Step-By-Step Guide
How to Conduct an Analysis and Make Recommendations
Dr. Peterson has asked you to review three possible solutions to handling the powdery mildew affecting Lawrence County farmers. She would like you to analyze each of these possibilities and recommend the best course of action. She has asked you to consider the following options:
- Do nothing and let the powdery mildew overtake the wheat fields.
- Use a fungicide typically designed for peppers.
- Destroy the crop.
She would also like you to think about whether or not any of the options presents a long-term solution. This step-by-step will help you complete your work.
- Prepare to complete this task.
- Meet with your team and review the email from Dr. Peterson. Make sure you understand your goal in this task. If you have any questions, please discuss them with your mentor.
- Review the resources available to you on the Resources page of this task.
- Together with your team, create a plan of attack. Decide how you will approach this assignment and make a plan for completing it.
- Gather information about each option Dr. Peterson suggested. Using the sources available on the Resources page, spend time individually researching each option. As you research be sure to gather information on:
- How the option addresses the powdery mildew problem.
- Any costs associated with the option.
- How effective the option would be at controlling or eradicating the powdery mildew.
- Whether or not the option presents a long-term solution to the problem. If not, look at what additional measures might be required.
- Any other issues you believe to be an important part of the decision.
You may want to use the Note-taking template, as well as other Research and Note taking resources on the General Skills Resources page to help you with your research.
- Use De Bono Hats to analyze each option. De Bono Hats is a decision making tool that allows you to look at a problem from a variety of perspectives and when used in a team setting, it helps groups collaborate. De Bono Hats are 6 colored hats that represent different ways of thinking. The six hats include:
- White = Factual- All the facts you have on something
- Red = Emotional- Your feelings about a topic.
- Yellow = Positive- Positive aspects of something. Reasons why it will work.
- Black = Negative- Negative aspects of something. Reasons why it won’t work.
- Green = Creative- New, creative ideas. Out of the box, anything goes thinking.
- Blue = Big Picture- Ensure that each hat is used correctly.
When you apply De Bono Hats to a decision you spend some time “wearing” each hat or in other words, thinking of the problem from each perspective.
Review the links on the Resources page for more information on De Bono Hats. Ask you mentor if you have any questions about how to use this decision-making technique.
Though you can conduct this analysis any way you like, the following is the suggested process.
- Download the De Bono Hats template from the Resources page.
- Working together as a team, focus on one option at a time. As you consider each option you should ”wear” one hat at a time. Consider each option from each of the 6 perspectives in turn.
For example, think about the option wearing the white hat. What facts do you have about the option?
Then think about it wearing the red hat. What is your gut reaction to the option? Do you like it? Not like it? Does it feel like the right thing to do? etc.
Next, wear the black hat and think about everything that’s wrong with the option. What are its weaknesses? Why won’t it work? What problems remain when you implement a solution?
Now, put on the yellow hat and think of all the positive things associated with the option. What is good about the option? Why would it be a good choice?
Next, think about the option while “wearing” the green hat. Use your creativity to brainstorm ideas about the option.
Finally, put on your blue hat, or big picture hat, and review your work. Did you use all the hats? Have you thought of anything you want to add to your analysis?
Tip: The questions outlined in this step-by- step will help you get started, but you may think of others as you “wear” each hat. Don’t limit yourself to just the suggestions here. Be thorough and creative, if you think of additional questions, use them in your analysis.
- Assign at least one team member to take notes during the discussion of each option. You may want to rotate the responsibility for note taking or have all members take notes. You should choose the method that works best for your team.
Tip: Often when working in a group, you might try to avoid conflict or reach consensus more quickly by agreeing with ideas you don’t really agree with. You may even want to avoid standing out or presenting an idea others may not like. Experts call this Groupthink. Though groupthink is a normal reaction to working together, it doesn’t help your team come up with the best ideas! Though using a tool like De Bono Hats can help you avoid groupthink, you must still work hard to think critically and contribute your ideas. For more information on groupthink, including more tips for how to avoid or overcome it review the links in the General Skills Resources.
- Once you have completed the analysis, review the notes on each option and decide based on the arguments presented during the De Bono Hats exercise, which you think is best. If you can, come to a consensus about which option you will recommend in your report. If you can’t reach a consensus, then you can recommend more than one option. Keep in mind that each option you suggest to farmers must be well justified and supported with evidence.
For help working together in a team or reaching a consensus, review the Teamwork links in the General Skills Resources or the Teamwork Skill Tutorial.
- Prepare recommendations. Based on the analysis and the solution your team decided upon, prepare a recommendation for your Response Plan. This section should persuasively describe:
- The recommendation your team is proposing.
- What happens to the crop as a result of the recommendation.
- Justification supporting your choice.
- Whether or not the recommendation is a long-term solution. If not, include any additional measures your team feels will be necessary to address this problem.
Review the Writing and Building an Argument resources in the General Skills Resources for help choosing the best evidence to craft a persuasive argument.
- Participate in the mentor-led cohort discussion.
- As part of this discussion, your team will be asked to briefly present your recommendation. Your team should select one person who can effectively communicate the team’s ideas. This is an informal presentation, so you will not need to prepare visual aids.
- Listen carefully as members of your cohort share their ideas. Be an active participant in the discussion, sharing ideas and asking questions when appropriate.
- It may be helpful to take notes during the discussion, so you can refer back to them when you meet again with your team.
- Review your work.
- Meet with your team. You may have some new ideas and insights after participating in the cohort discussion. Based on the cohort discussion, you may want to edit some of your work. Review your paper and make any necessary revisions.
