Exploring the Feasibility of an Educational Computer Game as a Novel Means of Assessing Problem Solving Competencies
Exploring the Feasibility of an Educational Computer Game as a Novel Means of Assessing Problem Solving Competencies
复制标题
探索教育电脑游戏作为评估解决问题能力的新方法的可行性
DOI：
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发表时间：
2016
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Kiran Bagalkotkar
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
J. Grohs;D. Maczka;M. Soledad;Kiran Bagalkotkar
本文基于这样一种观点，即培养问题解决者是高等教育最关键的功能之一。事实上，政府机构和行业经常要求这种解决问题的能力，这些能力正日益成为工程教育课程的一个意向性方面。[1，2]尽管关注解决问题，但在教育环境中解决的问题类型与在专业环境和社区中遇到的问题类型之间存在脱节。[3]我们认为这种脱节的部分原因是教育系统是以评估(例如，成绩、文凭、认证)为基础的，因此没有优先考虑无法可靠评估的教学。操作和严格评估复杂的问题解决技能需要检查推理过程本身，此外还需要评估生成的解决方案的准确性。大多数研究问题解决过程的方法都涉及自我报告数据，这些数据虽然经过验证，但仍有局限性，与个体感知和可观察到的行动之间的差异有关。建立在其他人解决这些限制的工作的基础上，[4，5]我们优先考虑超越成就配对(正确/错误答案)和自我报告推理过程(大声思考)的研究方案，以包括在问题解决过程中可以观察到的数据，这些数据可以证实(或驳斥)自我报告数据。本文的中心目的是探索使用教育电脑游戏作为评估问题解决能力的一种新手段的可行性。在这种情况下，这种方法与传统方法相比的新颖性是双重的：(1)电脑游戏的使用使我们能够直接观察到通过游戏中的动作来解决问题的过程；(2)由于自然沉浸式的游戏环境，我们希望在面对复杂的问题时看到动力和毅力，否则在实验室环境下可能很难实现这一点。作为一项可行性研究，我们将提出我们建议的方法和数据，这些方法和数据应指导进一步的研究，但不应用于提出具体主张。在描述这项探索性研究之前，我们简要回顾了问题和问题解决的相关文献。
This paper is grounded in the notion that educating problem solvers is one of the most critical functions of higher education. Indeed, governmental bodies and industry regularly demand such problem-solving competencies and they are becoming an increasingly intentional aspect of engineering education curricula.[1,2] Despite the focus on problem-solving, a disconnect exists between the types of problems solved in educational settings and those encountered in professional settings and communities.[3] We believe this disconnect is in part because education systems are structured on assessment (e.g., grades, diplomas, accreditation) and thus do not prioritize teaching what cannot reliably be assessed. Operationalizing and rigorously assessing complex problem solving skills requires examining the reasoning process itself in addition to evaluating the accuracy of solutions generated. Most methods of researching problem-solving process involve self-report data which, while validated, still have limitations associated with the difference between individual perception and observable action. Building on the work of others to address such limitations, [4,5] we prioritize research protocols that move beyond pairing of achievement (right/wrong answers) and self-reported reasoning process (think-aloud protocols) to include observable data during problem-solving process that can corroborate (or refute) the self-report data. The central aim of this paper is to explore the feasibility of using an educational computer game as a novel means of assessing problem-solving competency. In this case, the novelty of the approach compared to traditional methods is twofold: (1) the use of a computer game enables us to directly observe problem-solving process through action in the game and (2) because of the naturally immersive game environment, we hope to see motivation and persistence in the face of complex problems that might otherwise be difficult to achieve in a laboratory setting. As a feasibility study, we will present methods and data that we suggest should guide further research but should not be used to make specific claims. Before describing this exploratory study, we briefly review relevant literature of problems and problem-solving.