I find this statement central to tackling wicked problems such as homelessness and environmental problems within a classroom. Oftentimes, when students are asked to propose a solution to a problem in a persuasive essay format, students can research a narrow issue to find a reasonable solution that could potentially fix it. When students must address a wicked problem, it is a different story. Not only must students address the issue from the perspective of several disciplines, but they must also consider the longevity of solutions to problems and news ways to address wicked problems as society and circumstances evolve. Wicked problems are not problems that can be solved with a single solution, but rather with multiple solutions that constantly change and grow in scope over time.

This statement exemplifies the difficulty of policy making regarding the oil spill as well as general policy making in the United States. In regards to Wickman's example, limiting fishing in the gulf would seem to be a viable option to nutritionists and other healthcare professionals. However, sociologists, activists, and workers would be concerned about fishermen losing jobs. Many people are under the impression that policymakers must only consider public opinion in regards to the political binary of liberal/conservative, but countless groups are affected by policy changes in various ways. For instance, Wickman's example of limiting fishing in the gulf would affect several other groups indirectly. If fishing was limited in the gulf, local grocers and restaurants would experience profit decrease, which would then negatively affect the local economy.

Coyne's statement here appears to be both a cornerstone of wicked problems as well as a weakness. First, as noted earlier in the article, wicked problems differ from tame problems in their complexity. As Coyne noted, the issues within a wicked problem are constructed, depending on "social, cultural, disciplinary, and political factors." Therefore, there is not one single problem or solution to the gulf spill because people will view the issues and circumstances within the problem differently. For example, as Wickman noted, nutritionists may be concerned with the effect of the spill on the safety of fish for human consumption, while engineers may be concerned with the technical errors that caused the spill in the first place. Second, the non-objective nature and social construction of wicked problems could make it difficult to declare certain problems wicked, even if they fit the criteria. For example, to many people, global warming is a complex wicked problem, but to some people, it is not a problem at all and is actually a myth. Although only a small subset of people in the United States believe that global warming is a myth, the fact that "wicked problem deniers" may exist should be considered in addressing any wicked problem.

Wickman's decision to use the Gulf spill as the wicked problem for his class projects was a very smart one. Earlier in the article, i noted that the Gulf spill is a very difficult wicked problem to tackle because it is a current event, rather than a historical event, like the space shuttle Challenger. Because the issue is so current, academic resources pertaining to the spill would be limited, so students would have to research creatively. Luckily, Wickman and his students live in the gulf area, so they had the privilege to gain insight from primary sources and in-field research by interviewing individual business owners affected by the Gulf spill. Because the students utilized their location to produce better data, it is likely that their projects were much stronger than they would be if Wickman's class was in the Midwest. Also, their firsthand experiences with the Gulf spill and hands-on research would add to the credibility, or ethos, of their projects.

Because of the similarities to the Gulf spill, Wickman could have used the Challenger tragedy of 1986 as the wicked problem for his class project. However, because of the timing of the Gulf spill, it proved to be a much more difficult task than hypothetically addressing the issues of the Challenger tragedy. Because the Gulf spill is such a recent occurrence, less concrete, accurate information is available about the Gulf spill. In part, this is due to the urgency of publications regarding the spill, meaning that proper fact-checking was no deemed as vital as getting the story out as fast as possible. Addressing the Gulf spill as a wicked problem is also more challenging than addressing the Challenger explosion because effects of the spill continue today. The long-term impact of the Gulf spill is still a mystery, so in tackling the wicked problem, students must also predict all of the possible effects of the spill 5, 10, and even 15 years down the road.