- Make sure your final document is well edited, cohesive and represents the work of all team members.
- Submit your work. Review the checklist found in the Submit Your Work section of this task and submit the assignment to your mentor.
Resources
Note: When referring to a Wikipedia resource, note that while Wikipedia is a valuable resource, unlike some other websites anyone can contribute to or modify the site (whether they're knowledgeable about the topic or not). As a result, the site is subject to constant change by questionable sources. Be sure to cross-check information on Wikipedia with other reputable sites to ensure accuracy.
Templates
De Bono Hats Template
This template helps guide you through an anlysis using De Bono Hats.
Note-Taking Template
This document is structured to help you organize and capture information related to your research.
De Bono Hats
De Bono Hats Overview
This link offers a comprehensive overview of the De Bono Hats decision-making tool. It includes a good example of considering a problem while "wearing" each hat and offers good external links to additional information.
Six Thinking Hats Chapter 1
This link is the 1st chapter of de Bono’s book, Six Thinking Hats. It offers information on why this method is effective, as well as tips for using it.
Six Thinking Hats Overview - Mind Tools
This overview offers information about the perspective associated with each hat and good examples to help you see how the hats can be applied.
Six Thinking Hats- Handout
Scroll down to the 6 Thinking Hats Student Handout. It is a handy reference for use during your De Bono Hats analysis.
Decision Making
The following articles highlight decisions farmers have to make. Though they do not deal specifically with powdery mildew, they will help give you perspective on the factors farmers consider when making decisions.
Price, yield potential favored fungicides for year's wheat crop
This news article talks profiles Texas wheat farmers and how they decided whether or not to apply fungicide to their crop. Keep in mind that they were specifically they were dealing with a rust fungus.
Wheat Picture Appears Bleak
This article highlights the 2007 problems Kansas farmers are having with powdery mildew. The article introduces the idea of buying certified seed, instead of seed saving.
Oklahoma's wheat harvest could be far above the average
This article illustrates that there are more than just the farmer’s livelihoods at stake when crops have good/bad years. Entire communities exist to support a farming economy. They all thrive or suffer together. This article may help you consider perspectives beyond just that of the farmer when conducting your analysis.
Wheat Decisions Await
This article illustrates the way farmers must make decisions when crops are damaged. In this article they have been adversely affected by freeze.
Powdery Mildew
Plant Disease Facts: Powdery Mildew
This link is a straightforward explanation of powdery mildew. Be sure to click on the links under “Symptoms” to access pop-up photos of disease symptoms.
Wheat Powdery Mildew - Virginia Tech
This link offers a brief description of powdery mildew. It also includes pictures depicting what powdery mildew looks like on wheat.
Powdery Mildew - FAO Overview
This source provides a detailed overview of powdery mildew, describing its affect on wheat and offering suggestions for controlling the disease. The language in this link is a bt more challenging than some other sources. It might be helpful to review the other powdery mildew links first and then come back to this source.
Powdery Mildew - Wikipedia
This link offers an overview of powdery mildew. Pay special attention to the point the article makes about powdery mildew’s ability to overwinter.
Fungicides
Why Fungicides Work or Fail
This resource is an overview of fungicides, why we use them, when they work and don’t work.
What are fungicides?
This link provides an overview of fungicides, including information on what they are, how they are applied, what role they play in disease management and issues related to fungicide resistance.
Foliar Fungicides- Ohio State
This source is an overview of foliar fungicides. Pay special attention to the five bullets “most important factors to consider” when deciding on the use of fungicides.
Fungicide Timing Critical
This article uses examples of rice diseases to illustrate how critical timing is in the application of a fungicide.
Foliar Fungicide Use in Wheat
This article discusses wheat and how to decide whether or not to use foliar fungicides.
Production Information and Pricing
The powdery mildew in this task is commonly found on peppers, not wheat. Information on peppers has been included here to give you some perspective of the costs and returns associated with peppers. It may be helpful to contrast those figures to the costs and returns associated with wheat.
2004-2005 US Wheat Production Costs and Returns
This file opens in Microsoft Excel.
Cost and Return Studies for Conventional Production - Shows the costs and returns for the conventional production of a variety of crops. Be sure to specifically consider:
Bell Peppers - Notice that this resource gives a price per acre for fungicide.
University of California Cooperative Extension - Sample Costs to Produce Wheat
This is a detailed cost return study examining the production of wheat. This file opens in Adobe Acrobat.
University of California Cooperative Extension - Sample Costs to Produce Bell Peppers
This cost-return study contains information on the costs of growing and harvesting peppers. This file opens in Adobe Acrobat.
Agricultural Burning
Agricultural Burning Overview
This link describes the practice of agricultural burning, including its effects on the environment.
How Much Does it Cost to Burn?
This link provides sample information on the costs to burn a crop. It includes information on what must be factored into the cost – labor, materials, type of material you are destroying (timber vs grassland).
Agricultural Burning- EPA Overview
Detailed information from the EPA on burning, including laws established in the US to regulate agricultural burning.
Wheat
Wheat: The big picture
This detailed resource offers information about the life cycle of wheat. While it doesn’t address powdery mildew, it may be helpful background information.
Ask the Expert
How do fungicides work?
If fungicides are better as preventatives, why would you use them when you have already been infested?
Can you ever get rid of powdery mildew?
Would a fungicide used for crops like peppers work on wheat?
Is food still safe to eat once it has been treated with a fungicide?
Once a wheat field has been infected, what's your expert recommendation on how to handle it?
