruency that are both creative
and humorous.
Sometimes it may be difficult for people to be playful when the
challenges they face are serious; yet, playfulness is essential. During
training workshops, we have observed teachers practicing the use of
CPS in noneducation situations and doing an excellent job of being
playful and having fun with their ideas. When the same teachers were
asked to apply CPS skills to educational challenges, however, many
reverted to old “school meeting behaviors” that were anything but fun
and seriously interfered with their capacity to problem solve creatively.
It is easy for people to fall back into familiar patterns and traditional
group interactions. Therefore, when using CPS, it is critical to be mind-
ful of this hazard and guard against it with collective playfulness. If
people do not enjoy using CPS strategies, they are less likely to use them
in the future.
300 Giangreco et al.

Problem Solvers Take Action Problem solvers extend

the power of their optimism by acting on their ideas. Ideas that are gen-
erated do not have to be earth shattering or world changing. Some peo-
ple do not use the ideas that they generate because they judge their
ideas not good enough. Yet, as Osborn observed, “A fair idea put to use
is better than a good idea kept on the polishing wheel” (cited in Parnes,
1988, p. 37). As people start to use CPS and get into new habits that
accentuate their creative problem-solving abilities, they find them-
selves generating more and better ideas. The key is to act, not to wait
for the perfect solution before taking action. Better ideas always may be
implemented later if and when they are discovered.

STAGES OF THE OSBORN–PARNES

CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESS
The information regarding the six stages of the Osborn–Parnes CPS
process presented in Table 3 and described on the following pages is
based on descriptions of the process outlined by Osborn (1953/1993)
and Parnes (1985, 1988, 1992, 1997) and insights gained from the
authors’ use of the process (Giangreco, 1993).
Developing creativity capabilities is a lifelong undertaking (Parnes,
1985, 1988) that should be thought of more as the development of a cre-
ative attitude than as the learning and application of specific steps and
procedures. Thus, the Osborn–Parnes CPS process should be used as a
springboard for inventing or personalizing CPS models and techniques.
Some of the variations that we have developed to help with the chal-
lenges of school and community inclusion are highlighted in the next
section. Cycling and recycling through the CPS process and its variations
internalize the creative attitude and make creative problem solving a
part of one’s daily routine rather than an isolated tool used only in cer-
tain contexts (e.g., school versus home or family) or with certain prob-
lems (e.g., student versus systems change issues in education reform).
Stage 1: Visionizing or Objective-Finding Have
you driven down the same road many times and later realized that
there was something on that road you had not noticed before? The first
stage of CPS helps one become increasingly aware of challenges and
opportunities by sharpening the powers of observation. It prepares people
to use all of their senses and perceptions to explore new possibilities
and search for opportunities. The following rules or dispositions will
help a problem solver at this stage:

• Think of objective-finding as a starting point or a general challenge.

• Think divergently by considering a variety of potential problems to
 Problem-Solving Methods to Facilitate Inclusive Education 301

Table 3. Stages of the Osborn–Parnes Creative Problem-Solving process

Stage 1: Visionizing or Objective-Finding At this initial stage, the problem solvers

heighten their awareness through imagining potential challenges. First, they are
divergent, considering a variety of possible challenges. Then, they converge by
selecting one to begin solving.
Stage 2: Fact-Finding Problem solvers gather as much information as possible about
the selected challenge by using all of their perceptions and senses. By asking “who,
what, where, when, why, and how” questions, problem solvers are divergent in con-
sidering multiple perspectives regarding the challenge.They finish this stage by iden-
tifying facts they believe to be most relevant to the challenge.
Stage 3: Problem-Finding The purpose of this stage is to clarify the challenge or
problem by redefining it in new and different ways; by rephrasing the challenge as
a question, “In what ways might I/we . . . ?”; and by asking the question “Why?” or
“What do I/we really want to accomplish?” This process is repeated until the prob-
lem solvers restate the problem in a way that makes the most sense and is most
appealing to them.
Stage 4: Idea-Finding At this stage, the objective is to defer judgment while generat-
ing as many ideas as possible to potentially solve the challenge. Playfulness and wild
ideas are encouraged.To come up with ideas beyond the obvious, problem solvers
attempt to make new connections between ideas through analogies, manipulation
of ideas (e.g., magnifying, minifying, reversing, eliminating), and hitchhiking (i.e., mak-
ing new associations by building on someone else’s idea).
Stage 5: Solution-Finding At this stage of the process, a variety of criteria are con-
sidered and ultimately selected for evaluating the merit of ideas. Problem solvers
use the criteria to assist in selecting the best solution.
Stage 6: Acceptance-Finding The problem solvers refine the solutions to make them
more workable.The objective is to turn ideas into action through the development
and implementation of an action plan. Regular evaluation of the solution helps
problem solvers discover new challenges and ways of addressing them as the action
plan is carried out.
Based on Osborn (1953/1993) and Parnes (1985, 1988, 1992).

solve. Remember to defer judgment and have fun.

• Expand possibilities and free yourself from real or perceived bound-
aries by imagining, wishing, dreaming, and fantasizing.
• Think convergently by focusing on one challenge that you really
want to solve.
• Remember that challenges come in different sizes. Pick one that is
small enough to be solved in the time available. By starting with
manageable challenges, teams and individuals are more likely to
experience success, develop a creative attitude, and practice and
improve their creativity skills.

