June 2016 STEM Anchor Skills (1-1) Root-Cause Analysis

In my monthly, STEM Anchor Skills Series, I give hints like the following on improving critical cognitive and technical skills for young adults. I will also respond to questions submitted. To join the newsletter and submit questions, please email me at jgabriella.played@gmail.com.

Root-Cause Analysis

When Dad or Mom has asked you why you were late for school, have you ever responded, "Because I missed the bus"? While this response may be accurate, it may does not suggest an effective means of preventing recurrence of the problem. To do so, you need to find the root cause, the ultimate reason why you missed the bus. For example, the bus stop may have moved. Perhaps you overslept. Maybe both were contributing factors.

Repeatedly asking why is an effective means of identifying root causes. Using the previous example to illustrate, Mom could ask the following series of questions:

            Mom (M):  Why were you late for school this morning?

            Student (S):  Because I missed the bus.

            M:  Why did you miss the bus?

            S:  Because I overslept.

            M:  Why did you oversleep?

            S: Because I went to bed at 1 am.

            M:  Why did you go to bed so late?

            S:  Because I was playing video games.

Now that Mom knows the reason why her child was late, she can better design effective countermeasures. For example, she could set a bed time of 10 pm.

Because this simple method is powerful not only to ensure that you are not late to school, but also to solve STEM problems at school and on the job, I urge you to try it out.

Joseph Gabriella, Ph.D., MBA

Founder and CEO, Play-Ed Corporation

Author Profile

Dr. Gabriella is an accomplished scholar and businessman. Ivy-league educated, he has served as a lecturer or professor at universities in the U.S., Japan, and China. Currently, he resides in Japan, where he is a senior manager and active consultant. A former high-school math teacher, Joseph is passionate about teaching critical STEM skills to future generations through his company, Play-Ed Corporation.

STEM Training Subscription 

Begins August 15, 2016

For a nominal monthly fee, students may enroll for virtual STEM lessons that either I or one of my trained staff will facilitate. Each week, I will provide one STEM challenge problem for students to solve. Then, through a virtual lesson, I will review key concepts from the problem, respond to questions, and teach students various learning strategies, problem-solving methods, and types of thinking. I will also furnish opportunities for participants to learn from one another. Finally, I will collect feedback from students for use in improving the lessons, making them more fun and didactic.


Contact jgabriella.played@gmail.com to register.

© 2016 Joseph Gabriella, Ph.D., MBA. All rights reserved.