Problem-solving Tasks Research Articles

Combined functional magnetic resonance imaging and skin conductance to detect localized neural response to psychological stress: a pilot study.

This preliminary study aims at investigating the neural correlates of the stress response, intended as an emotional and cognitive response, through the description of the activation of the autonomic nervous system in a problem-solving task and central functional data; in particular, we recorded skin conductance level (SCL) and response (SCR) and observed the correlation with fMRI data. The results obtained from 6 healthy subjects, 3 males and 3 females, aged between 18 and 45 (average = 27, SD = 7.08) who voluntarily offered to participate in the study were examined. They were previously subjected to a brief clinical psychological assessment (MMPI-2) and then to a psychophysiological evaluation. The real experiment consisted in subjecting the participants to an adapted version of the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices 47 (CPM 47) test to evaluate some consequences on brain activity of attention, orientation, reflex and response to stress during fMRI data acquisition and SCL-SCR recording. SCR changes were found to be related to the activity of different brain regions such as bilateral precentral gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus, right medial frontal gyrus, bilateral superior frontal gyri and left anterior cingulate suggesting a specific relationship between attentive processing and autonomic arousal. The association of SC measurement with neuroimaging allows to highlight the interaction between emotional and cognitive processes: although preliminary, these results partially confirm what previously found in literature on the neural correlates of psychological stress and underline the interaction between cognitive function and autonomic arousal system during a stressful problem-solving task.

Supplemental Material for The Zoo Task: A Novel Metacognitive Problem-Solving Task Developed With a Sample of African American Children From Schools in High Poverty Communities

Supplemental Material for The Zoo Task: A Novel Metacognitive Problem-Solving Task Developed With a Sample of African American Children From Schools in High Poverty Communities

Применение компьютерных средств в оценке развития учебных взаимодействий младших школьников

The article presents results of a study on the possibilities of using the ‘Scales’ research technique for assessing the effectiveness of learning interactions in primary school children. The study involved 90 students of primary school (N=90), grades 1 to 4. We discuss the issue of using computer tools in activity- based assessments. In our study, we have implemented the fundamental theoretical principle, according to which the very nature of participants’ activities determines the structure of the digital system construction. We show that evaluating the effectiveness of learning interactions in joint problem-solving tasks is possible in situations when the ‘digital shell’ of the students’ activities becomes a means to actualize the processes of communication, exchange of actions, mutual understanding and reflection, which determine the process of setting the learning task and finding the generalised way of solving it. It is noted that in the course of solving experimental problems, there is a qualitative change in these processes, which are an integral characteristic of the sense of community that arises between children and adults and, in turn, allows children to reach beyond the framework of the current subject problem and to move over to meaning-based interactions (Z=-3.651, Asympt.Sig.(2-tailed)<0.001, p=0.05).

Newly walking infants' night sleep impacts next day learning and problem solving.

Sleep is part of the process that prepares children and adults for next day cognitive activity. Insufficient or fragmented sleep has a detrimental impact on subsequent encoding (Rouleau et al., 2002) and cognitive functioning (Joo et al., 2012). However, fragmented sleep early in life is a developmental norm, limiting the extent to which conclusions derived from older populations can be generalized. To directly test the continuity of this relationship, newly-walking infants' (N=58) sleep was monitored overnight using actigraphy. The next morning they were taught a motor problem-solving task. The task required infants to navigate through a tunnel to reach a goal at the other end. We coded infants' exploratory behaviors and the extent of training required to solve the task. Using a cluster analysis that accounted for exploratory behaviors and number of training prompts, infants were sorted into three profiles: those who found the task Easy to solve, those who found it Difficult, and those who Never solved it. Wake episodes and sleep efficiency were entered as predictors of cluster membership in a multinomial logistic regression. Of the infants who ultimately solved the task, those with more wake episodes and lower sleep efficiency had more difficulty. Specifically, fragmentation appeared to negatively impact preparedness to learn. Contrary to our expectations, infants who Never solved the task had the least fragmented sleep, indicating that an optimal level of fragmentation is needed for efficient problem-solving. For infants, some level of sleep fragmentation is needed the night before learning in order to solve a task efficiently. These findings highlight the interaction between developmental domains, from sleep quality to motor experience, and their impact on infant learning in real time.

