Effects of Anchored Instruction on Enhancing Chinese Students' Problem-Solving Skills

This study investigates the effects of computer-aided videodisc-based anchored instruction on promoting elementary school students' problem-solving skills in Taiwan. Anchored instruction combines theories such as situated cognition, cognitive apprenticeship, cooperative learning, and constructivist theories. With the help of interactive videodisc and computer technology, anchored instruction presents situations of daily life in the way of storytelling by providing an inquiry and real-life learning environment and authentic tasks that help students enhance their problem-solving skills. Fifth-graders (n=37) from an elementary school in suburban Taipei (Taiwan) were randomly selected and divided into six groups according to their mathematical and science abilities, with two high-ability, two middle-ability, and two low-ability groups. Students were given a pretest and post-test to measure different problem-solving strategies used before and after the video instruction. Students engaged in problem solving in small groups, and were given the tests individually. Results from a two-way repeated measure analysis of variance show that student problem-solving skills improved significantly with anchored instruction. Anchored instruction provided a more motivating environment which enhanced all students' problem-solving skills, regardless of students' mathematic and science abilities. (Contains 15 references.) (SWC) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************