Prepare Teens for a High-Tech Future

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Every day we're preparing our children for their future. Every day we're teaching them lessons on topics ranging from personal relationships to bank accounts. But when it comes to their future professional lives, are we giving them the skills they need to succeed? With ever-changing technologies and business ideas that come and go, it can be a daunting task. Here are some tips from the Intel Museum in Santa Clara, California!

Education Early On
We know that critical thinking, leadership, and communication skills will serve our children well regardless of the path they choose. But how do we foster these skills from an early age?

No matter the age of your child, it can be difficult to watch him or her struggle through a problem without interfering. Unfortunately, this is one of the best ways to foster problem-solving skills. Whether it's a two-year-old trying to get into her toy box or a teenager organizing a carpool, important problem-solving techniques are applied and confidence is gained with success.

Let's take the example of the toy box dilemma. The two-year-old is trying to get into her toy box, but it's covered with stuffed animals and books. At first she'll try pulling on the lid and become frustrated when it won't immediately open. But if she stops to analyze the problem, she'll see that she has to remove what's on top of the box. This exercise in self-sufficiency will make her proud and confident.

Home Activities
At the Intel Museum in Santa Clara, California, we've developed programs for visiting groups of students that foster critical thinking, problem-solving and communication. One of our activities asks the students to write instructions on how to put together a 3-D puzzle ball. This exercise can easily be replicated at home. Here's how.

Puzzle Your Way to Problem-Solving
Begin by using a 3-D or brainteaser puzzle for older children (fifth grade level or above) or a jigsaw puzzle for younger children.

The object is to write exact directions for putting the puzzle together. Emphasize that every step must be captured in the directions. It is best to start with the 3-D puzzle intact and have the children observe and write down directions as they take it apart. Directions for a jigsaw puzzle might start with, "Turn over all the pieces with the picture side up. Sort the corner and edge pieces and then sort those pieces by the colors red and blue. Try connecting the different blue pieces with the flat edge at the top."

An online jigsaw puzzle such as one on the Intel Museum web site may also be used for this problem-solving task. In this case, the children's directions might include instructions like, "Point to a puzzle piece with your computer mouse, press and hold down the left button on the mouse, and 'drag' the piece to its proper place."

When your child is done creating instructions for his or her puzzle, follow the directions exactly yourself and try to put the puzzle together. Note where you are confused or where you feel details are missing.

Explain to your child that computers work because someone wrote directions for them to follow. Computers don't "think" or make assumptions like humans, they can only follow the directions.