Problem Solving Ability
Of the questions posed in the problem solving and logical thinking portion of the pre-study instrument, questions 11 and 9 (p≤0.01), as well as questions 7, 12 and 4 (p≤0.05) showed the strongest correlations with academic performance (Table 7). Conversely, problems 1 and 8, 2, 3, 5 and 10 showed almost no correlation at all.
Table 7: Spearman Rho Correlation Matrix between Problem Solving Questions and Academic Performance
|
|
|
Problem 2 |
Problem 3 |
Problem 4 |
Problem 5 |
Problem 6 |
Problem 7 |
Problem 9 |
Problem 10 |
Problem 11 |
Problem 12 |
Academic Performance |
|
Problems 1 & 8 |
Correlation Coefficient |
.180 |
.240 |
.377(*) |
.049 |
.147 |
.103 |
.165 |
-.196 |
.053 |
-.094 |
-.097 |
|
|
Sig. (1-tailed) |
.150 |
.082 |
.013 |
.391 |
.200 |
.279 |
.172 |
.129 |
.380 |
.295 |
.289 |
|
Problem 2 |
Correlation Coefficient |
|
-.125 |
-.059 |
.111 |
-.076 |
-.053 |
-.232 |
-.153 |
-.167 |
.139 |
.000 |
|
|
Sig. (1-tailed) |
|
.237 |
.368 |
.263 |
.332 |
.380 |
.090 |
.190 |
.169 |
.212 |
.500 |
|
Problem 3 |
Correlation Coefficient |
|
|
.141 |
.257 |
.249 |
.240 |
.101 |
.000 |
.000 |
.186 |
.202 |
|
|
Sig. (1-tailed) |
|
|
.209 |
.068 |
.075 |
.082 |
.283 |
.500 |
.500 |
.143 |
.122 |
|
Problem 4 |
Correlation Coefficient |
|
|
|
.083 |
-.061 |
.245 |
.586(**) |
-.144 |
.354(*) |
-.066 |
.320(*) |
|
|
Sig. (1-tailed) |
|
|
|
.319 |
.364 |
.078 |
.000 |
.204 |
.019 |
.354 |
.030 |
|
Problem 5 |
Correlation Coefficient |
|
|
|
|
.117 |
.310(*) |
.042 |
-.200 |
.093 |
.139 |
.136 |
|
|
Sig. (1-tailed) |
|
|
|
|
.251 |
.035 |
.405 |
.125 |
.297 |
.213 |
.218 |
|
Problem 6 |
Correlation Coefficient |
|
|
|
|
|
.260 |
-.061 |
.307(*) |
.298(*) |
.245 |
.273 |
|
|
Sig. (1-tailed) |
|
|
|
|
|
.065 |
.363 |
.036 |
.041 |
.078 |
.056 |
|
Problem 7 |
Correlation Coefficient |
|
|
|
|
|
|
.447(**) |
.131 |
.187 |
.253 |
.388(*) |
|
|
Sig. (1-tailed) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
.004 |
.227 |
.141 |
.071 |
.011 |
|
Problem 9 |
Correlation Coefficient |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-.123 |
.452(**) |
.182 |
.481(**) |
|
|
Sig. (1-tailed) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.241 |
.003 |
.148 |
.002 |
|
Problem 10 |
Correlation Coefficient |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.117 |
.038 |
.014 |
|
|
Sig. (1-tailed) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.252 |
.414 |
.468 |
|
Problem 11 |
Correlation Coefficient |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.248 |
.531(**) |
|
|
Sig. (1-tailed) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.076 |
.001 |
|
Problem 12 |
Correlation Coefficient |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.345(*) |
|
|
Sig. (1-tailed) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.021 |
* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (1-tailed).
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (1-tailed).