Logfile analyses of successful and unsuccessful strategy use in complex problem-solving: a cross-national comparison study

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine cross-national differences in students’ exploration strategies in a computer-simulated CPS (complex problem-solving) environment and to identify similarities and qualitative differences in the way Hungarian and Chinese students explore a CPS environment. In a sample of 187 Chinese and 835 Hungarian students (aged 12), we administered problem-solving items via the eDia platform within the MicroDYN approach. After structuring and coding the logfile data, latent class analyses were used to identify students whose problem-solving strategies showed similar patterns. Results indicated that Chinese students employed the most effective and successful exploration strategy, the VOTAT (vary-one-thing-at-a-time) strategy, more frequently and effectively than Hungarian students and that they showed a significantly higher learning effect during testing than their Hungarian peers. These results highlight the possibilities and importance of explicit enhancement of exploration strategies as a tool for learning in a new technological context.