Stage 2: Fact-Finding The purpose of fact-finding is to

identify and list as many facts about the challenge as team members
302 Giangreco et al.

can think of. There is an important relationship between facts and

potential solutions. From obvious facts come obvious ideas; from less
obvious facts come less obvious and possibly more inventive solutions.
To start fact finding, set a relatively short time limit, such as 5–8 min-
utes. Fact-finding is a quick-paced, rapid-fire listing of what people
believe to be true about the challenge situation. The facts should be
presented briefly and without explanation, judgment, or discussion. In
other words, use the approach of the fictional Joe Friday (the character
from the famed television series Dragnet [Webb,
1952–1959/1967–1971]) and solicit “just the facts, ma’am, just the
facts.” Always record and save the list of facts for use later during the
CPS process (e.g., during idea-finding). The following are tips for
increasing the likelihood that all of the relevant facts emerge:

• Use all of your senses and perceptions to describe what you know
about the challenge. Remember, facts can be feelings, so they may be
listed also.
• Ask who, what, where, when, why, and how questions about what
is and is not true of the challenge situation.
• Think divergently and defer judgment to generate a large quantity
and variety of facts. If someone states an opinion with which you do
not agree, do not dispute it; rather, accept it as that person’s opinion
(e.g., “Larry believes that students act out because they simply are
bored during class”).
• Stretch beyond the obvious facts.
• Ask yourself, “What does the challenge or the facts about the chal-
lenge remind me of?”
• Think convergently by selecting a subset of relevant facts to assist
during problem finding in the next stage.
• Record and save the list of facts. These will be used again later in the
process, especially during idea-finding.

Stage 3: Problem-Finding Sometimes the initial selection

of a challenge is right on target; at other times, the initial selection is
just a starting point. The purpose of problem-finding is to clarify the
challenge or the problem by considering different ways of viewing it.
When rephrasing the challenge at this stage, it is helpful to state the
challenge in positive terms by using the starter phrase, “In what ways
might we . . . ?” and repeating the question until the team feels com-
fortable that it has teased out the real issues.
Problem-Solving Methods to Facilitate Inclusive Education 303

Next, be convergent and select one of the new challenge statements

that the team agrees it wants to solve. Consensus may be prompted by
asking team members a question such as, “Which of these challenges do
we most desperately want to accomplish or solve?” Problem-finding is
an important stage of CPS because, as John Dewey observed, “A prob-
lem well defined is half solved” (cited in Parnes, 1988, p. 72).
Stage 4: Idea-Finding Ideas are potential solutions to the
challenge statement selected at Stage 3. Where do these ideas come
from? Central to idea-finding is brainstorming (Osborn, 1953/1993).
Brainstorming is a divergent idea-generating process in which judg-
ment or even praise is deferred in order to help problem solvers stretch
beyond the obvious. Quantity is the key, because it is likely that the
first ideas generated will be the same old ideas. It is important to keep
the ideas flowing as quickly as possible and to limit sessions to 5–10
minutes. Good brainstorming sessions do not look anything like a typ-
ical group meeting; in brainstorming sessions, there is little quiet time
and people speak in single words or short phrases rather than in sen-
tences. Other important techniques to jar ideas loose are forced relation-
ships (Parnes, 1988, p. 158), synectics, and incubation. These techniques
are described briefly in the paragraphs that follow.

Forced relationships are achieved when two objects, ideas, or concepts

that appear to have little or no relationship to each other are com-
bined or rearranged in some way to generate a new idea to solve a
problem. These new connections between apparently unlike entities
are made by looking for similarities, analogies, metaphors, or other
comparisons between characteristics of the two objects or ideas.
With regard to synectics, Gordon and Poze (1979) explained that learning
occurs when people make the strange familiar. Creativity and invention,
however, are facilitated when people make the familiar strange. Among
the ways of making the familiar strange is to search for new ways of
seeing the challenge and facts by identifying new relationships through
paradoxes, analogies, metaphors, associations, and connections. (For
more information, see Gordon [1987] and Gordon and Poze [1979].)
Incubation involves moving away from the challenge for a time to
engage in different activities and returning to the challenge later.

As mentioned earlier, ideas also may emanate from facts. Thus, it

is important to use facts from Stage 2 in conjunction with idea joggers by
combining or manipulating facts or their dimensions. Idea joggers
include questions such as, What would the situation look like if some-
304 Giangreco et al.

thing (e.g., a fact about the situation) were 1) minified/made smaller,

2) magnified/made bigger, 3) rearranged, 4) eliminated, 5) reversed, or
6) turned upside down or inside out?
Idea joggers may involve manipulating dimensions of a fact; for
example, if part of a problem situation is visual (e.g., In what ways
might the school building or the classroom be improved in appear-
ance?), applying idea joggers to visual dimensions such as color, shade,
brightness, design, or contrast can generate ideas. Although facts can
lead directly to ideas, theoretically the more idea joggers applied and
combined, the more ideas that are likely to be generated.
Some ideas that are generated may be wild and unusable. These
ideas have tremendous potential value, however, because other ideas
may be spurred by them in a hitchhiking effect. For example, a class of
first graders was presented with the forced relationship of a magazine
photograph of a tropical beach scene and the challenge, “In what ways
might we help our new classmate, Amy, feel welcome?” One student
enthusiastically blurted out, “Let’s take her to Bermuda!” The next stu-
dent said, “I could play with her in the sandbox during recess.” This
student apparently hitchhiked on the previous idea by identifying sim-
ilarities between the beach in Bermuda and facts she knew about the
schoolyard (e.g., both have sand used for play) (Giangreco, 1993). Idea-
finding concludes by focusing on promising ideas.
Stage 5: Solution-Finding Solution-finding involves
evaluating and selecting from the ideas generated in Stage 4. It begins
divergently, with an individual or group considering a wide variety of
potential criteria that might be used to evaluate the ideas. For example,
ideas about potential accommodations for an individual student might
be judged by the following criteria, framed as questions:

