Developing the ability to solve complex problems is a key challenge in STEM education. Faculty frequently struggle to understand and help students master this skill, thus there is a need to explore and characterize how students engage in this skill and to determine whether problem-solving errors are primarily based on a lack of content or science skills knowledge, or on a misunderstanding about how to approach problem-solving. This project will combine an exploration of what students are thinking as they solve problems with analysis of their performance on the same questions. The project will also measure students' ability to reflect on how they solve problems, as well as determine whether student perception of the difficulty of a problem affects their ability to solve it. A better understanding of how students think about solving a problem, and the errors that they make as they solve problems, will then serve as a basis for developing strategies and practice tools to improve students' problem-solving skills.
This project has two major objectives: 1) to systematically examine and compare students' cognitive processes in solving complex problems that are either content-focused or skills-focused and 2) to develop multiple kinds of validated problem-solving practice tools. The project approaches understanding students' problem-solving processes by combining a detailed qualitative exploration of their cognitive reasoning with a quantitative analysis of how specific kinds of guidance may assist in their process. Additionally, students' ability to regulate their thinking process (i.e. metacognition), as well as their perception of the mental effort required to solve problems, will be measured and related to problem-solving ability. A better understanding of students' patterns of thinking and the errors they make will then serve as a foundation to independently test guidance in three areas - content, skills, and problem-solving processes. The utility of combining and repeating this guidance can be tested, along with the contribution of mental effort and metacognition. A detailed regression model will be built using the quantitative data collected to determine whether guidance improves performance. This project will also provide detailed insight into student thinking while problem-solving, and will relate these patterns to performance and improvement. Ultimately, the project will deliver these insights along with successful tools for helping students improve their problem-solving ability. Although this project is centered on solving problems in biology and life science, learning how to solve problems has long-term benefits for all college students, therefore these findings are likely to be broadly applicable to educators and students in a variety of STEM disciplines.
