Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Problem-Solving Strategies Among Science Teachers in the State of Selangor, Malaysia

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Educational Technology to Improve Quality and Access on a Global Scale

  • 765 Accesses

Abstract

Problem-solving is the highest level of learning in the cognitive domain. However, studies have shown that Malaysian students seem to lack problem-solving skills. This may be due to the lack of understanding of thinking skills and problem solving among teachers and the inability to apply appropriate teaching strategies for teaching problem solving. In this study, science teachers in Selangor, one of the most highly populated states in Malaysia, were sampled. The aim of the study was to investigate the problem-solving strategies teachers used for instruction. The findings indicated that teachers preferred giving factual explanations and asking students to listen to these explanations. As for problem-solving modes, argumentation was the dominant mode, followed by analogizing and reasoning causally. Participants were less inclined to use modeling for students to develop and test their own mental models. Hence, there is a need for instructional models for problem solving which would assist teachers in developing instructional strategies to inculcate problem solving and higher order thinking skills among students.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Agensi Innovasi Malaysia (AIM). (2014). Cultivating a thinking culture. Retrieved from http://innovation.my/initiatives.

  • Alias, N., DeWitt, D., & Siraj, S. (2013). Development of science pedagogical module based on learning styles and technology. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barak, M. (2013). Impacts of learning inventive problem-solving principles: Students’ transition from systematic searching to heuristic problem-solving. Instructional Science, 41(4), 657–679.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bassham, G., Irwin, W., Nardone, H., & Wallace, J. (2012). Critical thinking: A student’s introduction (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blosser, P. E. (1991). How to ask the right questions. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogard, T., Liu, M., & Chiang, Y. V. (2013). Thresholds of knowledge development in complex problem solving: A multiple-case study of advanced learners’ cognitive processes. Educational Technology Research & Development, 61, 465–503. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-013-9295-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruner, J. S. (1961). The act of discovery. Harvard Education Review, 31, 21–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bulu, S. T., & Pedersen, S. (2010). Scaffolding middle school students’ content knowledge and ill-structured problem solving in a problem-based hypermedia learning environment. Educational Technology Research & Development, 58, 07–529. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-010-9150-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chong, B. P. (2005). Understanding of the nature of Science and its relationship with academic achievement and gender among Form 6 students. (M.Ed. Project paper, Dept. Maths and Science Education, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16, 297. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02310555.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeWitt, D., & Alias, N. (2015). Principles of instruction for problem solving. Paper presented at the Seminar Majlis Dekan-Dekan Pendidikan 2015, UTHM, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia, 16–17 September, 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeWitt, D., Alias, N., & Siraj, S. (2014). The design and development of a collaborative mlearning prototype for Malaysian secondary school science. Educational Technology Research & Development, 62, 461. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-014-9340-y.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeWitt, D., Alias, N., & Siraj, S. (2016). Problem solving strategies of Malaysian secondary school teachers. Presentation at Educational Technology World Conference, Bali, Indonesia, 31 July–3 August 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dick, W., Carey, L., & Carey, J. O. (2014). Systematic design of instruction (8th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doymus, K., Karacop, A., & Simsek, U. (2010). Effects of jigsaw and animation techniques on students’ understanding of concepts and subjects in electrochemistry. Educational Technology Research & Development, 58, 671–691. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-010-9157-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamid, M. S., Islam, R., & Manaf, N. H. (2013). Enhancing Malaysian graduate employability skills: Quality function deployment approach. Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Analytic Hierarchy Process 2013. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henriksen, D., Cain, W., Mishra, P., & the Deep-Play Research Group. (2014a). Making sense of what you see: Patterning as a trans-disciplinary habit of mind. TechTrends, 58(5).