1. Is the accommodation feasible?

2. Is the accommodation time efficient for the teacher?
3. Does the student like the idea?
4. Will the accommodation likely enhance the image of the student
among peers?
5. Is it consistent with the team’s philosophical orientation or shared
values?
6. Will the accommodation promote independence and responsibili-
ty rather than dependence and helplessness?
Problem-Solving Methods to Facilitate Inclusive Education 305

Next, the individual or team needs to converge on a subset of cri-

teria and use them to evaluate the ideas. Selecting solutions can be
facilitated by cross-referencing ideas and criteria arranged in a matrix.
Ideas are listed along the side, and criteria are listed across the top. The
matrix offers space to rate each idea based on each criterion. Rating
may be as simple as a plus versus minus scoring system or as complex
as a scale that weighs criteria differently. Remember, whichever scor-
ing method is used, it is not intended to be a formula that removes
decision-making power. Rather, the criteria and rating method are
intended to provide a rational framework for considering the merits of
each idea. Fundamentally, solution-finding is a convergent stage of the
CPS process in which judgment is engaged to select or combine ideas
for which a plan of action is then devised and implemented.
Stage 6: Acceptance-Finding In acceptance-finding, the
problem-solving task is to first think divergently by asking and answer-
ing who, what, where, when, why, and how questions in order to
explore a variety of ways to make the selected solution(s) more work-
able and effective. The team then acts convergently, developing a step-
by-step plan of action. The entire process ends with the problem solvers
taking action and regularly evaluating the effectiveness of the selected
solution(s). New challenges that arise during implementation may be
viewed as opportunities—opportunities to cycle through the CPS process
again, to invent yet more new solutions, to continue to develop a cre-
ative attitude and disposition, and to hone creativity skills.

VARIATIONS OF THE OSBORN–PARNES

CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESS
THAT TAP STUDENTS’ NATURAL CREATIVI-
TY
This section describes three variations of the CPS process that have
been field tested in some Vermont classrooms. The variations are ded-
icated specifically to developing ways of enhancing meaningful partic-
ipation for class members when the group includes students with a
wide range of abilities and characteristics. The variations focus on the
challenge of including an individual student. Although this approach
was successful as a starting point, users of the variations are encour-
aged to consider the challenge as the meaningful inclusion of all class
members in the classroom community.
The variations described in this section tap the innate creative abil-
ities of students. Although it may be preferable to teach children a com-
306 Giangreco et al.

plete problem-solving process (e.g., Eberle & Stanish, 1985), less com-
plete variations have proved to be effective for on-the-fly classroom use.
CPS variations work so well because people are by their nature creative;
the variations simply “fill in the blanks” for steps missing from the cre-
ative processes each teacher develops on his or her own. It should be
emphasized that CPS and its variations are generic tools for students to
use to address—individually or in groups—a range of academic, social,
or personal challenges other than those described in this chapter.

Heterogeneous Grouping and

Inclusion-Oriented Education: A Prime
Opportunity to Engage Creative Processes
Before detailing each of the three CPS variations, we would like to return
to an examination of the context in which the variations are useful. We
all know educators who look at students who have widely differing edu-
cational needs and use that observation to justify ability grouping with-
in a classroom or the exclusion of some students from typical classes
rather than determine in which ways students’ uniqueness can be appre-
ciated and supported. For problem solvers with an inclusive education
orientation, placement in the classroom of students with widely differ-
ing educational needs is a naturally occurring incongruity or “forced
relationship.” Therefore, heterogeneous, inclusive classrooms offer a
prime opportunity for many creative ideas and solutions to be devel-
oped and tried. Inclusive education and creative problem solving there-
fore are positively interdependent characteristics of effective schooling.
CPS and its variations work best if a creative attitude, atmosphere, and
culture exist within the classroom and school community. An additional
issue, therefore, in using CPS with and for children in schools is how to
promote a culture of creativity so that students eventually identify and
engage in creative problem-solving strategies even when they are not
asked to do so. The following are some strategies that classroom teachers
and administrators have used to establish more creative school cultures:

Establish and use a collaborative team approach in which members of

the classroom and school community work together toward common
goals (Thousand & Villa, 1992)
Be sure that adults model collaborative, open, creative, and problem-
solving behaviors (e.g., deferring judgment) for students
Involve students in making important instructional decisions
Give students ongoing opportunities to solve important problems in an
atmosphere in which their ideas are welcomed and acted on
Create opportunities for students to see that there can be more than one
Problem-Solving Methods to Facilitate Inclusive Education 307

right answer to any problem or question

Create ongoing opportunities for learning to be active and fun
As adults, be ready, willing, and able to learn from students as well as
from each other

Issues in Peer-Supported Problem Solving

Because the problem-solving strategies described in this chapter engage
children in problem solving for a peer, concerns arise with regard to
whether having classmates focus on a particular student unnecessarily
draws negative attention to the student or otherwise infringes on the pri-
vacy and rights of that individual. Such concerns should always be con-
sidered seriously. Peer-supported problem solving can be a powerful
and effective strategy if precautions designed to protect students’ rights
and dignity are observed. Specifically, educators should be sure to

Obtain parental consent and permission

Obtain student consent (Discuss in private the possibility of peer-
supported problem solving with the student who will be the focus of
discussion and seek feedback and approval before proceeding. For
students with communication challenges, explore various observa-
tional strategies and augmentative approaches to determine their
interest in involving peers in planning processes.)
Respect students’ privacy and confidentiality needs (For some students,
the type of personal information that may be revealed and used in
problem solving with classmates may be nonthreatening; for other
students, the same information may be considered extremely sensi-
tive and private.)
Use CPS variations respectfully with other class members, regardless of
whether they have a disability. This establishes the process as a gen-
eral classroom tool for addressing daily challenges and building class
community.

