Students' Problem Solving as Mediated by Their Cognitive Tool Use: A Study of Tool Use Patterns

Liu, Min; Horton, Lucas; Corliss, Stephanie B.; Svinicki, Marilla D.; Bogard, Treavor; Kim, J.; Chang, Ming Che

doi:10.2190/ec.40.1.e

Cited by 17 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Although verifying such perceptions is not the focus of this study, the clear indication of students' enjoyment of the program and motivation to use it is an important step to help students learn. This finding is consistent with other studies that examined the effects of the PBL program on students' learning and motivation, showing significant gains in science knowledge (Liu, Hsieh, Cho, & Schallert, 2006;Liu et al, 2009;Liu, Horton, Olmanson, & Toprac, 2011).…”

Section: Classroom Goals As Written On the Boardsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Although a set of cognitive tools (i.e. hard scaffolds) is provided in the program to assist problem solving (Liu et al, 2009), students must decide which cognitive tools to use, how to use them, and when to use them. The analysis also showed that because the software program provides many hard scaffolds (e.g., aiming at lowering cognitive load and supporting cognitive processes such as multimedia databases and a notebook tool), teachers can make best use of their time to address students' specific needs and promote higher-order thinking skills.…”

Section: Findings: Factors Affecting Teachers' Motivations To Adopt Amentioning

confidence: 99%

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Examining How Middle School Science Teachers Implement a Multimedia-enriched Problem-based Learning Environment

Liu¹,

Wivagg²,

Geurtz³

et al. 2012

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

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This study examined how a group of ten middle school teachers implemented a technology enriched problem-based learning (PBL) environment. The goal was to understand their motivation, document their implementation techniques, and identify factors that teachers considered important in using technology-based PBL tools in their teaching.The analysis identified four factors that provided the impetus for teachers to consider the adoption of technology-based PBL instruction. These factors are (1) the PBL program addresses the teachers' curricular needs and implementing it has campus administrative and technical support, (2) the method is aligned with teachers' pedagogical beliefs, (3) the PBL program offers a new way of teaching and promotes the development of higher-order thinking skills, and (4) the PBL program challenges students in a captivating manner and supports the learning needs of all students. Teachers' implementation techniques with over 1,000 sixth graders were documented in detail with regard to: 1) the teacher's roles, 2) the student's role, and 3) the classroom interactions during the implementation of the PBL program. In addition, a detailed description of contrasting narratives of two pairs of teachers is provided, illustrating the range of implementation techniques that can occur using the same PBL program to allow for individualized instruction to meet different students' needs. The goal of providing detailed implementation practices is to address the lack of "how to" in PBL implementation in K-12 classrooms as indicated in the literature and offer insights and ideas to those interested in adopting and implementing PBL. Findings are discussed within the theoretical framework and implications are provided.

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Section: Classroom Goals As Written On the Boardsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Findings: Factors Affecting Teachers' Motivations To Adopt Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining How Middle School Science Teachers Implement a Multimedia-enriched Problem-based Learning Environment

Liu¹,

Wivagg²,

Geurtz³

et al. 2012

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Regarding duration, students spent the longest in the Solar System Database (56.35 minutes), followed by the Alien Information Center (42.07 minutes) and Notebook (35.58 minutes); they spent only 0.90 minutes in the Mission Database. Previous studies (Liu et al, 2009(Liu et al, , 2016(Liu et al, , 2019 revealed that the Alien Information Center and the Solar System Database contain essential content information for understanding the aliens and our solar system. Therefore, the high frequency and long duration of use of these tools aligns with their importance in achieving the game's goals.…”

Section: Step 1: Descriptive Analysis Of Tool Use: Frequency and Dura...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The descriptive analysis of tool use showed that, in general, students spent more time and used essential tools more often in the game than non-essential tools. Previous studies (Liu et al, 2009(Liu et al, , 2016(Liu et al, , 2019 identified that four tools (e.g., Alien Information Center, Solar System Database, Probe Design Center, Mission Control Center) are essential in the game in that they contain information students must use to solve the problems and find the solutions. Our current findings regarding the overall patterns of essential tool usage in the game aligned with the previous research and emphasized the critical role of those essential tools in facilitating the learning process.…”

