Exploring follow-up effect of scaffolding for creative problem solving through question prompts in project-based community service learning

Abstract

This paper is aimed to explore the follow-up effect of scaffolding for Creative Problem Solving (CPS) through question-prompts in project-based community service learning implemented in a freshmen's entry-level course on participants' learning in their subsequent STEM courses. Research subjects are those students who have participated in the required community service learning with the Scaffolding for Creative Problem Solving from a historical black university. While participating in community service learning during their freshman year, students were facilitated with question prompts on self-regulated learning and creative problem solving. These question prompts served as the scaffolding for creative problem solving and included metacognitive prompts, procedural prompts, elaboration prompts, and reflective prompts, as well as prompts for creative problem solving strategies. Sixty-four participants among those students were voluntarily recruited for interviews to explore the follow-up effect of Scaffolding for Creative Problem Solving at least one year later after they participated in the community service learning with the scaffolding. The findings from the interview reveal that students have adopted some strategies of self-regulated learning and creative problem solving and deemed the benefits from applying those strategies for their subsequent STEM studies. However, the extent to which students applied these strategies is not at the level as expected, which is indicated by the lower percentage of strategies applied by the participants, implying that there may still be a potential for improving students' learning in their STEM courses through instructors' efforts for prompting students' application of these strategies with adoption of novel instructional strategies. The limitations of current findings and suggestions for future research are discussed as well.