The need for problem-solving skills
Good problem-solving skills empower employees in their educational, professional, and personal lives. Nationally and internationally, there is growing recognition that if education is to produce skilled thinkers and innovators in a fast-changing global economy, then problem-solving skills are more important than ever. The ability to solve problems in a range of learning contexts is essential for the development of knowledge, understanding and performance. Requiring students to engage with complex, authentic problem solving encourages them to use content knowledge in innovative and creative ways and promotes deep understanding.
Employers in small, medium and large enterprises identified the following aspects of problem solving as crucial to success in their organisations:
- developing creative, innovative solutions;
- developing practical solutions;
- showing independence and initiative in identifying problems and solving them;
- solving problems in teams;
- applying a range of strategies to problem solving;
- using mathematics including budgeting and financial management to solve problems;
- applying problem solving strategies across a range of areas;
- testing assumptions taking data and circumstances into account; and
- resolving customer concerns in relation to complex project issues.
Solving problems effectively requires students to identify, define and solve problems using logic, as well as lateral and creative thinking. In the process, students arrive at a deep understanding of the topic area and construct new knowledge and understanding on which they are able to make decisions.
There is an important distinction between solving ‘exercises’ and solving ‘problems.’ The former usually have predetermined solutions, with “a well-defined route to the solution and students must simply follow the formula” (Woods, 1985, p. 20). The latter, however, are often fuzzy, open-ended, unstructured and ‘one-offs,’ with no predictable outcomes:
“While these exercises make an important first step in helping students bridge the gap between theory and application, they do not provide the depth and complexity necessary to master problem solving skills… Students who train mostly in exercise solving tend to develop a serious handicap. They rely heavily on solutions they have seen before, rather than working from first principles. Thus a problem with brand new context presents a formidable challenge to them.”
To learn more about problem-solving skills and up-skill, check out our Creative Problem Solving Course.
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