Comparison of Australian and Singaporean studies on problem solving variables in chemistry

Abstract

The development in students of the ability and skills to solve problems is of current interest and concern in education in general, and in science education in particular. What are the most important problem-solving skills that should be taught in science lessons for more effective problem solving?

This is a revisited study on the role of cognitive variables viz., concept relatedness, idea association, problem translating skill, prior problem-solving experience, specific knowledge and relevant but non-specific knowledge in problem-solving performance in Chemistry. The earlier study was conducted in Australia. Two hundred and seventy-nine Pre-University Two Chemistry students from six Singapore junior colleges were involved in this second study. Six testing instruments, two traditional types and four non-traditional types, were used as in the previous study to measure these variables. This paper presents the findings of the Singaporean study on the relationships between the cognitive variables and problem solving performance in solving three electrochemistry problems of different degrees of familiarity. The findings are then compared with the Australian study. The implication of the study for teaching and learning problem solving have been addressed.