Gedanken Institute of Problem Solving

The class is in its 11th year, a fun yet intense focus on problem-solving with an emphasis on develping both mental stamina and strength. There will be individual work and group work. Topics will include: Risk Management, Pattern Recognition, Operations Research, Logic, Probability, Physics, Geometry and a large variety of puzzles including Rubik’s Cube. Also included will be modules on data interpretation including aggregation bias and non-transitive rankings.

The program is a week-long course that willbe conducted from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm daily from July 9th through July 13th at Baldwin Wallace and August 6th through August 10th at Lakeside. It is a course that has been taught previously as part of the TAG summer camp program funded by the State of Ohio. It has been very successful in the past.

The focus of the course will be problem solving. It will develop not only mental strength, but mental stamina as well. There will be individual work and there will be group work. Topics will include: Risk Management, Pattern Recognition, Operations Research, Logic, Probability, Physics, Geometry and a large variety of puzzles including Rubik’s Cube. Also included will be modules on data interpretation including correlation vs cause and effect, aggregation bias and non-transitional rankings. The course will be designed for the intellectually inquisitive 12-17 year old.

The summer program contains parts of a semester-long course that I teach in the honors program at Baldwin-Wallace College. The problem solving course has been so successful that I was recruited to teach it in the graduate business program at B-W and, at the request of the director of the honors program I’m currently developing an advanced version problem solving course that is being taught in Spring 2012.

By collaborating with Professor Peter November of the University of Wellington, New Zealand and Professor Zbigniew Michalewicz of the University of Adelaide, Australia while on a 2006 sabbatical, I have refined and improved the course many times. I have developed many modules by myself and I have many drawers of puzzles, props and games — many of which are custom-made — that I use during the course.

For more information, contact Dr. Ed Meyer at emeyer@bw.edu or at 440-826-2495. Or visit our website to learn more and apply at www.gedankeninstitute.com