Instructional Practices of Teachers in Integrating Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills in Mathematics Instruction

This qualitative research aimed to document the instructional practices, problems encountered, and suggestions offered by mathematics teachers in integrating critical thinking through problem-solving. To obtain the data, series of Focus Group Discussions (FGD) were conducted with seven (7) mathematics teachers and sixty (60) students in the Senior High School. Through the thematic analysis, four key themes were derived to present teachers’ teaching practices, problems encountered, and suggestions to intensify critical thinking promotion through problem-solving tasks. A Proposed Enhancement Plan for Mathematics Teachers was developed to hasten students’ exposure to activities that promote critical thinking and problem-solving. These activities involve enrichment sessions for mathematics teachers the problem-solving and refinement of instructional plans, particularly on strategies, assessment techniques, and instructional materials.

The effect of taxing situations on preschool children’s responses to peer conflict

Preschool children are often faced with situations that could tax their cognitive resources and consequently affect their abilities to navigate subsequent social problems. Following taxing situations, children may be more likely to enact impulsive, aggressive responses instead of competent responses during peer conflict episodes. We exposed 114 5-year-old children to either a brief taxing procedure or one of two control procedures, followed by a social problem solving task. Children in the Taxing condition were more likely to endorse physically aggressive responses and less likely to endorse prosocial responses to peer social situations compared to the control conditions. The results suggest that taxing situations can negatively impact children’s social problem solving skills. We discuss the possibility that the observed taxing effect provides preliminary evidence for a causal link between executive function and social competence.

Innovative problem solving in macaws

Behavioural innovations with tool-like objects in non-habitually tool-using species are thought to require complex physical understanding, but the underlying cognitive processes remain poorly understood. A few parrot species are capable of innovating tool-use and borderline tool-use behaviours. We tested this capacity in two species of macaw (Ara ambiguus, n = 9; Ara glaucogularis, n = 8) to investigate if they could solve a problem-solving task through manufacture of a multi-stone construction. Specifically, after having functional experience with a pre-inserted stick tool to push a reward out of a horizontal tube, the subjects were required to insert five stones consecutively from one side to perform the same function as the stick tool with the resulting multi-component construction. One Ara glaucogularis solved the task and innovated the stone construction after the experience with the stick tool. Two more subjects (one of each species) did so after having further functional experience of a single stone pushing a reward out of a shortened tube. These subjects were able to consistently solve the task, but often made errors, for example counter-productive stone insertions from the opposing end, even in some of the successful trials. Conversely, multiple trials without errors also suggested a strong goal direction. Their performance in the follow-up tasks was inconclusive since they sometimes inserted stones into un-baited or blocked ‘dummy tubes’, but this could have been an attention-deficit behaviour as subjects had not encountered these ‘dummy tubes’ before. Overall, the successful subjects’ performance was so erratic that it proved difficult to conclude whether they had functional understanding of their multi-stone constructions.

IDENTIFIKASI PENALARAN ALJABAR MAHASISWA DALAM MENYELESAIKAN MASALAH RELASI REKURSIF MENGGUNAKAN ALAT PERAGA MENARA HANOI DITINJAU DARI GAYA BELAJAR

