STUDENTS ENGAGEMENT IN PRACTICAL PROBLEM-SOLVING - A CASE-STUDY

Thirteen students (aged 11-12) were observed in detail whilst carrying out a practical problem-solving activity in a normal classroom. The s tudy shows that the way in which students went about solving the probl em given was influenced by the apparatus supplied, observing what othe r groups did with the apparatus, the ideas that the students brought t o bear on the problem, and the the students' interpretation of the res ults that they were collecting. How or whether the students reacted to these cues depended on the extent to which they were engaged in solvi ng the problem.