CPS Variation 1:
“One-Minute Idea-Finding,” or “Ask the Kids”
The simplest and quickest variation used in inclusive classrooms is to
have the teacher ask the students for their ideas, using the steps pre-
sented in Table 4. It is remarkable how many excellent ideas students
generate when they simply are presented with information, a chal-
lenge, and a request for their ideas.
308 Giangreco et al.

Table 4. Steps in the “One-Minute Idea-Finding” or “Ask the Kids” strategy

Step 1. The teacher presents introductory lesson content or activity directions to the class.
This provides the students with some information about the challenge (i.e.,
fact-finding).They already know other general information about themselves
and the classroom.
Step 2. The teacher presents a selected challenge to the class. For example, a teacher
might say, “We are going to be conducting a science experiment in small
groups. In what ways can we make sure Molly (a student with educational
challenges) is included in the activity?” This step combines objective-finding
(CPS Stage 1) and problem-finding (Stage 3). An alternative phrasing that
might be more inclusive and respectful would be to ask,“We are going to be
conducting a science experiment in small groups. In what ways can we make
sure that everyone in each group is included in the activity?”
Step 3. The teacher asks the students to offer their suggestions for 1 minute in an atmos-
phere of deferred judgment. This is the idea-finding stage of the CPS process.
The ideas may be recorded on the chalkboard or elsewhere.
Step 4. The class selects from the ideas generated the ones they wish to use. This is the
solution-finding stage of CPS.
Step 5. The students participate in the class activity and use their ideas. This last step
represents the acceptance-finding stage of CPS.

To illustrate the “Ask the Kids” variation, consider the experience

of a class of third graders who are preparing a mural as a culminating
activity of their social studies unit on cities:

The teacher divided the class into four heterogeneous groups of five stu-
dents each. One group included Betty, a girl with intensive educational
needs. The teacher assigned each group a part of the city to paint or draw
(e.g., downtown business area, residential neighborhoods, waterfront,
industrial sites). Using cooperative group skills (Johnson, Johnson, &
Holubec, 1993) that the class had practiced throughout the year, each
group was asked to reach consensus about what would be included in
their part and decide who would be responsible for each part. Each group
also had to coordinate with every other group so that, when finished, the
four pieces could be joined to make a single large mural of a city to be dis-
played in the hallway. The teacher told the students that they should be
prepared to explain what they did within and between groups and why.
The teacher then asked the class, “How can we make sure that Betty
has ways to participate in this activity?” Mark said, “She’s up there in her
wheelchair, and we’re here on the floor with this big paper. We could get
her out of her chair and bring her down here with us.” Karen suggested,
“It’s good for Betty to have her arms moved, and I know blue is her
favorite color. I could help her hold and move the paint brush to paint the
sky and water.” Janet thought, “Betty could help carry our group’s list of
ideas to the other group so we can see how our parts will fit together.”
“Hey! That makes me think—maybe we could have Betty run the tape
recorder so we can tape our list rather than writing it!” said Joe.
(Giangreco, 1993, p. 122)
 Problem-Solving Methods to Facilitate Inclusive Education 309

Table 5. Fact-finding backup procedure to Step 3 of “One-Minute Idea-Finding”

Step 3: The teacher asks the students to offer their suggestions for 1 minute in an
atmosphere of deferred judgment (idea-finding). The ideas may be recorded
on the chalkboard or elsewhere.
Fact-Finding Backup Procedures
3a. If students do not answer, offer a very limited number of ideas or offer stan-
dard ideas—the teacher stops and has the students list facts about the activ-
ity and class.
3b. The teacher encourages the students to search for ideas that may be spurred
by looking at the facts.
3c. If an insufficient number of ideas are generated by looking at direct relation-
ships between the facts and ideas, idea-joggers can be applied to the facts to
generate additional ideas.

The key is to ask students for their ideas. So often we do not do so.
This CPS variation is quick, easy, and effective but is limited for two
reasons. First, students may come up short on ideas or, after using this
strategy repeatedly, give “standard” answers rather than develop new,
creative alternatives. Second, although student ideas may lead to
meaningful inclusion of the classmate with disabilities, their sugges-
tions may or may not address the individualized learning needs of the
student. This represents a common problem in inclusion-oriented
classrooms. A student may be welcomed and included, but individual
learning objectives may not be adequately or deliberately addressed
through participation in class activities. Despite its limitations, this
simple variation is consistent with the notion of developing natural
supports internal to a classroom and simultaneously facilitating inclu-
sion and a culture of creativity.

CPS Variation 2:
“One-Minute Idea-Finding with a Fact-Finding
Backup”
The “One-Minute Idea-Finding with Fact-Finding Backup” variation
addresses the problem of students’ getting stuck for ideas or giving
standard solutions. The variation takes advantage of the relationship
between facts and ideas. As previously noted, ideas can come directly
from facts or “idea joggers” used to consider facts from new perspectives.
The steps of this variation parallel those of the first “One-Minute
Idea-Finding” variation (see Table 4). The backup process occurs at
Step 3, as outlined in Table 5. Using the previous example about Betty’s
participation in the social studies mural activity, Giangreco offered the
following example of how a teacher might assist students to break
through to new ideas:
310 Giangreco et al.