This study aims to identify the level of students' algebraic reasoning in solving recursive relation problems using tower hanoi props in terms of learning styles. This research is a descriptive exploratory research with a qualitative approach. The instruments in this study consisted of learning style questionnaires, Mathematics Ability Tests, Problem Solving Tasks, and task-based interviews. The research begins with giving tests of mathematical ability and learning style agket to 8 semester VI students of the STKIP PGRI Sumenep mathematics education study program in Sumenep to obtain three subjects, each with visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles with equal mathematical abilities and of the same gender. After that, it was followed by giving problem solving tasks and task-based interviews twice. Time triangulation is used to check the validity of the data. The data analysis technique consists of 5 stages, namely data categorization, data reduction, data presentation, data interpretation, and drawing conclusions. The results show that the visual subject is higher than level 2 but has not reached level 3, the auditory subject is at level 2, and the kinesthetic subject is at level 3. The three subjects have reached the stage of solving the problem, but the one who can solve the problem until they find the final solution is only the kinesthetic subject. The implication of research in learning is that teachers can more easily design learning according to their learning styles so that they can hone students' algebraic reasoning.

Exploring Interactions Between Motivation and Cognition to Better Shape Self-Regulated Learning

Research targeting desirable difficulties has provided researchers and educators with a deeper understanding of the methods of study that benefit long-term learning. This literature has also provided important insights about why students do not always prefer practice methods that result in long term learning gains. Research targeting the interaction of motivation and cognition can provide additional insights into the factors underlying students’ self-regulatory learning behaviors. The current paper discusses research on the role of motivation derived from our past achievement experiences, which can enrich our understanding of the factors that influence student's achievement choices. For example, memories of prior academic experiences influence student motivation and serve as the basis for task specific expectancies and values, which are reflected in the amount of effort and the strategies learners deploy on learning and problem-solving tasks. The paper highlights findings from the literatures on achievement motivation and judgment and decision making in an effort to broaden and enrich the discussion of the application of desirable difficulties to multidimensional educational contexts.

Analysis of Student Thinking Ability in the Topic of Probability: A Descriptive Study of Gender and Math Ability

The probability is very closely related to everyday life that includes a probabilistic situation. This situation contains an element of uncertainty when someone is thinking about a problem that has various possibilities or consists of a part of luck, then that person is thinking probabilistically. The purpose of this study is to analyze the mathematical probability thinking skills of senior high school students in the response aspect with gender and mathematical abilities. This type of research is a qualitative descriptive study based on five stages, namely (1) natural design, (2) descriptive data, (3) attention, (4) data processing, and (5) the main focus of research. The research was conducted at Senior High School in Jayapura, Indonesia. The research subjects were students of class XI Science. The research instrument consisted of mathematical ability test sheets, probability problem-solving tasks, interviews. The results of the investigation show that the profile of male students' probabilistic thinking on mathematical abilities in solving probability problems includes providing statistical responses in solving probability. Issue is related to the sample space (representatives formation) because it uses a combination to calculate the number of members of the sample space by providing the right reasons. Meanwhile, for women, the profile of probabilistic thinking is using several strategies in solving probability problems related to the sample space (representatives formation). Based on the investigation of the results shows that there are differences in mathematical ability between male and female students probability of problem-solving.

Diet induces parallel changes to the gut microbiota and problem solving performance in a wild bird

The microbial community in the gut is influenced by environmental factors, especially diet, which can moderate host behaviour through the microbiome-gut-brain axis. However, the ecological relevance of microbiome-mediated behavioural plasticity in wild animals is unknown. We presented wild-caught great tits (Parus major) with a problem-solving task and showed that performance was weakly associated with variation in the gut microbiome. We then manipulated the gut microbiome by feeding birds one of two diets that differed in their relative levels of fat, protein and fibre content: an insect diet (low content), or a seed diet (high content). Microbial communities were less diverse among individuals given the insect compared to those on the seed diet. Individuals were less likely to problem-solve after being given the insect diet, and the same microbiota metrics that were altered as a consequence of diet were also those that correlated with variation in problem solving performance. Although the effect on problem-solving behaviour could have been caused by motivational or nutritional differences between our treatments, our results nevertheless raise the possibility that dietary induced changes in the gut microbiota could be an important mechanism underlying individual behavioural plasticity in wild populations.

