No problem too big or too small to troubleshoot.

Susan Canaga — Sat, 05 Nov 2005 15:32:00 GMT

Always look for opportunities to practice and coach troubleshooting. One came for me the other day with the classroom stapler...

A bright student in a hurry urgently asks me, “Mrs. Canaga, Mrs. Canaga...the stapler won't work!”

As thoughts rolled through my head (like...what has someone done to the stapler now?), I stopped and asked, “Well, have you tried to troubleshoot the problem?“

With an extemely annoyed look on his face, the student replied, “Troubleshoot the stapler?”

Mrs. Canaga: “Sure...what is the problem you are having?“

Student: “It won't staple my paper.”

Mrs. Canaga: “Did it work recently?”

The student now realizes he's been caught in a teachable moment and reluctantly responds, “I think so... maybe it needs more staples?”

Mrs. Canaga: “Did you check?”

Student: “How do I do that?”

Mrs. Canaga: “I don't know...have you examined the stapler?”

Student looks over the stapler, “Well it looks like there might be two ways.” After a bit of trial and error, he opens the stapler and finds it empty. A quick reload, and he's back to work with a stapled paper in hand and troubleshooting on his mind. He might have been mumbling something about me too, but hey...that's the art of troubleshooting!

For Students

No problem too big or too small to troubleshoot.