Exploring problem conceptualization and performance in STEM problem solving contexts

Problem solving abilities are critical components of contemporary Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. Research in the area of problem solving has uncovered much about the representation, processes and heuristic approaches to problem solving. However, critics claim this overemphasis on the process of solving problems has led to a dearth in understanding of the earlier stages such as problem conceptualization. This paper aims to address some of these concerns by exploring the area of problem conceptualization and the underlying cognitive mechanisms that may play a supporting role in reasoning success. Participants (N?=?12) were prescribed a series of convergent problem-solving tasks representative of those used for developmental purposes in STEM education. During the problem-solving episodes, cognitive data were gathered by means of an electroencephalographic headset and used to investigate students’ cognitive approaches to conceptualizing the tasks. In addition, interpretive qualitative data in the form of post-task interviews and problem solutions were collected and analyzed. Overall findings indicated a significant reliance on memory during the conceptualization of the convergent problem-solving tasks. In addition, visuospatial cognitive processes were found to support the conceptualization of convergent problem-solving tasks. Visuospatial cognitive processes facilitated students during the conceptualization of convergent problems by allowing access to differential semantic content in long-term memory.

     

Linking complex problem solving to opportunity identification competence within the context of entrepreneurship

Today’s working life is increasingly characterized by entrepreneurial challenges. Entrepreneurial challenges start at an individual level with the identification of entrepreneurial opportunities, which is acknowledged as one of the key competencies for lifelong learning. Since the identification of entrepreneurial opportunities relies heavily on the opportunity identification competence (OIC) of individuals, understanding the meaning of OIC is relevant. Until now, OIC has been explored in the young entrepreneurship research field. However, entrepreneurship researchers until now have not fully explored OIC. According to several authors, the research on complex problem solving (CPS) in the cognitive research field might contribute to understanding OIC. In this paper, we review the link between OIC and CPS by comparing the cognitive and entrepreneurship research fields. We argue that those who excel in identifying opportunities share core characteristics with high-level complex problem-solvers. We propose to conduct empirical research in the future to investigate the relation between OIC and CPS within a work context in order to gain more insight into OIC. We believe that the cognitive research field contributes to the entrepreneurship research field and provides a deeper understanding of the initial steps of the entrepreneurial process.     

Focusing on coherent career plans: The fifth C of career planning programs

Conclusion Students don't plan to fail, they fail to plan. The use of coherent individual career plans will add significantly to the total career planning process and provide a practical method for students to document and plan their future career and life direction. As Frank Parson once said, “It is better to sail with compass and chart than to drift into an occupation haphazard or by chance, proximity, or uninformed selection; and drift on through it without reaching any port worthy of the voyage” (p. 101). A coherent career plan can be that “compass and chart” young people need as they move along their career journey.     

高校大学生职业生涯规划与就业指导研究

面对严峻的就业形势,高校大学生的就业指导工作已经面临着新的形势,传统的工作方式也已经不能适应新时期大学生择业的要求。本文从职业生涯规划的意义出发,对高校大学生择业就业部分环节进行指导。高校应该抓住机遇,迎接挑战,做好大学生职业生涯规划,并将其贯穿于学生学习和就业的全过程,作为高校就业指导工作的关健工作,以提升学生就业的科学性和实效性。     

Teaching problem solving: Don't forget the problem solver(s)

The importance of intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences has long been known but educators have debated whether to and how to incorporate those topics in an already crowded engineering curriculum. In 2010, the authors used the classroom as a laboratory to observe the usefulness of including selected case studies and exercises from the fields of neurology, artificial intelligence, cognitive sciences and social psychology in a new problem-solving course. To further validate their initial findings, in 2012, the authors conducted an online survey of engineering students and engineers. The main conclusion is that engineering students will benefit from learning more about the impact of emotions, culture, diversity and cognitive biases when solving problems. Specifically, the work shows that an augmented problem-solving curriculum needs to include lessons on labelling emotions and cognitive biases, ‘evidence-based’ data on the importance of culture and diversity and additional practice on estimating conditional probability.     

Development and validation of the Dynamic Career Scale (DCS): a psychodynamic conceptualization of career adjustment

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - The purpose of this research was to develop and validate a new instrument, the Dynamic Career Scale (DCS), which measures four...     

Teachers' approaches towards word problem solving: Elaborating or restricting the problem context

This contribution reports about a seven-month long video-based study in two regular Flemish sixth-grade mathematics classrooms. The focus is on teachers' approaches towards problem solving. In our analysis we distinguished between a paradigmatic-oriented (focus on the mathematical structure) and a narrative-oriented (focus on the contextual aspects of a problem) perspective on the problem-solving process. The findings have highlighted that the word problem-solving lessons were more dominated by a paradigmatic than a narrative approach and that interventions in which the relation between the mathematics structure and the realistic constraints of the problem context is addressed, were rare.     

多元智能皮纹检测在学生职业生涯规划中的应用

随着高等教育大众化,大学生就业问题逐渐成为一个群体性的难题,而职业生涯规划又是大学生择业问题上的薄弱环节。霍华德.加德纳的多元智能理论为大学生的职业生涯规划提供了一个新的视角,通过多元智能测评,让学生准确认识自身个性特质和潜在的智能优势,顺强补弱,定制个性化富有行动力的职业生涯规划;同时,深化校企合作模式,共同开发提高大学生职业素质和职业技能的课程,有效地搭建学生和企业双向选择的平台,赢得高校学生有效就业的份额。     

The conceptualization of costs and barriers of a teaching career among Latino preservice teachers

We investigated the perceived costs and barriers of a teaching career among Latino preservice teachers and how these men conceptualized costs relative to their race-ethnic identity, gender identity, and planned persistence in the profession from an expectancy-value perspective. We used a mixed-method approach that included a content analysis of open-ended survey responses to identify salient costs and barriers and non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) of participants’ responses to quantitative scales to capture phenomenological meaning of perceived costs, collective identity constructs, and planned persistence in the profession. Participants identified a range of drawbacks and barriers of a teaching career including concerns about job demands, work conditions, teacher preparation demands, emotional costs, social status, and salary, among other concerns. The MDS map for the whole sample suggested race-ethnic and gender identity were closely associated with status, salary, and morale; maps also provided insight into phenomenological meanings of different types of costs and cost measures. MDS maps for individual students demonstrated substantial diversity in individual meanings that are lost in group-level analyses. Results are discussed with attention to theoretical and practical implications for understanding and supporting men of color entering the teaching profession.     

Assessing manifest interests within the career construction interview

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine narrative responses of participants (n = 83) to the prompts of the career construction interview for manifest interests. We compared our analyzed results of narrative responses to participant Strong Interest Inventory-College Profile results to determine correlational strength. The results indicated a .27 overall correlation between the two assessments, demonstrating that some questions from the career construction interview are more and less effective in assessing manifest interests. Results from this study provide efficacy evidence for the combination of interest inventories and the career construction interview in assessing clients’ manifest interests.