Browsing by Subject "ongelmanratkaisu"

The importance of programming and robotics in society is growing continuously, so it is useful for us as technology users to understand its impact on our lives. For this reason, it is important that already in primary school a good foundation for the 21st century skills is created, which include critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, collaboration skills, accessing and analyzing information, self-learning, curiosity and the use of imagination. Programming and robotics became part of the national core curriculum for basic education in 2016. Ac-cording to previous studies, robotics in education increase e.g. self-directivity, initiative, thinking skills, innovativeness, and technology engagement. When working with a robot, a student is in the role of a participant in accordance with the constructivist learning theory. For a novice programmer, a visual programming language is particularly well suited because the student's attention is focused on programming logic and problem solving instead of syntax. In this study the performance of elementary school fifth and sixth graders is examined in Lego robot programming tasks that become gradually more difficult. In addition, we want to know how the students found a solution to the tasks. A total of 23 fifth and sixth graders participated in the study. The students were given six programming tasks, which they performed in pairs. The students used visual programming language and Lego Mindstorms robots. The tasks involved moving the robot, and in the most demanding tasks also sensors, loop, and conditional expression were needed. The data collection was done by saving students’ programs, with a questionnaire, and with video recordings. The analytical method used was qualitative content analysis. The study showed that the students learned well the skills needed to move the robot. Instead, the use of loop and conditional expression produced difficulties. The sixth graders outperformed the fifth graders, although they also had more experience in robotics. Students solved tasks most often in co-operation with their partner, which supports previous observations of the usefulness of pair programming. Instead, internet was not used to find a solution, and the students were not provided with ready-made internet sources. This inspired the idea of the necessity of the sources sought beforehand.

Mathematical word-problem-solving is proven to be a problem type which most low-achieving schoolaged students experience difficulties with. Solving word-problems requires recognizing and utilizing many skills, such as arithmetic skills, algebraic skills, reading comprehension, cognitive and metacognitive skills. Research based knowledge on how to help secondary school students with mathematical difficulties to solve word-problems is limited and focuses on the phenomenon behind the difficulties rather than on effective pedagogical ways to support learning. The purpose of this research is to gather current research evidence and to answer the question of which are the most effective evidence based word-problem-solving intervention programs for low achieving students in secondary school. The research method used was a systematic review of the literature. All the intervention studies had to meet the criteria for inclusion to be selected in the review. The analysis of the effectiveness of the programs was based on effect size calculations. In addition the intervention studies, which met the adjusted criteria for the required research method used in the study, were viewed separately, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of these intervention programs was based on the effects reported in the original studies. Four intervention researches met the original criteria for inclusion, and three of these examined the same problem-based-learning intervention program called Enhanced Anchored Instruction (EAI). EAI was the only intervention program, which was effective for low achieving students based on self-developed tests and standardized test. Eight intervention studies met the adjusted criteria for inclusion and the intervention programs in these were divided into strategy instruction programs for problem solving and instruction method programs. There were studies in both groups, which reported positive effect for students with mathematical difficulties. Two shared characteristics was found in all the interventions, which were dividing the educational content into smaller components and guiding the students focus on the usefulness of the strategies used to solve the word-problems.