Education for flexibility: transferable skills, problem solving and information management

Abstract

In this paper we describe a problem solving course which has been devised and run in the school of Information Sciences at the University of Hertfordshire. The course aims to teach Computer Science degree students a range of transferable skills that can be applied both within and beyond their chosen discipline. Our current students will be professionals during a period of massive change. As Engel (1991) points out, for such students self-directed learning is likely to be a necessity. They will need skills in communication, critical reasoning, problem solving, decision making, self-management and self-evaluation. It is these skills, together with the domain specific knowledge acquired from other courses on the Computer Science degree, that will enable the students to meet professional demands in a rapidly changing world.