A key skill in chemistry is problem solving. However, students often struggle to develop effective problem-solving skills due to student-driven issues such as memorising algorithms. To address these issues, our group designed a metacognitive scaffold to support students through structured problem solving. This study investigated how first-year chemistry students engaged with the problem-solving scaffold and how that engagement affected their learning. A mixed-method approach was used to investigate student engagement with metacognitive scaffolding. The collected data comprised of: (i) student written problem-solving work analysed using validated rubrics and (ii) student self-assessment of their problem solving before and after exposure to expert solutions.<br/><br/>Initially, many students did not engage with the scaffold due to viewing it as extra work that needed to be done in addition to solving a problem. Through repeated assignment cycles, students showed greater engagement with the scaffold and improvement in their problem-solving effectiveness. Student engagement with the scaffold was categorised into four distinct student profiles based on the combination of their problem-solving abilities (good or poor) and orientation towards the scaffold use (yes or no). Student perceptions of problem solving were found to be associated with cognitive and behavioural constraints such as having insufficient chemical knowledge or lacking self-confidence in their problem-solving skills.<br/><br/>By understanding different student typologies, we can optimise teaching practices, student learning, and problem solving for students of varying levels of academic ability and motivations.

Metacognitive scaffolding for the development of problem-solving skills: Student approaches, perspectives, and profiles

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.