Investigating the effects of problem-solving method and cognitive flexibility on improving university students’ metacognitive skills

Abstract

This study was aimed to investigate the effects of the problem-solving method on university students' metacognitive skills and cognitive flexibility levels. The research was modelled in a semi-experimental pattern, with experiment-control groups. According to the cluster sampling technique, 144 pre-service teachers who attended the Elementary Teacher School program in the spring semester of 2018-2019 had been determined as participants in Indonesia. Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI) and Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) were used as data collection tools. An Independent Sample t-Test and descriptive statistics techniques were used in the analysis of the data. The discussion method, which is used more in university education, was employed in the control group, while the problem-solving method was employed in the experimental group. As a result of the research, it was found that there was a significant difference in the metacognitive skill levels of students with high cognitive flexibility when compared to those with low cognitive flexibility. This differentiation is in favor of students with a high cognitive level. Furthermore, a significant differentiation was observed between the metacognitive skill scores of the two groups where the discussion and problem-solving methods were applied. It was seen that this differentiation was in favor of the group with the problem-solving method. This study therefore recommends that instructional adaptations should be made to increase pre-service teachers' cognitive flexibility. Also, the problem-solving method can be used for the development of metacognitive skills. Thus, they can provide experiential knowledge during the university education process, in order to develop these two important features.