The Role of Cognition in Social Information Use for Breeding Site Selection: Experimental Evidence in a Wild Passerine Population

In spatio-temporally variable environments, individuals are known to use information for making optimal decisions regarding where and when to breed. Optimal decision making can be complex when relying on multiple information sources with varying levels of reliability and accessibility. To deal with such complexity, different cognitive abilities such as learning and memory might enable individuals to optimally process and use these information sources. Yet, the link between information use and cognitive ability remains unexplored in natural populations. We investigated whether learning performance on a problem-solving task was related to the use of an experimentally manipulated source of social information for nest site selection in wild collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis). Collared flycatchers are known to use heterospecific information from their main competitors, the great tits (Parus major). Here, we created a local apparent preference by tits for an artificial nest site feature (a geometric symbol attached to nest boxes occupied by tits) and recorded whether flycatcher pairs chose to settle in nest boxes displaying the same feature as tits (i.e., copied tit apparent preference). Using a problem-solving task requiring opening a door temporarily blocking the nest box entrance, we then measured flycatchers' learning performance during nestling rearing as the number of entrances required to solve the task and enter the nest box twice in a row below a given efficiency threshold. We found that the probability to copy tit preference decreased with decreasing learning performance in females, particularly yearling ones: fast learning females copied tit preference, while slow learning ones rejected it. Male learning performance did not affect copying behavior. Our results showed that learning performance might play an important role in the ability to optimally use information for nest site selection in females: both fast and slow learning females could process this heterospecific information source but used it differently. This could partly explain the link between cognitive abilities and reproductive success reported in previous studies. Whether cognitive abilities may modulate condition-dependent costs of using different information remains to be explored.

Expressive Suppression Within Task-Oriented Dyads: The Moderating Role of Power.

Although research has so far consistently revealed that using suppression to regulate emotions has adverse personal and social effects, it has been argued that suppression may be less detrimental within non-close relationships. In the present work, we examined the effects of experimentally induced suppression on expressive behavior, emotional experience, and social outcomes within task-oriented interactions between individuals randomly assigned to high/low vs. equal power positions. Eighty-eight participants were randomly paired with a partner of the same gender (forty-four dyads). After being randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions created to manipulate suppression use and power, each dyad was asked to complete two problem-solving tasks. The results showed that the participants who were assigned to the subordinate (low-power) role and who used suppression to regulate their emotions reported more negative emotional experience than did individuals assigned to equal-power roles, as well as more inauthenticity and diminished feelings of rapport compared to subordinates who freely expressed their feelings. Moreover, we found that the use of suppression also influenced participants assigned to the manager (high-power) role, as they exhibited less positive behavior, reported less positive experience and lower feelings of rapport when interacting with a partner asked to suppress. When individuals were assigned to equal power roles, the participants instructed to use suppression reported lower levels of positive emotions than did their partners as well as higher feelings of inauthenticity compared to uninstructed participants. Overall, these findings seem to suggest that suppression may impair task-oriented interactions between high/low power individuals more than interactions between individuals sharing equal power.

Chimpanzees' (Pan troglodytes) problem-solving skills are influenced by housing facility and captive care duration.

Although a large body of primate cognition research is done in captive institutions, little is known about how much individuals from different facilities vary in their experiences and cognitive skills. Here we present the results of an experimental study investigating how physical cognitive skills vary between chimpanzees in relation to captive settings and their time in captivity. We tested 59 chimpanzees housed at two different captive facilities (a rehabilitation center (sanctuary) and a zoo) in three problem-solving tasks. Our results showed that chimpanzees at the two housing facilities significantly differed in overall task performance. On average, the sanctuary chimpanzees outperformed the chimpanzees housed at the zoo in the detour reaching task and the honey trap task. However, the zoo chimpanzees performed slightly better on average in the learning task. We propose that, for this particular sample, the documented differences result from a combination of factors, such as prior experience with cognitive testing, motivation levels and varying degrees of human exposure. Within the sanctuary sample, we found that chimpanzees who arrived at an earlier age at the sanctuary and had therefore spent a larger percentage of their lives in a captive environment, were better problem-solvers than those that arrived at a later age to the sanctuary. Thus, rehabilitation and time in captivity contributed to improved physical cognitive skills in sanctuary chimpanzees. Our results highlight the importance of studying intraspecific variation and the effect that previous experience and living conditions might have on physical cognitive skills in non-human apes. Accordingly, we should be cautious when extrapolating findings of cognitive studies from one population to the species as a whole.

