This textbook is intended for a basic course in problem solving and program design needed by scientists and engineers using the TI-92. The TI-92 is an extremely powerful problem solving tool that can help you manage complicated problems quickly. We assume no prior knowledge of computers or programming, and for most of its material, high school algebra is sufficient mathematica background. It is advised that you have basic skills in using the TI-92. After the course you will become familiar with many of the programming commands and functions of the TI-92. The connection between good problem solving skills and an effective program design method, is used and applied consistently to most examples and problems in the text. We also introduce many of the programming commands and functions of the TI-92 needed to solve these problems. Each chapter ends with a number of practica problems that require analysis of programs as well as short programming exercises.
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Torpedo is a digital learning environment for developing mathematical problem-solving ability through self-study for pre-service teachers in primary teacher education. To achieve this, Torpedo supports and challenges pre-service teachers’ reflection during and after solving non-routine mathematics problems. To investigate the feasibility of the Torpedo approach, 271 pre-service teachers used Torpedo during one month in a pilot study. They used and evaluated Torpedo’s reflective elements differently. The results varied from pre-service teachers who experienced that reflection really contributed to the development of their problem-solving ability, to pre-service teachers who hardly reflected. The last group consisted of those who found the problems too difficult to reflect upon and those who used Torpedo to prepare for the National Mathematics Test and preferred to do so by drill and practice. As a conclusion, the study provides clues for improving Torpedo so that it invites more reflective self-study behaviour. For pre-service teachers who consider reflection valueless, however, self-study in a digital learning environment may be insufficient to change this attitude.
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Peer discussions play a major role in students’ collaborative problem-solving activity. These discussions provide researchers and teachers with a wealth of information about the students' reasoning. To analyse such discussions, different theoretical lenses are available, such as Schoenfeld’s problem solving model, the Florida Taxonomy of Cognitive Behaviour, and the Scheme for Educational Dialogue Analysis. The question is, however, how these three perspectives can complement each other. To investigate this, the discussion between four students was analysed through the three lenses. Results indicate that these frameworks are both complementary and connected. This connection allows an in-depth analysis of the discussion and reveals possibilities and limitations for an integration of the three models, which will guide future discussions’ analyses in our study.
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Developing students’ information problem solving (IPS) competence in higher education is imperative. However, existing theoretical frameworks describe IPS learning outcomes without guiding effective learning environment design. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized empirical evidence to formulate design principles for developing IPS competence. A systematic search across seven academic databases yielded 69 peer-reviewed articles from 2000–2023 with controlled pretest-posttest designs targeting (under)graduate students. Analysis of these studies yielded seven design principles: learning task, instruction, modeling, practice, learning activities, support, and feedback, with meta-analyses validating key relationships. The IPS educational design principles (IPS-EDP) model summarizes how these principles address learning outcomes, teaching and learning activities, and assessment strategies. While our review covered all IPS components, empirical evidence predominantly addressed information search and selection,
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In the digital age, information problem solving (IPS) competence is essential for professionals to use online information effectively. Despite its importance, starting professionals often struggle with processing and presenting information, which are critical phases during authentic IPS tasks. Therefore, higher education institutions are tasked with preparing students to navigate these complex phases of IPS after graduation. However, most previous studies have focused on the “search” and “select” phases of simple, short-duration IPS tasks, which do not reflect the complex information challenges faced in professional settings. To address this gap, this study aimed to identify and categorize the strategies higher education students currently use to process and present information for a semester-long authentic professional task. A thematic analysis of cued retrospective reporting sessions was conducted with 24 senior students while they created a website for professional practice. Students demonstrated 49 IPS strategies, which were categorized into twelve IPS activities across three generic activity phases: “process,” “synthesize,” and “create.” Within these phases, three patterns of co-occurring strategies were observed: reproductive, arranging, and elaborative. Based on these findings, existing IPS process models were empirically refined. The observed variation in strategies highlights the importance of building on students’ strengths when teaching IPS. Teaching them to adapt the strategies to various authentic task contexts could help enhance students’ IPS competence and strategic flexibility in real-world settings. Future research should explore the applicability of the updated IPS model across different authentic task contexts to refine instructional approaches further.
