Teaching Problem Solving: You Can and You Should

Problem solving is the essence of what most system administrators do, but it's not often taught, and there's a lot of mystique that says it can't be taught. In fact, it's a skill, and it can be taught to the same extent that other skills can be taught. The most important tool in teaching it is simply a belief that it can be taught; this talk will attempt to convince you, and will provide you with more tools you can use to teach.

Elizabeth Zwicky has been teaching system administrators off and on since her first job. Recently, she's been hanging out with educational theorists and testing ways of teaching of problem solving to system administrators, high-school graduates who may or may not have any interest in system administration but are being paid to listen, and one two-year old.