effects of problem solving teaching strategy on ...

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL Of ACADEMIC RESEARCH

Vol. 3. No. 5. September, 2011, I Part

EFFECTS OF PROBLEM SOLVING TEACHING STRATEGY ON PROBLEM SOLVING AND REASONING ABILITY OF 8th GRADERS 1

Mushtaq Ahmad Malik , Dr. Muhammad Zafar Iqbal 1

2

Ph.D Scholar, Institute of Education and Research, University of the Punjab, Lahore 2 Dean Faculty of Education UMT, Lahore (PAKISTAN)

ABSTRACT The study was aimed to analyse “Effect of problem solving teaching strategy on the problem solving and th reasoning ability of 8 grade students". Major objective was to compare the domain specific problem solving and th reasoning ability of the 8 grade students in General Science taught through problem solving teaching strategy and traditional methods. From the 150 grade 8 students of the Federal Government Model secondary school F-8/3, Islamabad, an experimental and a control groups, of 30 each were selected randomly including 10 in each category of high, average and low achievers. th A research tool ‘Problem Solving Ability Test in Science’ (PSATS) for 8 class was developed to use as pretest and post- test. The test was validated through peer review and pilot testing. Pre and post tests were administered in the beginning and after six month treatment. On the collected data, t-test and ANOVA was applied. It was concluded that the students of experimental group showed better problem solving and reasoning ability than the students of control group. Key words: Problem solving teaching, problem solving ability, reasoning ability 1. INTRODUCTION Man is supreme creature due to his thinking ability. The thinking ability includes mental powers such as reviewing, reasoning, analyzing and solving problems (Solso, 2006). In human life day to day problems are surprising and not easy to solve. Every society educates its coming generations to face the life problems. The major objective of education is to prepare the students to face the future difficulties, and unfamiliar real life problems (Molnar, 1998) which is only possible when one has problem solving ability. Problem solving activities are viewed as applying new knowledge and skills learned earlier in different contexts like classroom instruction, textbook readings and laboratory experiments. Today we know that “problem solving includes a complex set of cognitive, behavioral, and attitudinal components” (Kirkley, 2003). Problem solving is a process where the students are to find relationships between previous experiences and the problems one is facing and then finds out a solution (Mayer, 1992). According to Kirkley (2003) following are the three cognitive activities of problem solving:  Representing the problem: It includes appropriate contextual knowledge, and identification of the goal with relevant conditions to start.  Solution search: It includes improvement of goal(s) and preparing plan for that goal.  Implementing the solution: This step includes execution of plan and evaluating the results. There is one ‘short cut’ if the learner recalls that he or she has already solved a like problem, then he would simply recall its solution, and solve it again. On the basis of simplicity, recall step and local environment, these steps can be followed easily in our local environment. Scientific literacy and problem solving are the thinking tools that help us in understanding the modern world (Boser, 1993). Current pedagogical practices in the advanced countries focus on problem solving and inquiry during instruction than content knowledge especially in teaching science (Windschitl, 2004). In Pakistani Educational System, students are rarely exposed to problem solving situations. However, for the preparation to solve problems of everyday life they are in need to learn problem solving. National Curriculum of General Science IV-VIII (2006) included ample opportunities for the students to enrich their problem solving ability. Keeping in view the above discussion, there is dire need to use such instructional strategies which enhance problem solving ability among the students. Problem solving learning strategy may be helpful in this regard and it th needs to be tested to find out its effectiveness in Pakistani educational institutions. For this purpose, 8 grade was selected because students of this age group may have the capability of formal/higher order thinking processes. They may be able to solve the problems, if taught through problem solving strategy. The study was aimed to find out the effects of problem solving as a teaching strategy in the subject of scienth ce on the students’ problem solving and reasoning ability at 8 grade. The study is significant for the improvement of curriculum and for teachers to enhance problem solving ability among students. It was assumed that there is innate problem solving ability in each and every student to some extent. The traditional teaching methods in our public schools do not include problem solving. The study was th delimited to problem solving ability in the subject of science at 8 grade. Students were categorized according to th their obtained marks in 7 grade as per the following criteria. 1. High achievers= 70% or above marks 2. Average achievers= 50% to 69% marks 3. Low achievers= below 50% marks