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In the following paper I investigate the use of Facebook and the purpose of its use by first year students, in the Department of Media, Communication and Information at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, with a limited enrolment of 960 students (2011-2012). Differences in whether or not students use self-created Facebook-groups will be measured against the differences in utilization of various activities on Facebook. According to a previous study, these activities are categorized by the motives for using Facebook; 1) for information sharing, 2) for educational purposes, 3) for social purposes and 4) for leisure. Furthermore, this study is part of a broader (PhD) research where I investigate the influence of media literacy and its possible effect on students’ success. The aspects of media literacy I focus on are better known as information problem solving skills (IPS-skills). These IPS-skills are also measured against the different activities conducted on Facebook. All variables are measured using digital surveys and analysed with the help of statistical tests. This will ultimately provide a valuable insight into how and if there is a relation between the differences of the students’ use of Facebook and their IPS-skills.
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In the digital age, information problem solving (IPS) competence is essential for professionals to use online information effectively. Despite its importance, starting professionals often struggle with processing and presenting information, which are critical phases during authentic IPS tasks. Therefore, higher education institutions are tasked with preparing students to navigate these complex phases of IPS after graduation. However, most previous studies have focused on the “search” and “select” phases of simple, short-duration IPS tasks, which do not reflect the complex information challenges faced in professional settings. To address this gap, this study aimed to identify and categorize the strategies higher education students currently use to process and present information for a semester-long authentic professional task. A thematic analysis of cued retrospective reporting sessions was conducted with 24 senior students while they created a website for professional practice. Students demonstrated 49 IPS strategies, which were categorized into twelve IPS activities across three generic activity phases: “process,” “synthesize,” and “create.” Within these phases, three patterns of co-occurring strategies were observed: reproductive, arranging, and elaborative. Based on these findings, existing IPS process models were empirically refined. The observed variation in strategies highlights the importance of building on students’ strengths when teaching IPS. Teaching them to adapt the strategies to various authentic task contexts could help enhance students’ IPS competence and strategic flexibility in real-world settings. Future research should explore the applicability of the updated IPS model across different authentic task contexts to refine instructional approaches further.
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Evaluation of the effect of Problem Based Learning course
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The main research question in this chapter was: Which information problem solving skills are, according to the lecturers in the Bachelor of ICT, important for their students? Selecting items from a results list and judging the information on actuality, relevance and reliability were regarded as extremely important by most of the interviewed lecturers. All these sub-skills refer to the third criterion of the scoring rubric, the quality of the primary sources. As mentioned before, one of the NSE lecturers holds the opinion that students should improve their behaviour exactly on this point. Another sub-skill that is seen as very important by the interviewees is the analysis of information to be applied in the student’s own knowledge product. This refers to the fifth criterion of the rubric, the creation of new knowledge. The quality of primary sources and the creation of new knowledge criteria both bear extra weights in the grading process with the scoring rubric. A third criterion which also bears extra weight (‘orientation on the topic’) was mentioned as an important subskill by some interviewees but not as explicitly as the other two criterions. One of the facets of information problem solving that need improvement, according to one of the lecturers, is the reflection on the whole process to stimulate the anchoring of this mode of working. In the concept of information problem solving are higher order skills (orientation and question formulation, judging information and creation of new knowledge) distinguished from lower order skills (reference list, in-text citations, the selection of keywords and databases). Considering all results of this research, one can conclude that the importance of the higher order IPS skills – which refer to ‘learning to think’ (Elshout, 1990) – is recognised by most of the interviewed lecturers. The lower order skills are considered less important by most of them.
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A primary teacher needs mathematical problem solving ability. That is why Dutch student teachers have to show this ability in a nationwide mathematics test that contains many non-routine problems. Most student teachers prepare for this test by working on their own solving test-like problems. To what extent does these individual problem solving activities really contribute to their mathematical problem solving ability? Developing mathematical problem solving ability requires reflective mathematical behaviour. Student teachers need to mathematize and generalize problems and problem approaches, and evaluate heuristics and problem solving processes. This demands self-confidence, motivation, cognition and metacognition. To what extent do student teachers show reflective behaviour during mathematical self-study and how can we explain their study behaviour? In this study 97 student teachers from seven different teacher education institutes worked on ten non-routine problems. They were motivated because the test-like problems gave them an impression of the test and enabled them to investigate whether they were already prepared well enough. This study also shows that student teachers preparing for the test were not focused on developing their mathematical problem solving ability. They did not know that this was the goal to strive for and how to aim for it. They lacked self-confidence and knowledge to mathematize problems and problem approaches, and to evaluate the problem solving process. These results indicate that student teachers do hardly develop their mathematical problem solving ability in self-study situations. This leaves a question for future research: What do student teachers need to improve their mathematical self-study behaviour? EAPRIL Proceedings, November 29 – December 1, 2017, Hämeenlinna, Finland
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