Students’ Achievement, Skill and
Confidence in Using Stepwise
Problem-Solving Strategies

Tolga Gok

doi:10.12973/eurasia.2014.1223a

Students’ Achievement, Skill and Confidence in Using Stepwise Problem-Solving Strategies

Full Text (PDF)

Tolga Gok ¹ ^*

More Detail

¹ Dokuz Eylul University, TURKEY^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Problem-Solving Strategy Steps (PSSS) on students’ achievement, skill, and confidence. The study was conducted in a two-year college classroom with 70 students from two different groups enrolled in a physics course. One of them was randomly selected as an experimental group (EG) and the other was the control group (CG). The students included in the EG were instructed by PSSS and traditional instruction while the students in the CG were instructed by only traditional instruction. The study was conducted in Newtonian Mechanics. The data of the research were collected with the Physics Achievement Test (PAT), the Problem-Solving Strategy Steps Survey (1P4S), and the Problem-Solving Confidence Questionnaire (PSCQ). The results indicated that there was a significant difference between the means of the EG and the CG in favor of the EG. Also, the use of problem-solving strategy steps contributed to the critical and analytical skills of the students.

Keywords

higher education
physics education
problem solving
problem-solving
strategy steps
problem-solving confidence

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2014, Volume 10, Issue 6, 617-624