The teacher could say, “Okay, what do we know about this activity?” As
the students use their powers of observation to fact-find, ideas might be
spurred. The teacher could continue to facilitate idea-finding by asking
probing, idea-jogging questions, such as, “What would happen if we took
that fact and reversed it, cut it in half, or made it bigger?” Perhaps the
teacher then would present an object as a forced relationship to stimulate
the students to look for similarities, connections, analogies, or metaphors
between the object and the challenge that might help solve the problem.
Using these procedures, Andrea realized, “We need to get paper and
paints from the supply room [fact-finding]; Betty could go to the supply
room with us and help carry back the stuff we need and give it to the other
kids” [idea-finding]. Marc added, “We’ll be painting with a lot of differ-
ent colors [fact-finding]. Hey, maybe Betty could use her switch to turn on
a fan. Then the paint would dry faster and we could do more painting”
[idea-finding]. (1993, p. 123)

This variation is quick and addresses the issue of what to do if students

get stuck for ideas. It does not, however, address the problem of inclu-
sion-oriented classrooms mentioned previously—that is, a student
being welcomed and included but individual learning objectives not
being adequately or deliberately addressed.

CPS Variation 3:
“Get Some Help from SAM—A Good Friend”
The third variation was once called the “short-focused option”
(Giangreco, 1993, p. 123) because the variation, being less extensive
than the full CPS process, can be completed in a short period of time
(i.e., less than 10 minutes) while deliberately focusing on the individualized
learning objectives of a student. The deliberate attention on learning
objectives distinguishes this third variation from the two described
previously. The short-focused option, however, is not a friendly name;
one colleague jokingly suggested renaming the variation “John.”
Another hitchhiked, saying, “Why not just a name?” Using the forced
relationship technique in combination with metaphors and connec-
tions between a person’s name and the short-focused option were
explored. The name Sam came to mind because of a good friend named
Sam. The short-focused option also could be considered a good friend
in helping us to pursue quality, inclusive education. Thus, this varia-
tion was fondly renamed SAM. SAM is not an acronym for anything,
although it could be (e.g., Short Accommodation Method, Super
Adaptation Method, Sane Approach Method, Subversive Accommoda-
tion Mishaps, Sequential Adaptation Map, Supersonic Activity Maker,
Sure-Fire Analog Miracle, Stimulating Amplification Method).
When to Call on SAM for Assistance SAM may be
called on prior to a lesson as a preplanning activity by the teacher or
by a team (e.g., teacher and classroom assistant together, teacher and
Problem-Solving Methods to Facilitate Inclusive Education 311

special educator together). When done in advance, the classroom

teacher must have an idea of how the lesson or activity will be pre-
sented because SAM can assist in adapting the original plans to
address a mismatch between the planned lesson and the needs of one
or more students.
Certain types of activities (e.g., large-group discussions, small-
group tasks, independent work, quizzes, labs) may be a consistent part
of a classroom scene. If the activities are recurring formats, with varia-
tions in content, facts generated by observations of these activities may
be useful in generating adaptation ideas for a series of similar situa-
tions. This avoids continually having to reinvent the wheel. For exam-
ple, a series of options may be developed for each time a quiz is given,
a lab experiment is planned, or a large-group lesson is implemented.
Examples: The Double-Edged Sword Although
examples are desirable because they can illustrate a process, they are
included here with some hesitation. Any time an example is used, there
always is the danger that it will become a standard response. The cau-
tion, therefore, is to remember that the examples offered here are not
the only solutions. They may prompt piggybacking or hitchhiking
ideas onto them, but clearly they are not the only usable ideas.
The examples embedded within the following steps are based on
the student description presented next. As discussed previously,
approaches that focus on the inclusionary challenges of an entire class
rather than an individual student may be beneficial. In such instances,
knowing the learning objectives for other students is necessary to use
the SAM variation effectively.

Molly is 11 years old and attends fifth grade at Mountainview Middle

School. Molly lives at home with her mom, dad, and younger brother. She
is known for her lovely smile and her pleasant personality and is sought
after for friendship by her classmates and the children who live in her
neighborhood. Molly is considered stubborn and noncompliant by some
people, but those who know her best view her simply as strong-willed.
Molly enjoys using headphones to listen to many kinds of music. She likes
going on almost any kind of outing with family or friends, especially
shopping trips with her parents. Her favorite activities include playing on
playground equipment, going swimming, playing with her dog, and sled-
ding in the winter.
Molly seems to enjoy being around other people but does not
always react as if she knows others are present. This may be due, in part,
to the fact that Molly has some hearing and vision loss. Molly has some
physical disabilities as well and no formal mode of communication.
Thus, it is difficult to determine her sensory abilities precisely. Although
Molly has been labeled as having intellectual delays, those who know her
have been unwilling to accept any label that limits expectations of her
abilities. As her dad pointed out, “We just can’t be sure how much she
understands or what her potential is, so let’s proceed as if she under-
312 Giangreco et al.

stands everything!”
Currently, Molly communicates primarily through facial expressions
(e.g., smiling, frowning). She makes some sounds that family members
understand to represent pleasure or discomfort. Her parents have point-
ed out that they would expect few other people to understand the mean-
ing of these vocalizations unless their meaning had been explained
previously. People communicate with Molly by speaking (to take advan-
tage of her residual hearing), using gestures, and showing her objects and
pictures (to accommodate for her visual impairments).
Molly gets from place to place by having others push her wheelchair.
Molly has limited use of her arms and needs at least partial assistance
with most daily activities. Her favorite foods are tacos, fruit, and pizza;
she needs to have these and other foods cut into small pieces and fed to
her. Molly, her teacher, the classroom assistant who supports her, class-
mates, and family members receive the support of an integration special-
ist (special educator), occupational therapist, physical therapist,
speech-language pathologist, and deafblindness specialist.