Section: The Connection Between Individual Tool Use and Student Perfo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Student Navigation Patterns in Game-Based Learning

et al. 2022

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Research on learning analytics (LA) has focused mostly at the university level. LA research in the K–12 setting is needed. This study aimed to understand 4,115 middle school students’ learning paths based on their behavioural patterns and the relationship with performance levels when they used a digital learning game as their science curriculum. The findings showed significant positive relationships between various tool uses and performance measures and varied tool use patterns at different problem-solving phases by high- and low-performing students. The results indicated that students who used tools appropriately and wisely, given the phase they were at, were more likely to succeed. The findings offered an insightful glimpse of learners’ navigation patterns in relation to their performance and provided much-needed empirical evidence to support using analytics for game-based learning in K–12 education. The findings also revealed that log data cannot explain all learners’ actions. Implications for both research and practice are discussed.

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“…In the context of post-secondary education, the use of cognitive tools has been reported to improve students' satisfaction and learning of literacy (Lo, Affolter & Reeves, 2002), support medical diagnostic problem solving (Danielson et al, 2007), develop learners' ability in systems modelling and understanding (Hung, 2008), and enhance learners' problem solving and representation (Liu et al, 2009). In the area of veterinary medicine, Danielson et al (2007) used "diagnostic pathfinder" software as a cognitive tool and studied the impact of the tool on students' diagnostic problem-solving skills.…”

Section: Research On Cognitive Tools and Students' Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning with Multiple Representations: Infographics as Cognitive Tools for Authentic Learning in Science Literacy | Apprendre avec des représentations multiples: l'infographie de presse comme outil cognitif pour l'apprentissage authentique en science

Gebre

2018

CJLT

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This paper presents a descriptive case study where infographics—visual representation of data and ideas—have been used as cognitive tools to facilitate learning with multiple representations in the context of secondary school students’ science news reporting. Despite the complementary nature of the two research foci, studies on cognitive tools and multiple representations have evolved independently. This is because research on cognitive tools has narrowly focused on technological artifacts and their impact on learning outcomes with less attention to learner agency and activity structures. This has created challenges of sustainably applying cognitive tools in classroom teaching and learning. Using data from a design-based research project where secondary school students created authentic infographic-based science news reports, this study demonstrates how infographics can serve as process-oriented cognitive tools for learning and instruction of science literacy in classroom contexts. Results have implications for the study and design of learning environments involving representations.Cet article présente une étude de cas où l'infographie de presse – offrant une représentation visuelle de données et d’idées – est utilisée comme outil cognitif pour faciliter l'apprentissage au moyen de représentations multiples dans le contexte de production de rapports scientifiques par des élèves du secondaire. Malgré la complémentarité des deux axes de recherche, les travaux sur les outils cognitifs et sur les représentations multiples ont évolué séparément. En effet, la recherche sur les outils cognitifs s'est strictement concentrée sur les artefacts technologiques et leur impact sur les résultats d'apprentissage mais a accordé moins d'attention à l’action des apprenants et aux structures des activités. Il en résulte des défis pour l’application durable d’outils cognitifs dans l'enseignement et l'apprentissage en classe. À partir de données issues d'un projet de recherche orientée par la conception (design-based research) dans lequel les élèves du secondaire ont produit des rapports scientifiques authentiques intégrant des infographies de presse, cette étude montre comment l’infographie de presse peut servir

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Students' Problem Solving as Mediated by Their Cognitive Tool Use: A Study of Tool Use Patterns

Cited by 17 publications

References 20 publications

Examining How Middle School Science Teachers Implement a Multimedia-enriched Problem-based Learning Environment

Examining How Middle School Science Teachers Implement a Multimedia-enriched Problem-based Learning Environment

Understanding Student Navigation Patterns in Game-Based Learning

Learning with Multiple Representations: Infographics as Cognitive Tools for Authentic Learning in Science Literacy | Apprendre avec des représentations multiples: l'infographie de presse comme outil cognitif pour l'apprentissage authentique en science

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