Thinking Groups and the Development of Affective Problem-Solving Competencies in Online Learning Environments at the University Level

Abstract

We present the first findings of an online problem-solving experience for undergraduate students attending a topology course within a Bachelor of Mathematics course. The aims were to promote the construction of problem-solving competencies by using cognitive roles within Thinking Groups (TG) with a magnifying lens on the affective level. We define the notion of Thinking Groups and the derived TG model and present an application. The key idea behind personifying cognitive functions with cognitive roles in a problem-solving process represents the starting point of ongoing research into the construction of the problem-solving competencies of undergraduate students and began with an analysis of some metacognitive aspects that students experienced by playing these roles. Each individual role corresponds to a cognitive function coming into play when a mathematician faces a problem. In turn, each collective role corresponds to a problem-solving thinking process performed by a Thinking Group. To shed the light on the emotional outcomes of students and on the impact of the use of online learning environments on the affective dimension, we focused our qualitative analysis on the emotional experience of students both with respect to structured problem-solving activities and digital tools, to understand if and how they fostered the conditions for developing emotional competencies according to Goldin’s idea of affective competencies.