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL Of ACADEMIC RESEARCH

Vol. 3. No. 5. September, 2011, I Part

2. METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY th

In this study pre-test post-test control group design was used. All the students of 8 grade (150) studying in FG Boys Model School F-8/3, Islamabad were the population. Using random sampling technique by picking from the hat method, two groups of students, 30 each, were selected. Then randomly, each group was assigned as experimental and control group as recommended by Gay (2000). No instrument was found suitable to the contents and context of Pakistani students. So after reviewing the lith terature, a research instrument ‘Problem Solving Ability Test in Science’ (PSATS) was developed for 8 grade. The test was bilingual (in English and Urdu) so that students may understand the problematic situation. For this test, according to the Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA, 2006), to assess the students in general science, three interconnected dimensions; (i) scientific concepts, (ii) scientific processes and (iii) scientific situations, were considered. It included content based items, consisting of problematic situations relevant to the areas of th General Science textbook for Class 8 (2007) published by National Book Foundation Islamabad, i.e. living things, environment, matter and its properties, motion and force, energy, electricity, light and magnetism. Multiple choice format was considered suitable for domain specific problem solving due to involvement of application of declarative and schematic knowledge, cognitive acts and context of the problems with life (Molnár, 2003; OECD (PISA), 2003; Portolés, and López, 2008; French and Cummings, 2009). A rubric for scoring reasoning response was also developed for consistency in awarding marks. This test consisted of 18 items relevant to students’ interests and lives, representing science-related situations. Each item consisted of a problem/stem with 4 responses to select the correct or best response applying scientific concepts given in the textbook. After each item space was provided to give the scientific reason of the selected response for assessment of reasoning power of the students. The test was reviewed by 9 peers and modified accordingly. Then it was pilot tested on 100 students of other schools which were out of the sample, 16 out of 18 items were selected for final test. The reliability was 0.856. After formulation of groups, before treatment, pre-tests was administered to students of both the groups. The test scores were kept secret to avoid any complex or competition among students. The experimental group was taught through problem solving teaching strategy for six months, while control group was taught through traditional methods. For experimental group, lesson plans were developed according to problem solving teaching strategy for each unit keeping in view the requirements of the content. Different problematic situations were developed for students to solve in the class or for home work and solutions were discussed in the class. Lesson plan format in detail is as follows. Lesson Plan Format 1. Title of Lesson 2. Subject 3. Grade Level 4. Teaching Method 5. General Objectives 6. Specific Objectives 7. Required Materials 8. Step-By-Step Procedure a. Brain Storming (05 minutes) b. Representing the problem (05 minutes) c. Problem: d. Appropriate context knowledge (20 minutes) Time for the steps from ‘e’ to ‘j’ will be 15 minutes e. Identifying the goal f. Relevant starting conditions for the problem g. Solution search h. Developing a plan of action to reach the goal i. Implementing the Solution j. Evaluate the result (05 minutes) For the steps 8 and 9, time will be 05 minutes 9. Assessment Based on Objectives0 10. Home work 3. ANALYSIS OF DATA AND FINDINGS Pre-test and post-test scores along with gain scores on problem solving ability test were analyzed using software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) applying t-test for independent sample and ANOVA. Testing of hypotheses is given in detail as under. H01: There is no significant difference in the mean gain scores of contextual problem solving ability of the students in the subject of science, taught through problem solving teaching strategy and traditional teaching methods. Table 1. Difference between mean gain scores of problem solving ability of students Group Experimental Control *P< 0.05

N 30 30

Mean 14.6000 6.1333

SD 7.69 4.65

df

t

58

5.153*

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL Of ACADEMIC RESEARCH

Vol. 3. No. 5. September, 2011, I Part

Table 1 reflects that t value 5.153 with df= 58 was significant at p