Problem Solving Awareness Research Articles

A reflective cycle-based virtual reality approach to promoting students’ learning achievement, sense of presence, and higher-order thinking in professional training

ABSTRACT In professional healthcare training programs, field experience after physical courses is essential for students to become professionals. However, the outbreak of the pandemic has restricted such field experience, and so students’ problem-solving awareness when facing clinical emergencies in a professional field after graduation has become a critical issue. In conventional teaching, video-based instruction with case-based learning sheets is usually adopted for healthcare training. In this teaching mode, students generally lack opportunities to experience the process of dealing with authentic cases, and hence might be unable to immediately judge and solve problems when entering the workplace. To enhance students’ critical thinking and problem-solving awareness, the present study proposed a reflective cycle-based virtual reality (RC-VR) approach to provide a realistic environment and enable repeated practice. To examine its effectiveness, this study adopted a quasi-experimental design and applied it in a healthcare training program for risk assessment of maternal labor. The results indicated that the proposed RC-VR approach effectively enhanced students’ learning achievement, sense of presence, critical thinking, and problem-solving awareness in comparison to the conventional teaching approach.

Effects of ASQE-based learning on the information literacy, problem-solving and critical thinking of students with different growth mindsets

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the information literacy (IL) performance and higher order thinking skills of students with different levels of growth mindset and their perceptions of library-supported learning by using the annotate, summarize, question and evaluate (ASQE)-based learning approach.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the ASQE-based learning approach was applied to the learning activities to cultivate students’ IL, problem-solving awareness and critical thinking tendency. A total of 60 postgraduate students were invited to participate in this study. In addition, students’ perceptions of library-supported learning were analysed via drawing analysis.FindingsIntroducing ASQE-based learning into an IL learning activity promoted reflection and thought and had positive effects on students’ problem-solving awareness and on the critical thinking tendency of students with different levels of growth mindset. Additionally, the drawing analysis indicated that most of the students with low levels of growth mindset believed that learners should actively study in the library and students with higher levels of growth mindset preferred more motivating and enjoyable learning environments.Originality/valueThe findings of this study demonstrate that the ASQE-based learning approach can improve higher order thinking skills of students with different levels of growth mindset. In addition, this study examined the perceptions of students with different levels of growth mindset of library-supported learning via drawing analysis.

Promoting Students’ Programming Logic and Problem-Solving Awareness With Precision Feedback: A Two-Tier Test-Based Online Programming Training Approach

Fostering students' computer programming skills has become an important educational issue in the globe. However, it remains a challenge for students to understand those abstract concepts when learning computer programming, implying the need to provide instant learning diagnosis and feedback in computer programming activities. In this study, a Two-Tier Test-Based Programming Training (T3PT) approach was proposed. Accordingly, an online learning system was developed to provide students with precision feedback for guiding them to identify misconceptions of computer programming to improve their computer programming learning achievement. In order to examine the effects of the proposed approach, a learning system was developed and a quasi-experiment was conducted. Two classes of 99 eighth-grade students from Taiwan were divided into an experimental group and a control group. The students in the experimental group used the learning system based on the T3PT approach, while the control group used the conventional learning system. The experimental results showed that the proposed approach was significantly superior to the conventional programming learning approach in terms of students' programming logic concepts, problem-solving awareness, technology acceptance, and satisfaction with the learning approach. Accordingly, discussion and suggestions are provided for future research.

Facilitating deep-strategy behaviors and positive learning performances in science inquiry activities with a 3D experiential gaming approach

ABSTRACTFacilitating students’ deep-strategy behaviors and positive learning performances of science inquiry is an important and challenging educational issue. In this study, a contextual science inquiry approach is proposed for developing a 3D experiential game to cope with this problem. To evaluate the impacts of the game on students’ science learning approaches, learning achievements and problem-solving awareness as well as the learning behavioral patterns of the students with different learning achievements, a quasi-experiment was conducted in an elementary school geoscience course. The participants were two classes of sixth graders. One class was the experimental group who learned with the 3D experiential game, and the other was the control group who learned with the conventional technology-enhanced learning approach. The experimental results showed that the students learning with the 3D experiential gaming system showed better learning achievements, problem-solving tendency, deep learning strategies, and deep learning motive than those who learned with the conventional technology-enhanced learning approach. Moreover, the higher-achievement students showed more behavioral patterns of deep learning strategies than the lower-achievement students. The findings of this study provide a good reference for helping lower-achievement students improve their learning performance.

Facilitating effective digital game-based learning behaviors and learning performances of students based on a collaborative knowledge construction strategy

ABSTRACTResearchers have recognized the potential of educational computer games in improving students’ learning engagement and outcomes; however, facilitating effective learning behaviors during the gaming process remains an important and challenging issue. In this paper, a collaborative knowledge construction strategy was incorporated into an educational computer game to facilitate students’ knowledge sharing and organizing during the game-based learning process. An experiment was conducted to examine the students’ learning behavioral patterns, group efficacy, and problem-solving awareness. The experimental results revealed that the proposed approach improved the students’ learning achievements and awareness of problem-solving. Moreover, from the analysis of the students’ behavior sequences, it was found that, with the collaborative knowledge construction mechanism, the students revealed significantly more aggressive learning behavioral patterns, such as “comparing and observing the learning targets” and “seeking clues and answers” during the gaming process. This implies that integrating the collaborative knowledge construction mechanism into the gaming process has great potential for helping students effectively learn and organize knowledge as well as fostering their awareness of applying the acquired knowledge to dealing with problems.