    Google Scholar 

  • Henriksen, D., Cain, W., Mishra, P., & the Deep-Play Research Group. (2014b). Abstracting as a trans-disciplinary habit of mind. TechTrends, 58(6).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeong, A., & Lee, W. J. (2012). Developing causal understanding with causal maps: The impact of total links, temporal flow, and lateral position of outcome nodes. Educational Technology Research & Development, 60, 325–340. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-011-9227-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jonassen, D. H. (2012). Designing for decision making. Educational Technology Research & Development, 60, 341–359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-011-9230-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jonassen, D. H. (2013). First principles of learning. In J. M. Spector, B. Lockee, S. Smaldino, & M. Herring (Eds.), Learning, problem solving, and Mindtools: Essays in honor of David H. Jonassen. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jonassen, D. H., Howland, J., Moore, J., & Marra, R. M. (2003). Learning to solve problems with technology: A constructivist perspective (2nd ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill/Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jonassen, D. H., & Kim, B. (2010). Arguing to learn and learning to argue: Design justifications and guideline. Educational Technology Research & Development, 58, 439–457. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-009-9143-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, H. (2008). Thoughts on teaching thinking: Perceptions of practitioners with a shared culture of thinking skills education. The Curriculum Journal, 19(4), 309–324. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585170802509898.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katona, G. (1940). Organizing and memorizing: Studies in the psychology of learning and teaching. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, M. K. (2012). Theoretically grounded guidelines for assessing learning progress: Cognitive changes in ill-structured complex problem-solving contexts. Educational Technology Research & Development, 60, 601–622. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-012-9247-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuldas, S., Hashim, S., & Ismail, H. N. (2015). Malaysian adolescent students’ needs for enhancing thinking skills, counteracting risk factors and demonstrating academic resilience. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 20(1), 32–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2014.973890.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lera, C. G., & Piquet, J. D. (2014). Knowledge and beliefs on problem solving of in-service and pre-service mathematics teachers [Deulofeu Conocimientos y creencias entorno a la resolución de problemas de profesores y estudiantes de profesor de matemáticas]. Bolema: Boletim de Educação Matemática, 28(48), 191–208. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-4415v28n48a10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ling, J. A. Y. (2002). Primary science curriculum implementation in Malaysia: Inquiry as hope and practice (Doctoral dissertation, Massey University, New Zealand)

    Google Scholar 

  • Luchins, A. S. (1942). Mechanization in problem solving. Psychological Monographs, 52(6), 248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marzano, R. J., Brandt, R. S., Hughes, C. S., Jones, B. F., Presseisen, B. Z., Rankin, S. C., & Suhor, C. (1988). Dimensions of thinking: A framework for curriculum and instruction. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E. (1983). Thinking, problem solving, cognition. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mazmin, M. (2013). i-THINK in the implementation of school-based assessment towards developing higher order thinking skills. Proceedings of Seminar Majlis Dekan Institusi Pendidikan Tinggi, September 2013, International Islamic University, Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2012). Preliminary report: Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013–2025. Putrajaya, Malaysia: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2013). Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 – 2025: Preschool to post secondary. Putrajaya, Malaysia: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2015). Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015 – 2025: Higher education. Putrajaya, Malaysia: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagappan, R. (1998). Teaching higher-order thinking skills in language classrooms in Malaysia: The teachers’ dilemmas. Paper presented at the Inaugural Conference of the Malaysian Educational Research Association, Malaysia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagappan, R. (2001). The teaching of higher-order thinking skills in Malaysia. Journal of Southeast Asian Education, 2(1), 1–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagappan, R. (2002). Using constructivist approach to teach higher order thinking skills: Transforming teaching practice to facilitate mindful learning. Paper presented at the 10th International Conference on Thinking, June 2002, Harrogate, England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagappan, R. (2010). Teaching thinking skills at institutions of higher learning: Lessons learned. Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 18, 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2014). Singapore and Korea top OECD’s first PISA problem-solving test. Paris, France: OECD. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/pisa/singapore-and-korea-top-first-oecd-pisa-problem-solving-test.htm.