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2014.1223a

Publication date: 15 Dec 2014

Article Views: 2754

Article Downloads: 1681

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

Amigues, R. (1988). Peer interaction in solving physics problems: Sociocognitive confrontation and metacognitive aspects. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 45, 141-158.
Anderson, D. & Nashon, M. (2007). Predators of knowledge construction: Interpreting students’ metacognition in an amusement park physics program. Science Education, 91(2), 298-320.
Bagno, E. & Eylon, Bat-S. (1997). From problem solving to a knowledge structure: An example from the domain of electromagnetism. American Journal of Physics, 65, 726- 736.
Bascones, J., Novak, V., & Novak, J. D. (1985). Alternative instructional systems and the development of problem-solving skills in physics. European Journal of Science Education, 7(3), 253-261.
Campbell, D. T. & Stanley, J. C. (1963). Experimental and quasi experimental designs for research: A handbook for research on interactions. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Chi, T., Feltovich, P., & Glaser, R. (1981). Categorization and representation of physics problems by experts and novices. Cognitive Science, 5, 121-152.
Cook, T. D. & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: Design and analysis issues for field settings. Chicago, IL: Rand-McNally College.
Crouch, C. H. & Mazur, E. (2001). Peer instruction: Ten years of experience and results. American Journal of Physics, 69, 970–977.
Desoete, A., Roeyers, H., & De Clercq, A. (2004). Children with mathematics learning disabilities in Belgium. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 37, 50-61.
Dufrense, R., Gerace, W., & Leonard, J. (1997). Solving physics problems with multiple representations. Physics Teacher, 35, 270-275.
Garrett, R. M. (1986). Problem-solving in science education. Studies in Science Education, 13, 70-95.
Gok, T. (2010a). A new approach: Computer-assisted problem-solving systems. Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, 11(2), 1-22.
Gok, T. (2010b). The general assessment of problem solving processes and metacognition in physics education. Eurasian Journal of Physics and Chemistry Education, 2(2), 110-122.
Gok, T. (2011). Development of problem solving strategy steps scale: Study of validation and reliability. The AsiaPacific Education Researcher, 20(1), 151–161.
Gok. T. (2012a). The impact of peer instruction on college students’ beliefs about physics and conceptual understanding of electricity and magnetism. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 10, 417-436.
Gok. T. (2012b). Development of problem solving confidence questionnaire: Study of validation and reliability. Latin American Journal of Physics Education, 6(1), 21-26.
Gok. T. (2012c). The effects of peer instruction on students’ conceptual learning and motivation. Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, 13, 1(10).
Hake, R. R. (1998). Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: A six-thousand student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses. American Journal of Physics, 66, 64-74.
Heller, P., Keith, R., & Anderson, S. (1992). Teaching problem solving through cooperative grouping. Part 1: Group versus individual problem solving. American Journal of Physics, 60, 627-636.
Heller, P. & Hollabaugh, M. (1992). Teaching problem solving through cooperative grouping. Part 2: Designing problems and structuring groups. American Journal of Physics, 60, 637-644.
Kapa, E. (2007). Transfer from structured to open-ended problem solving in a computerized metacognitive environment. Learning and Instruction, 17, 688-707.
Kowalski, F., Gok, T., & Kowalski, S. (2009). Using Tablet PCs to strengthen problem- solving skills in an upperlevel engineering physics course, 39th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, October 18- 21, 2009, San Antonio, TX.
Larkin, H. (1979). Processing information for effective problem solving. Engineering Education, 70, 285-288.
Larkin, H. & Reif, F. (1979). Understanding and teaching problem-solving in physics. European Journal of Science Education, 1, 191-203.
Lasry, N., Mazur, E., & Watkins, J. (2008). Peer instruction: From Harvard to the two-year college. American Journal of Physics, 76(11), 1066-1069.
Mazur, E. (1997). Peer instruction: A user’s manual. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Meijer, J., Veenman, J., & van Hout-Wolters, B. (2006). Metacognitive activities in text Studying and problemsolving: Development of a taxonomy. Educational Research And Evaluation, 12, 209-237.
Metallidou, P. (2009). Pre-service and in-service teachers’ metacognitive knowledge about problem-solving strategies. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 76-82.
Pol, H. (2005). Solving physics problems with the help of computer-assisted instruction. International Journal of Science Education, 27, 451-469.
Polya, G. (1945). How to solve it. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Reif, F., Larkin, H., & Brackett, C. (1976). Teaching general learning and problem-solving skills. American Journal of Physics, 44, 212-217.
Reif, F. (1981). Teaching problem solving: A scientific approach. The physics Teacher, 19, 310-316.
Reif, F. & Heller, I. (1982). Knowledge structures and problem solving in physics. Educational Psychologist, 17, 102-127.
Reif, F. (1995). Millikan Lecture 1994: Understanding and teaching important scientific thought process. American Journal of Physics, 63, 17-32.
Van-Heuvelen, A. (1991). Learning to think like a physicist: A review of research-based instructional strategies. American Journal of Physics, 59, 891-897.
Walsh, N., Robert, H., & Bowe, B. (2007). Phenomenographic study of students’ problem solving approaches in physics. Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research, 3, 1-12.
Watkins, J. & Mazur, E. (2010). Just in time teaching and peer instruction. In Scott, S. & Mark, M. (Eds.), Just in Time Teaching: Across the Disciplines, and Across the Academy, Stylus Publishing.

How to cite this article

APA

Gok, T. (2014). Students’ Achievement, Skill and Confidence in Using Stepwise Problem-Solving Strategies. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 10(6), 617-624. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2014.1223a

Vancouver

Gok T. Students’ Achievement, Skill and Confidence in Using Stepwise Problem-Solving Strategies. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2014;10(6):617-24. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2014.1223a

AMA

Gok T. Students’ Achievement, Skill and Confidence in Using Stepwise Problem-Solving Strategies. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2014;10(6), 617-624. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2014.1223a

Chicago

Gok, Tolga. "Students’ Achievement, Skill and Confidence in Using Stepwise Problem-Solving Strategies". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2014 10 no. 6 (2014): 617-624. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2014.1223a

Harvard

Gok, T. (2014). Students’ Achievement, Skill and Confidence in Using Stepwise Problem-Solving Strategies. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 10(6), pp. 617-624. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2014.1223a

MLA

Gok, Tolga "Students’ Achievement, Skill and Confidence in Using Stepwise Problem-Solving Strategies". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 10, no. 6, 2014, pp. 617-624. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2014.1223a