Abstract:

The education landscape of today is undergoing a paradigm shift with respect to the learning content, infrastructure and roles of the students and teachers. The global COVID 19 pandemic has resulted in the redesigning of classrooms to accommodate more online and blended learning approaches, and more emphasis is being placed on the learner’s digital citizenship and higher order competences such as collaboration, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills Framework identified important skills, knowledge and competencies that needed to be acquired by students in order to cope with the demands of 21st century workplaces. These skills include collaboration, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. In light of this global educational restructuring, educators are introducing more digital learning environments and redesigning their curricula to cultivate higher order thinking skills. Malaysia has echoed this call for innovative teaching with the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education) with 10 educational shifts, which call for Malaysian institutions of higher education to redesign their learning environments with technology, to enable students to develop 21st century skills, and to enhance their learning experiences. However, research has shown that there is still a gap in understanding the extent to which these redesigned learning environments are effective and how well these competencies are cultivated in the curriculum. In particular, there is still a mismatch between the skills obtained by graduates in university and the skills required by the industry, with many employers citing a lack in problem solving skills among these graduates.

This research sought to investigate the impact of problem-solving learning approaches within a technology-supported environment on students’ learning experiences. The EQUAD (Engage, Enhance, Empower and Enjoy) Framework was adapted into an undergraduate course in the Faculty of Creative Multimedia, and underpinned by Vygotsky’s Socio-Constructivist principles. Participants were design students taking an advertising design degree, and were given a project to complete that was centered around an ill-structured problem. Students were responsible for the entire design and development process, and presented their learning outcomes at the end of the trimester. The study utilized a mixed method research design. Data was collected through surveys, open-ended questions, student comments, and student learning journals and triangulated for analysis. Results showed that students were very positive towards the redesigned learning environment and reported an improvement with their problem-solving and collaboration skills. These findings show strong support and encouragement for the incorporation of problem-solving approaches within the EQUAD framework and can provide educators with practical implications for fostering problem-solving skills in their classes.

Keywords:

Problem-Solving, Malaysia, Socio-Constructivism.