  • Osman, N., & Kassim, H. (2015). Exploring strategic thinking skills in process oriented task in ESL classroom. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 171, 937–944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palraj, S., DeWitt, D., & Alias, N. (2016, May 31). Development of a problem-centered teaching strategies questionnaire. Presentation at Persidangan Kebangsaan Kurikulum Masa Depan 2016 [National Conference for Futures Curriculum 2016], University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, S. K. (2010). The important thing about teaching problem solving. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 16(2), 104–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saad, M. S. M., & Majid, I. A. (2014). Employers’ perceptions of important employability skills required from Malaysian engineering and information and communication technology (ICT) graduates. Global Journal of Engineering Education, 16(3), 110–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Segedy, J. R., Kinnebrew, J. S., & Biswas, G. (2013). The effect of contextualized conversational feedback in a complex open-ended learning environment. Educational Technology Research & Development, 61, 71–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-012-9275-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slof, B., Erkens, G., Kirschner, P. A., & Jaspers, G. M. (2010). Design and effects of representational scripting on group performance. Educational Technology Research & Development, 58, 589–608. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-010-9148-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soloway, E., Krajcik, J., Finkel, E. A. (1995), The Investigators’ Workshop Project: Supporting modeling and inquiry via computational media and technology, conducted at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research on Science Teaching, April 1995, San Francisco, CA. Retrieved from http://hi-ce.org/papers/scienceware_project/index.html.

  • Spector, J. M. (2010). Mental representations and their analysis: An epistemological perspective. In D. Ifenthaler, P. Pirnay-Dummer, & N. M. Seel (Eds.), Computer-based diagnostics and systematic analysis of knowledge 2010. Part 1 (pp. 27–40). New York, NY: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5662-0_3.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Spector, J. M., & Kinshuk. (2011). Learning to solve problems in the digital age. In D. Ifenthaler, M. Spector, P. I. Kinshuk, & D. G. Sampson (Eds.), Multiple perspectives on problem solving and learning in the Digital Age (pp. 1–21). New York, NY: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suhaili, A. (2014). Exploring teachers’ experiences on integration of higher order thinking skills (HOTS) in teaching of science. (Unpublished doctoral thesis. University Malaysia Sarawak, Kuching).

    Google Scholar 

  • Swartz, R. J., & Parks, S. (1994). Infusing the teaching of critical and creative thinking into content instruction: A lesson design handbook for the elementary grades. Pacific Grove, CA: Critical Thinking Press and Software.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toledo, S., & Dubas, J. M. (2016). Encouraging higher-order thinking in general chemistry by scaffolding student learning using Marzano’s taxonomy. Journal of Chemical Education, 93(1), 64–69. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5b00184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wertheimer, M. (1959). Productive thinking. New York, NY: Harper & Row. eBook. Retrieved from http://www.worldcat.org/.

  • Yusop, R., & Mahamod, Z. (2016). Keberkesanan peta pemikiran (i-Think) dalam meningkatkan pencapaian penulisan Bahasa Melayu murid Tahun 6. [Effectiveness of the i-Think thinking maps in enhancing writing achievement in Bahasa Melayu for Year 6 pupils]. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Melayu, 5(2), 31–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zare, P., & Othman, P. (2015). Students’ perceptions toward using classroom debate to develop Critical Thinking and Oral Communication Ability. Asian Social Science, 11(9).

    Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, H. (2009). A review of research on EFL pre-service teachers beliefs and practices. Journal of Cambridge Studies, 4(1).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Ministry of Education Malaysia as this work was supported in part by a grant FP011-2014B from the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme, Ministry of Education Malaysia.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Curriculum and Instructional Technology, Faculty of Education, University of Malaya, 50304, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Dorothy Dewitt, Norlidah Alias, Shalini Palraj & Saedah Siraj

Authors
  1. Dorothy Dewitt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Norlidah Alias
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shalini Palraj
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Saedah Siraj
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dorothy Dewitt .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA

    Kay A. Persichitte

  2. The Indonesian Professional Association for Educational Technology, Jakarta, Indonesia

    Atwi Suparman

  3. Department of Learning Technologies, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, USA

    Michael Spector

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Dewitt, D., Alias, N., Palraj, S., Siraj, S. (2018). Problem-Solving Strategies Among Science Teachers in the State of Selangor, Malaysia. In: Persichitte, K., Suparman, A., Spector, M. (eds) Educational Technology to Improve Quality and Access on a Global Scale. Educational Communications and Technology: Issues and Innovations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66227-5_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66227-5_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-66226-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-66227-5

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation