Developing Students' Problem-solving Skills Using Learning Tasks: An Action Research Project in Secondary School
Abstract
The study aimed at improving upper-secondary school students' problem solving skills in chemistry lessons. They were given a pre-test in the form of problem tasks focused on their conceptual knowledge regarding the periodic table, ability to apply knowledge on the factors affecting chemistry reaction rate and compounds' properties.
Most students (72 out of 112) did not succeed to solve the tasks. For this reason, an intervention was designed based on a follow up study using eye-tracking combined with think-aloud.
It consisted of students' working on PISA-like problem tasks with a special scaffolding. A teacher provided formative assessment promoting students' expansive strategies.
The intervention's effect was again assessed using problem tasks. The results showed the action plan was successful in helping the majority of students reach more than half of the test-points.
The ratio of successful solvers also rose and unsuccessful significantly declined.