Steps in Using SAM Before getting assistance from SAM,

it is important to become familiar enough with the basic principles of
CPS (e.g., alternating between divergent and convergent thinking,
deferring judgment, using idea joggers) and characteristics of problem
solvers previously discussed in this chapter to apply them throughout
the SAM process. The steps of SAM presented here parallel the six
stages of the generic CPS process.
Step 1: Identify the Challenge and Develop a Challenge Statement: SAM
starts by identifying a class, activity, or situation in which the needs of
a particular student differ significantly from the range of educational
needs of other students. For example, Molly, described earlier, attends
a fifth-grade science class in which much of the curricular content
appears not to match her individual educational needs. Yet, there are
many opportunities for Molly’s educational needs to be met through
existing class activities if the activities are adapted slightly or if new
science activities are invented.
Next, a challenge statement is developed. Figure 1 offers a work-
sheet format for getting assistance from SAM. As Figure 2 illustrates,
with the SAM variation of CPS, objective-finding and problem-finding
have been combined into a single challenge statement. The challenge
statement, “In what ways might we address the educational needs of
[insert student name] in [insert name of class or activity] class or activity?”
is applied to the student and the situation to become, for example, “In
which ways might we address the educational needs of Molly in sci-
ence class?”
Step 2: Identify the Facts About the Student’s Educational Needs and the
Class or Activity: The lefthand column of Figure 1 is used to list facts
about the student’s program and educational needs. Student facts
 Facts about student’s needs Facts about class/activity Direct ideas Indirect ideas
1 2 3 4

Figure 1. SAM creative problem-solving worksheet. (Based on Osborn–Parnes Creative Problem-Solving process [Parnes, 1985, 1988, 1992, 1997].)

313
314 Giangreco et al.

Figure 1. (continued)
 Problem-Solving Methods to Facilitate Inclusive Education 315

include a brief description of priority individualized education pro-

gram (IEP) goals, desired learning outcomes beyond IEP priorities, and
the general supports necessary to successfully participate in the educa-
tional program. As the lefthand column of Figure 2 shows, the follow-
ing are Molly’s priority learning outcomes:

Make choices when presented with options.

Greet others.
Follow instructions.
React to people by displaying an observable change in behavior.
Offer assistance to others.
Engage in active leisure with others (e.g., play group games).
Use adapted microswitch to activate battery-operated devices.
Do a classroom job with peer(s).

This is only a partial listing of all of the learning outcomes generated by

Molly’s support team, which includes her parents.
In the second column of the SAM worksheet (Figures 1 and 2),
observations about the class or activity may be listed. These facts
should include what the teacher and students actually do (e.g., teacher
shows a videotape, class plays an educational game, students draw
diagrams, groups of students build a model). To gain accurate infor-
mation about a class may require one or more members of a student’s
support team to observe in the classroom. In Molly’s situation, it is
more crucial to identify what the teacher and students do than to iden-
tify the curricular content of the general education lesson. Thus, no
observed event is insignificant, because any activity may prove to be
useful in either prompting or being an idea for adapting a lesson. For
example, which adaptations or accommodations for Molly do the facts
about science class (see Figure 2) bring to mind?1

Before the bell rings, the teacher and students greet each other and talk

1
The SAM worksheet presented in Figure 1 is meant to offer a format to
facilitate systematic exploration of possibilities at each step of the SAM process.
The authors acknowledge that the SAM form has limited space and likely will
be insufficient for all of the ideas that will be generated. It may be easier, there-
fore, to simply have the form available as a reminder of the SAM process and
to write ideas as lists on blank sheets of paper. SAM users also are encouraged
to modify or develop their own SAM worksheet formats and share them with
the authors.
316
Figure 2. SAM creative problem-solving worksheets completed for Molly.
 Problem-Solving Methods to Facilitate Inclusive Education 317

Figure 2. (continued)
318 Giangreco et al.

informally.
Students hand in their homework by leaving it in a box on the teacher’s
desk.
A student turns off the lights before a film is shown.
The teacher passes out the quiz.

