The transition from educational learning to work experience is a tough change for many people. Throughout ones educational career one is taught to learn in a specific manner and apply that knowledge in a specific way to schoolwork. A general problem solving process is instilled in all students based on how the students learn in school. Students tend to have a very narrow grasp on how to solve problems effectively. The problem becomes apparent when a student enters a work environment. The problem solving methods utilized in school don’t always work on the job. Students begin to realize that the procedure to solve a problem in school doesn’t seem to work in a real world environment.

In the classroom students are usually given a set of step to follow with each assignment of a problem. All students have to do is follow the steps in order to complete the problem. Smarter students will finish the problem sooner than other students, but for the most part, all of the students will solve the problem in the end. What happens when a student is struggling while solving a problem in the classroom? They ask the teacher. Every student knows that if all else fails they will be able to ask and be given the solution to the problem. This turns into a dependence that some students begin to develop. A student will realize they can go to the teacher, or go to another student for the correct answer without following any steps to come to the solution themselves. This then becomes a habit to circumvent the necessary steps to obtain the correct answer. Students are not learning how to use the correct resources available to them. Instead, they are using the easiest method available, which will not be available to them in a work environment.

Most jobs involving technology and especially cutting edge technology need a worker to be able to solve almost any problem placed in front of them. When it comes to a work environment, there is often times not someone that one can go to in order to solve a problem for them, like a student going to the teacher. The worker must solve the problem on their own or in collaboration with others without a fallback to go to when no solution can be reached. The worker must be very familiar with all resources available to solve a problem and must have a set of steps they have found effective in problem solving.

I would suggest that teachers try different forms of problem solving in the classroom. This would get students used to different ways to solve problems and let the student choose which procedure they prefer to use. Teachers should also choose assignments that are difficult or beyond what a student is expected to do. The teacher should not expect everyone to be able to complete the task and should not grade on its completeness, but grade based on how the student went about solving the problem. Don’t choose a problem that is impossible for them to do, but choose one that looks difficult but can be done using one of many resources, such as the internet.

I noticed the problem of students not being prepared for real world problem solving from my own personal experience. I started working at a company doing software engineering for them. The managers would come to me with problems, and I would discover I really didn’t know how to complete the task. The problems I was given involved cutting edge technology and no one at the work site knew how to complete the tasks either. I soon discovered that it was entirely up to me to solve the problem without the help of other works of my managers. After going to school for so long I was used to memorizing solutions to problems. I somehow thought that after I was done in school I would just know everything I would need to know for the real world. I soon saw I was entirely too wrong. There is no way I could know every solution to every problem. What I needed to learn was how to solve any problem. I needed to develop the thought process of solving problems with the resources I had in front of me. I realized that knowing about the resources available to me was more important than memorizing solutions to certain problems.

One example would be when I was given a task of creating a remote terminal for our packet caching program, so a remote user could log in and view every packet coming in to our servers. When I was given the task, I had no idea where to start and neither did anyone I worked with. I asked around and no one seemed to know, or they might just not have cared since it was my task and not theirs. At any rate, I needed to find a solution to my problem. I researched for a few days on the internet, talked on chat rooms, and did some trial and error testing. The problem was, none of my schooling had prepared me to solve problems where I couldn’t go to someone for help. I had to find and use the resources that were available to me in order to find the solution.