Summary

Chad Wickman’s article, “Wicked Problems in Technical Communication,” begins by discussing problem-based inquiry as a method for teaching technical communication. In teaching problem-based inquiry, students can become equipped to address real –world problems in both the classroom and professional settings. Many non-linear, complex problems such as the Gulf spill, can be defined as “wicked,” because they are “ill-defined,” and lack concrete solutions. Based off of Ritel and Webber’s “Dilemmas for a General Theory of Planning,” Wickman further explains the definition of a wicked problem by comparing their “10 Characteristics of Wicked Problems,” to the Gulf spill via a chart on the following two pages. Next, Wickman discusses Richard Buchannan’s concept of “placements,” which act as commonplaces for students or researchers to utilize in addressing wicked problems at the invention stage. In the following section, Wickman explores how he utilized the wicked problems framework for addressing the Gulf spill in his technical communication class. He established several objectives for the Gulf spill project, such as addressing a wicked problem with multiple potential solutions, “understanding problem-definition as a rhetorical and methodological activity, and applying general rules of technical communication and rhetoric “toward documents that are designed to address particular audiences and situations.” In addressing a wicked problem that was also local in nature, Wickman’s students were able to engage in broadening their overall social consciousness, while learning technical writing skills that would prove beneficial in academic and professional settings. During the Gulf spill project, students worked in interdisciplinary groups and utilized a variety of data-collecting methods to promote solutions that address the multiple varying issues that occurred as a result of the Gulf spill. In closing, Wickman noted one benefit of addressing wicked problems. By engaging with a wicked problem like the Gulf spill, students can learn effective ways to address complicated, unforeseen problems in the future as well as the importance of research and writing when it comes to solving complex, large-scale problems.

In Patricia Sullivan's article, "Beyond a Narrow Conception of Usability Testing," she noted that usability researchers, and especially technical communicators who study usability, must strategically develop plans of action utilizing a variety of methods, to effectively find a solution a problem of usability. Similarly, Wickman's students also had to develop a rhetorical strategy in order to tackle the wicked problem of the Gulf spill. However, addressing a usability problem has one major advantage over addressing a wicked problem: testing. For example, if a website has proven to be hard for users to navigate, technical communicators and other usability testers can conduct experiments that test proposed solutions by analyzing individuals' responses to changes in the website. In regards to a wicked problems, students cannot test whether or not limiting fishing in the gulf would be beneficial to the local population. Instead, they can only predict the results of potential solutions.

Sullivan, Patricia (1989). Beyond a Narrow Conception of Usability Testing. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 32(4).

Although design is not the first thing that comes to mind in regards to addressing a wicked problem, it is a key tool in addressing rhetorical situations, especially in multimodal and non-linear projects. According to Writer/Designer: A Guide to Multimodal Projects, a rhetorical situation is the "set of circumstances in which an author creates a text." The five design concepts, emphasis, contrast, organization, alignment, and proximity do not look applicable to the oil spill project in Wickman's class at first glance. However, they can all be utilized to produce rhetorically strong projects addressing the wicked problem. For example, students should use the design concept of contrast when drafting multiple documents for the project. By noting within texts how one document contrasts another, both documents will appear rhetorically stronger and a connection between multiple documents will be made.

Arola, C. (2014). Analyzing Multimodal Projects. Writer/Designer: A Guide to Making Multimodal Projects, 20-40.

By using Buchanan's method of placement, students can incorporate one of the five canons of rhetoric in their projects. The first canon, invention, is rooted in "invenire" which means "to find." At this "finding" stage, students begin to develop and explore their argument utilizing topoi, or topics, such as cause and effect. Similarly, Buchanan's placements, act as loci, or "commonplaces" regarding "signs, things, actions, and thoughts." These commonplaces act as starting points for students to generate ideas within the invention stage. Because wicked problems are so complex, it is difficult to know where to begin from a rhetorical standpoint, but Buchanan's placements are like prompts that get students to brainstorm about different aspects of the oil spill. One excellent aspect of the placements is the fact that students can begin by examining and researching any one of the four placements. This breaks down the concept issue into a more manageable and organized process.

Burton, G. O. The Five Canons. Silva Rhetoricae, Brigham Young University. http://rhetoric.byu.edu/Canons/Invention.htm

Because the author lives in the gulf area, he was able to see both localized and global responses to the gulf spill. On a university campus, he was also able to witness the various reactions to the spill among several disciplines. His students were also able to absorb information about the oil spill through multiple avenues. Because the spill was such a "wicked problem," it could not be solved in one particular discipline or with one simple solution, so it is important that multiple disciplines were engaged in discussing potential solutions. The concept of multiple disciplines engaging with a wicked problem reminds me of the concept of "dialectic," or a conversation between several people in an effort to find a truth or "essence," of an idea (such as in Plato's Gorgias). In this situation, solutions could likely be found if as many people as possible, from a variety of disciplines, were to engage in a dialogue to narrow down potential solutions.