Remember, when facing curriculum overlapping challenges, the nature

of activity in a classroom is more important to developing adaptations
than the actual lesson content is. When classroom approaches are
primarily passive and teacher directed, opportunities for meaningful
participation for curriculum overlapping are more limited. When class-
room approaches are active and participatory, opportunities for mean-
ingful participation expand. A goal of creative problem solving,
therefore, is to increase teachers’ use of more active and participatory
instruction approaches.2
Step 3: Generate Direct and Indirect Ideas: A first level of idea-finding
involves a systematic comparison of each fact about the student (see
the first column in Figure 2) with each fact about the class or activity
(see the second column in Figure 2) to look for direct, obvious relation-
ships. Any direct ideas that arise through this comparison are recorded
in the third column of Figure 2, labeled Direct Ideas. Given 8–10 facts
in each of the two fact columns, the comparison process should take no
more than a few minutes.
Let us compare the facts about Molly and her class listed in Figure 2.
It is immediately apparent that there is a direct relationship between
the second fact in Column 1 (i.e., greets others) and the first fact in
Column 2 (i.e., students greet each other and the teacher before the bell
rings). This class appears to offer a natural time to teach and practice
greetings. Notice also that Molly’s goal of participating in active leisure
with peers relates directly to the teacher’s planned activity for students
2
Information about the student may come from any of several sources. If
using COACH (Giangreco, Cloninger, & Iverson, 1998), this information may
come from one of three sources: 1) the Program-at-a-Glance, 2) the Scheduling
Matrix, or 3) the student’s schedule. A Program-at-a-Glance lists a full set of
facts regarding the content of the student’s educational program. A Scheduling
Matrix provides a set of facts as they relate to particular classes or major class
activities. Both identify priority objectives for a student, other anticipated
learning outcomes, and general supports the child’s team has decided are
needed for student participation in classes. SAM has been pilot tested in envi-
ronments where COACH was used to generate information about the focus
student. Of course, information about a student may be generated or collected
in many other ways, directly (e.g., direct observation) and indirectly (e.g.,
record review and interviews with the student, family members, friends,
school personnel).
Problem-Solving Methods to Facilitate Inclusive Education 319

to play educational games. Their activity is a natural opportunity for

Molly to follow instruction related to game playing (e.g., rolling dice,
picking up cards, moving a marker). Another direct relationship exists
between Molly’s need for doing a classroom job and the activity of
feeding and caring for the classroom fish and gerbils. Clearly, caring for
the classroom animals could be a class job done with a classmate.
Systematically comparing facts about a student’s needs and class-
room routines may reveal that naturally occurring opportunities for
meaningful inclusion already exist, without the need for significant
changes in routine. The number of such opportunities, however, may
be insufficient for an educational experience of adequate quality; there-
fore, it may be necessary to invent adaptations to existing routines or
invent completely new experiences.3
After identifying direct ideas, it may be necessary to look for indirect
ideas by applying idea joggers to facts. Following the same pattern used
to find direct ideas, facts about the student and facts about the class or
activity are compared while applying an idea jogger (e.g., ask, “What
would happen if we eliminated this fact or made it bigger or smaller?”).
At this point, it is critical to defer judgment about the quality, usefulness,
or feasibility of the ideas that result. For example, suppose the idea jog-
ger of reversing were applied to the facts in Figure 2. The teacher intends
to assign small groups to play educational games to reinforce content
presented in the videotape. By reversing who chooses the game from
teacher to student, an idea is generated for Molly to work on choice mak-
ing, a priority goal for her (see Column 4 of Figure 2).
Suppose the idea jogger of rearranging were applied to Molly’s
goal of reacting to the presence of other people and the fact that, in this
science class, students hand in homework by placing it in a box on the
teacher’s desk. Rearranging the place where homework is turned in so
that the homework box is on Molly’s desk would create as many
opportunities for interaction as there are students in the class.
Combining rearranging with the idea jogger of minifying/making
smaller and applying them to the fact that the science teacher passes out
quizzes and Molly needs practice in reacting to and offering assistance
to others could lead to the indirect idea of having Molly and a class-
mate, rather than the teacher, pass out quizzes. To keep the pace of
classroom activities typical, the task could be made smaller so that

3
Although the two fact-finding and idea-finding steps are presented here
in a linear, sequential fashion, we have found shifting attention back and forth
between the two sets of facts to be a powerful technique for prompting ideas
for adaptations. For example, once educational needs are listed, each new
class/activity fact can be compared with the needs to see if an idea is immedi-
ately spurred. These ideas should be recorded as they are generated.
320 Giangreco et al.

Molly hands out 5 quizzes in the same time that her partner hands out
20. Although all of the ideas just described may seem small, they do
match the student’s identified needs.
Step 4: Evaluate Ideas and Choose Solutions: Step 4 involves solution-
finding and convergent thinking. In this step, direct and indirect ideas
are evaluated based on a set of criteria. The four criteria on the SAM
worksheet (see Figures 1 and 2) are offered as starting points for eval-
uating ideas. Ideas are listed in abbreviated form in the lefthand col-
umn of the SAM worksheet (see Figures 1 and 2), then each idea is
judged according to the selected criteria. Using the four criteria includ-
ed on the worksheet, one may ask:

Does this idea address an identified student need?

Is the idea positive or at least neutral in terms of its likely impact on
students without disabilities?
Is the idea likely to yield valued life outcomes (e.g., friendships and
affiliations; access to meaningful places and activities; choice and
control that match a person’s age, health, and safety)?
Is the idea perceived as feasible and meaningful by the user (e.g., the
teacher)?