THE ADULT-CHILD DYAD AS A PROBLEM-SOLVING SYSTEM: AN EXPERIMENT WITH ONE BILINGUAL INDONESIAN CHILD

<p>This study tries to reveal how the transition from interpsychological to intrapsychological functioning happens in an adult-child dyad’s activity involving a 3.6 year-old-child and the child’s mother. The study explores how the adult and child divided up the strategic responsibilities for carrying out a problem-solving task of completing a puzzle. The experiment, which took place in the child’s living room and lasted for 48 minutes, was videotaped and observed while all utterances by the adult and child were transcribed verbatim. Coding was done in order to note information showing the gaze behavior, interventions from the adult, and episodes for each correct match. Thematic analysis was chosen as the method to analyze the transcripts in order to find meaningful patterns. The study found that the adult’s intervention is important in the early stage of the joint-problem activity while, when the child takes more responsibility and develops some strategies as the child becomes more self-regulated, the adult’s role in scaffolding decreases. There is a transition from the interpsychological to intrapsychological functioning in the adult-child dyad while gazes towards the played cards outweigh the role of gazes towards other objects.</p>

МЕТОДИКА ВИКЛАДАННЯ ДИСЦИПЛІНИ "ТЕХНОЛОГІЯ ВИРОБНИЦТВА МОЛОКА ТА ЯЛОВИЧИНИ"

The cattle breeding development depends on the level of agrarian specialists preparation in many aspects. The value of professional competence based on hiseffective adaptation to the terms of production, grows on such conditions, knowledge and abilities, readiness to the production risks. The aim of this work is a rationale for methodological approaches to development of on-line tutorial and teaching the subject "Technology of milk and beef production". Thefocus of the work is the competences of Standard of higher education of Ukraine, the first (bachelor) level, specialization 204 "Technologies of production and processing of stock-raising products". The list of the tasks is presented in the publication: the role of discipline "Technology of milk and beef production" is marked in an educational process; essence of professional competences is exposed for preparation of the specialists in this sphere; the system and criteria to evaluate the educational achievements of the students are offered; the methodological approaches to implementation of the course project are given. In the process of discipline mastering, creative abilities to apply knowledge gained into problem solving tasks must be formed for bachelors, capacity for self-examination, research work, making rational and effective administrative decisions in the technology of cattle breeding production are also must be formed. Thus there must be exhaust ability of providing of such level of organization and production management, that will allow to attain a high yield at minimum productive charges, maintenance of the animal health and avoidance of ecological risks. In the process of activity the study of prospects of development of cattle breeding industry, basic directions and ways of improvement of economic-useful signs and cattle productive quality, progressive energy-saving technologies and optimization of technological process, mastering methods and techniques for management industry improvement is envisaged.

Asynchronous Collaboration: Bridging the Cognitive Distance in Global Software Development Projects

