Abstract
Studies on students' problem-solving skills worldwide suggest there is a room for improvement. This study aimed at improving upper-secondary school students' problem-solving skills in chemistry lessons. They were given a problem tasks pre-test 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 study using eye-tracking combined with think-aloud. It consisted of students' working on (PISA-like) context-based chemistry 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 in two post-tests. The results showed the action plan was successful in helping the majority of students reach above-average test score. The ratio of successful solvers also rose and unsuccessful significantly declined.
Highlights
There is a significant gap between research and school practice.[1,2] Teachers consider research and theory to be something remotely related to their actual practice.[3]
The presented action research was guided by a definition by Cohen, et al.,[8] who point it out as an on-the-spot procedure which focuses on a specific problem located in a current situation
As the action research was conducted without disturbing the normal course of the school year, naturally, not all the students were present in all the lessons during the research
Summary
There is a significant gap between research (researchers) and school practice (teachers’ understanding of the research).[1,2] Teachers consider research and theory to be something remotely related to their actual practice.[3] In action research, a teacher becomes an observer (e.g. in order to maintain objectivity).[4] In this respect, action research seems to be one of the possible remedies as it combines academic research with practice, e.g.5,6 The teacher plans and systematically verifies the learning process, the teacher is a part of the research process and subject to investigation or a non-participating observer.[3,4,7]. The presented action research was guided by a definition by Cohen, et al.,[8] who point it out as an on-the-spot procedure which focuses on a specific problem located in a current situation. The process is ideally supposed to be monitored step-by-step using different tools (questionnaires, diaries, interviews, and case studies, for example)
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