As already noted, the process of applying criteria to potential

ideas is intended to assist with decision making. Criteria therefore
must match the situation and be adjusted, replaced, eliminated, or oth-
erwise changed to match the unique characteristics of a situation. Items
may be rated by using whichever method is preferred and makes
sense, as long as preferred solutions have been selected by the end of
this step.
Step 5: Refine Ideas to Develop and Carry Out an Action Plan: Once
solutions have been selected, they must be refined. Idea joggers con-
tinue to be helpful in accomplishing this end. For example, suppose
that a direct idea is generated about playing an educational game as an
accommodation for Molly. When looking carefully at the nature of the
game, Molly’s physical characteristics likely would prompt the ques-
tion, “What if the game parts were bigger?” This type of simple adap-
tation might allow Molly to participate, at least partially, with game
materials. The “who, what, where, when, why, and how” questions
facilitate the development and delivery of a CPS action plan. As ideas
are implemented, CPS users must remember to be alert to new facts
and new ways to make the familiar strange. Also, it should be noted
how repeatedly cycling through the SAM and other CPS variations
develops a creative attitude and competence.
Problem-Solving Methods to Facilitate Inclusive Education 321

(continued)

Figure 3. CPS Impact Evaluation. (From Giangreco, M.F. [1993]. Using creative problem-
solving methods to include students with severe disabilities in general education class-
room activities. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 4, 131–132; reprinted
by permission of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.)
322 Giangreco et al.

Figure 3. (continued)

EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF

USING OSBORN–PARNES CREATIVE
PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESS WITH REGARD
TO STUDENTS’ EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES
For any educational innovation, it is crucial to evaluate the innovation
to determine whether it is achieving its intended outcomes. The use of
CPS is intended, at a minimum, to 1) increase the frequency and qual-
ity of instructional involvement within heterogeneous groups, 2) meet
the educational needs of the student with disabilities, 3) meet the edu-
cational needs of students without disabilities, and 4) provide support
mechanisms and teaching adaptations for the teacher and other mem-
bers of the classroom community. Measurement techniques, such as
frequency counts, time samples, and item-by-item ratings of specific
target behaviors, may answer certain evaluation questions. Teachers,
however, may find more user-friendly (Meyer & Janney, 1989, p. 263)
 Problem-Solving Methods to Facilitate Inclusive Education 323

forms of measurement useful to augment more-traditional approaches,

such as the CPS Impact Evaluation offered in Figure 3.
A teacher may complete the CPS Impact Evaluation form before
and after using CPS and its variations in a classroom. Direct observa-
tions of a student in the class, combined with the preintervention use
of the evaluation, give a quick overview of the situation without inter-
fering with instruction or taking an inordinate amount of time. Once
CPS strategies have been applied for a sufficient amount of time, the
teacher may again use the CPS Impact Evaluation form as a postinter-
vention measure. Comparison of pre–post responses offers a relatively
simple and quick assessment of the perceived impact of the use of CPS.
Clearly, this type of evaluation may not yield reliable responses
across team members (e.g., teacher, parents, students, special educator,
principal). When team members who have independently completed
the evaluation form disagree on pre- or postassessments, the tool serves
another function—it prompts team members to engage in a dialogue,
which should facilitate a collective understanding of educational pro-
grams, a shared framework for adjusting instruction, and improved
teamwork.

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
OF USING THE OSBORN–PARNES
CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESS

Table 6. Implications of using CPS for students with and without disabilities

CPS engages students in the solution of real-life problems and challenges, which are an
essential characteristic of effective education (Dewey, 1938/1998).
CPS encourages students to believe they can solve problems, either independently or
with the support of others in the class.
CPS offers students at all levels of academic achievement the opportunity to assist in
solving relevant challenges faced by them or their classmates and establishes all stu-
dents as valued contributors.
CPS offers opportunities for students to be included in general class activities in ways
that meet their individualized educational needs.
CPS offers opportunities for students to learn and practice problem-solving skills on
an ongoing basis to address relevant challenges.
The collaborative, nonjudgmental, and action-oriented aspects of CPS encourage a
sense of community building among classmates when the process is used to
address challenges that are of concern to the group.
CPS can encourage and reinforce many desirable academic and affective skills (e.g.,
observation, analysis, evaluation, perspective taking, building on another’s ideas, syn-
thesizing ideas).
324 Giangreco et al.

Table 7. Implications for professionals working with students in heterogeneous groups

CPS encourages teachers to be open to the possibility that there is more than one
“right” answer.
CPS encourages teachers to provide the kinds of active, problem-solving learning
experiences that educational leaders have advised us are essential now and will be
increasingly vital as we enter the 21st century.
CPS encourages teachers to be ongoing learners and especially to open themselves to
learn from the children in their classes.
CPS provides a method for distributing the pressures of instructional accommodations
in inclusive classrooms across a wider group of problem solvers.
CPS used by teachers can enhance their capacity to teach all children by recognizing
existing options for teaching heterogeneous groups, adapting other existing
options, and inventing new options.
CPS encourages teachers to design interesting, active approaches to education that
account for student input and result in motivating learning experiences.

This chapter opens with the proposition that inclusive education

arrangements are desired alternatives to more exclusionary traditional
approaches. The Osborn–Parnes CPS process and its variations are
offered as a set of procedures for empowering teams to meet the chal-
lenge of meaningfully instructing heterogeneous groups of learners.
There are many implications of mastering and using CPS and its
variations, particularly in the education of students who otherwise
might be excluded from general education opportunities. Table 6 offers
anticipated benefits for students with disabilities and their peers with-
out disabilities; Table 7 suggests positive outcomes that educators
should expect when they use the problem-solving methods described
in this chapter.
Taking action is the first, middle, and culminating step for any
problem solver, including those of us who are interested in excellence,
excitement, and equity in education. We would do well, therefore, to
follow the advice of Kettering to “keep on going and chances are you
will stumble on something, perhaps when you least expect it. I have
never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down” (cited in
Parnes, 1988, p. 89). The CPS strategies offered in this chapter should
help us to keep on going, for, as Cheyette noted, “creativity is convert-
ing wishful thinking into willful doing” (cited in Parnes, 1988, p. 105).

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