Task Affect and Task Understanding in Engineering Problem Solving

Abstract

Within the self-regulated learning literature, motivation is considered to be an essential feature of students' self-regulatory processes. Additionally, task affect (i.e., personal objectives and task value) is thought to influence students' self-regulatory processes; insufficient task affect may lead to failures to selfregulate effectively. In a school setting, task affect is a form of motivation for completing the course tasks in order to attain course-level goals that are inherently valued. In this study, motivation is operationalized as students' personal objectives and task values, and self-regulation refers to students' understanding of tasks (also called task interpretation skill) involved in a course. This study investigates changes in students' task interpretation skill, personal objectives for learning, and task values, if any, while engaged in engineering problem-solving activities in a 2nd-year introductory thermodynamics course. This study also seeks to explore whether patterns exist between students' task understanding, personal objectives for learning, and task value while engaged in problem-solving activities throughout the course. The findings suggest that, as the semester progressed, both students' task value for the course and their focus on mastering the course material were continuously developed. Similarly, students' explicit and implicit task interpretation skills also improved as they engaged in problem-solving activities. However, it was found that implicit task interpretation skill was not developed as fully as explicit task interpretation when solving a complex problem; students seemed to understand 64-77% of the explicit and 39-49% of the implicit information presented to them.

Exploring the connection between task difficulty, task perceptions, physiological arousal and learning outcomes in collaborative learning situations

“…Therefore, executing the task can confirm for the students whether or not they understood the task. Earlier studies have shown that when students work on similar types of tasks over longer periods of time, the way they understand the task becomes more accurate (Lawanto et al, 2019). In addition, through collaborating with peers, learners can improve their metacognitive knowledge of the collaborative task at hand .…”

“…However, the students' task understanding improved after accomplishing the problem-solving tasks. In a later study, it was found that when the same types of problem-solving tasks are given over longer periods of time, the students' perceptions of the task become more accurate (Lawanto et al, 2019). Fortunately, students' task understanding has been shown to evolve as they work in similar types of tasks over longer periods of time and collaborate with their peers (Hommes et al, 2014).…”

Quantitative Analysis of Self-Regulation in Engineering and Mathematics Education

“…Inadequate understanding of pre-requisite knowledge leads to weak interpretation of task and ultimately lead to errors in mathematics problem solving (e.g., [2], [13]). Similarly, in engineering problem solving, research has found that a significant difference between the instructor's and students' task interpretation of the assigned problems (e.g., [4], [5]). Student's ability to control motivation, thoughts and actions helps students accurately solve problem (e.g., [6], [7]).…”