Research problem: The role that physical, temporal, and cultural distances play in global software development projects has been well researched. Culturally diverse teams separated by physical distances across multiple time zones face significant challenges in collaborating effectively with each other. This article examines a fourth dimension-cognitive distance-that relates to the problem-solving style of teams that can also have an impact on their ability to collaborate successfully. Research questions: 1. Does cognitive distance affect communication among global software development teams collaborating with each other? 2. How does cognitive distance affect the sentiment/emotion of global software development teams collaborating with each other? Literature review: Prior research shows that collaboration among teams on global software development projects is impacted by practices to manage collaboration; appropriate use of collaboration technologies; collaboration readiness that relates to individual characteristics such as personality traits, motivation, and trust; and shared understanding in group problem-solving. While shared understanding has looked at the effectiveness of the use of common language and knowledge sharing, it has not examined how differences in problem-solving styles of geographically dispersed teams impact their ability to collaborate successfully. Methodology: We examined project artifacts and email communication among geographically dispersed teams within a global software development project. From the project artifacts, we examined tasks allocated to different teams. From the emails, we established the communication network and volume of communication, and performed a sentiment analysis on email content. This analysis allowed us to observe not only the quality of communication among the teams but also the sentiment/emotion that reflected how well they were working together. Results and discussion: Managing teams that vastly differ in problem-solving styles and tasks requires that project managers be aware of these differences and introduce liaisons that reach across the teams to help bridge the cognitive divide.

Long-term Memory of a Complex Foraging Task in Monitor Lizards (Reptilia: Squamata: Varanidae)

Procedural memory allows animals to solve previously encountered tasks over weeks, months, or years efficiently. Although thoroughly documented in vertebrate clades such as mammals and birds, studies of procedural memory in squamate reptiles are lacking. Filling the gap in knowledge regarding procedural memory in squamates is important to understanding the degree to which procedural memory is unique to birds and mammals, as it is related to their unique cognitive abilities. We tested for memory of a problem-solving task in two species of monitor lizard (Varanus spp.) and a beaded lizard (Heloderma sp.) after a 20-mo hiatus in exposure, representing approximately 25% of their ages at the time of testing. All the monitor lizards had lower initial latencies to solve the task upon re-exposure posthiatus than they had as naive individuals during the prehiatus trials and reached minimum latencies in fewer trials than when previously tested. Our results indicate procedural memory of puzzle-solving behaviors on the time scales of years. Our results add to an emerging literature suggesting that squamate and other nonavian reptiles share a number of cognitive traits with birds and mammals, suggesting that such traits are far more widespread across taxa than previously recognized. We also discuss a framework for studying cognition in squamates that would allow tests of cognition across a great diversity of body forms and ecologies.

Building an Engaged Himalayan Sustainability Science

The Himalayan region is facing a new crisis under climate change, rapid economic transformation, and escalating geopolitical tensions. A large body of Himalayan sciences has endeavored to understand this challenge but has failed to engage meaningfully with the local people and policymakers. I argue for a new engaged Himalayan sustainability science that not only understands and interprets the emerging challenges but also strengthens societal capability.

How are motivation and self-efficacy interacting in problem-solving and problem-posing?

Affects are intuitively accepted as having a role in the key stages that determine success in problem-solving (PS) and problem-posing (PP). Two disjoint groups of prospective mathematics teachers with similar background and competences have been exposed to PS and PP activities, respectively, and they had to describe their affective states during these activities. The students’ reports have been analyzed from the perspective of epistemic affects, motivation, and self-efficacy. While in the PS context, several students expressed reluctance to report emotional feelings or frustrations over failing to find a solution for the given problems, in the PP context, a phenomenon of adaptation to one’s own cognitive possibilities appeared and the posed problems created a state of comfort/ enjoyment in students. PP conveyed a sense of autonomy and control to a greater extent than PS. It seems that intrinsic motivation is influenced by factors that are different in PP vs PS tasks, with an effect on perceived self-efficacy. The PP activity instilled a robust sense of coping efficacy, which made the students perceive their work as successful, to a large extent. In PS, the initially perceived self-efficacy triggered motivation to persevere with the solving, while in PP, the initial motivation generated by a novel task evolved into students’ perceptions of self-efficacy and confidence in one’s own capabilities. The conclusions of this study can help prospective teachers to use emotions in teaching for understanding, anticipating, and dealing with students’ ideas about mathematics and mathematical thinking and, finally, for improving students’ self-esteem and self-confidence, with an effect in more successful results.