Lesson 3 - Symptoms vs Root causes on local problems
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
Section outline
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Students mustMark as done
In this lesson, participants move from recognizing social problems to analyzing them more deeply. Many social problems are first noticed through visible effects, such as unemployment, exclusion, discrimination, poor mental health, lack of accessibility, poverty, or violence. These visible effects are important, but they are often only symptoms of deeper causes.
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Students mustMark as done
Social problems are often first noticed through their visible effects. These effects may include poverty, unemployment, discrimination, exclusion, violence, poor mental health, lack of accessibility, or limited opportunities. However, what we see on the surface is not always the full problem.
The two videos below introduce the idea of root cause analysis and explain why it is important to look deeper before trying to solve a problem. When we focus only on symptoms, we may create solutions that are temporary or incomplete. When we explore root causes, we begin to understand the deeper conditions, systems, decisions, and inequalities that allow the problem to continue.
Please watch the two videos in order:
While watching, think about one local social problem that you have already selected or noticed in your community. Try to distinguish between what is visible on the surface and what might be happening underneath.
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After watching the two videos, take a moment to reflect on one local social problem that you consider important. This can be the same problem you selected in previous activities, or another issue that you now want to analyze more deeply.
The purpose of this reflection is to help you move from simply describing a problem to beginning to understand why it exists. Try to separate the visible signs of the problem from the deeper causes that may be connected to it.
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After reflecting on the difference between what we see and what causes it, you will now look more deeply at one local social problem.
Social problems are often first noticed through visible symptoms, but these symptoms may be connected to several economic, social, cultural, institutional, political, digital, or environmental causes. A Root Cause Map can help you organize these connections visually and explore what lies beneath the surface.
Instructions
Choose one local social problem that you have already explored in this course, or another issue that is important in your community.
Create a simple visual map that includes:
- The social problem in the centre
- Its visible symptoms or effects
- Possible deeper causes
- Connections between the symptoms and causes
- One or two causes that you consider especially important
You may organize the causes into categories such as:
- Economic
- Social or cultural
- Institutional or policy-related
- Educational
- Digital or technological
- Environmental
- Community or family-related
You can create your map in Canva, PowerPoint, Word, Google Slides, a mind-mapping tool, or by hand. Upload it to your forum post as an image, PDF, Word document, or PowerPoint slide.
Along with your map, write 100–150 words answering:
- What social problem did you analyse?
- Which root cause do you consider most important, and why?
- Did anything surprise you while creating the map?
After posting, explore the maps of other participants and reply to two posts. Each reply should be approximately 50–80 words. You may:
- Ask a question about one of the connections
- Mention a similar cause in your community
- Suggest another possible factor
- Explain what you learned from the map
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Shape the Future.
Mint the Change.
