Developmental analysis of problem-solving in elementary school students using the tower of Hanoi

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 MA in Psychology, Tehran University

2 Associate Professor of Psychology, Tehran University

3 Assistant Professor of Exceptional Child Psychology

10.22098/jsp.2019.841

Abstract

Problem-solving has an important and influential impact on all stages of life including education and social life. Using the tower of Hanoi, the present research tended to investigate the developmental cognitive processes of problem-solving in children aged 7-12. The study has a non-experimental design using a three-way ANOVA. The population consisted of all the primary school students (1st grade to 6th grade) in Qom Province in 1394-1395 (2016-2017). 180 students (15 girls and 15 boys in each grade) were selected randomly through stratified sampling. After learning how to solve the tower of Hanoi, they solved the 3-disk and the 4-disk tower of Hanoi. The number of movements and the solving time were recorded. To ensure the reliability of the collected data, a follow-up research was performed in 1395. The data were analyzed by repeated measurement (two inter–one intra). The obtained results revealed an overall linear cognitive and problem-solving development in children. It was also revealed that there were some differences in girls and boys when they tried to solve problems. Problem-solving skills in both girls and boys developed as the age increased which can be related to the nervous system development and maturity.

Keywords

References

درویشی، زهره (1390). افت خلاقیت کلاس چهارم: تحول خلاقیت در کودکان دبستان (پایان‌نامه کارشناسی ارشد). تهران: پژوهشکده علوم شناختی.
سلیمانی، اسماعیل (1394). بررسی اثربخشی خودنظارتی توجه بر عملکرد دانش‌آموزان دارای اختلال یادگیری خاص در مقیاس عملکرد پیوسته(CPT). مجله ناتوانی­های یادگیری، 5(2)، 54-73.
قاسمی، نوشاد و احدی، حسن. (1382). بررسی روند رشد مهارت‌های حل مسأله و راهبردهای فراشناختی کودکان 3 تا 11 سال. تهران: مؤسسه پژوهشی تاریخ ادبیات کودکان.
نریمانی، محمد و شربتی، انوشیروان (1394). مقایسه‌ی حساسیت اضطرابی و عملکرد شناختی در دانش‌آموزان با و بدون نارسانویسی. مجله ناتوانی­های یادگیری، 4(4)، 85-100.
Adair, J. (2010). Decision making and problem solving strategies. London and Philadelphia: Kogan Page.
Brace, N. (2014). Thinking and problem solving. An introduction to cognitive psychology: Processes and disorders. New York: Psychology Press.
Butterfield, J. (2010). Problem solving and decision making. Boston: Course Technology.
Chinaveh, M. (2010). Training problem-solving to enhance quality of life: Implication towards diverse learners. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 7: 302-310.
Cook, J. L., & Cook, G. (2005). Child development: Principles & perspective. Boston: Pearson.
Danesi, M. (2004). The liar paradox and the towers of Hanoi: The 10 Greatest Math Puzzles of All Time. New Jersey: Wiley.
Darvishi, Z. (2011). Creativity Decline in Grade 4: Development of Creativity in Preliminary Students. (M.A Thesis). ICSS. (Persian)
Davis, A. S. (2011). (Eds.). Handbook of pediatric neuropsychology. New York: Springer.
Dörner, D., & Funke, J. (2017). Complex problem solving: What it is and what it is not. Published online 2017 Jul 11. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.01153
Estes, W. K. (2014). Handbook of learning and cognitive processes (Volume 5): Human Information Processing. New York: Psychology Press.
Ghaasemi, N, & Ahadi H. (2003). Investigation of development of problem solving skills and meta-cognitive strategies in children 3-11. Research Institute of Children's Literature. (Persian)
Goldstein, E. B. (2008). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting mind, research, and everyday experience. (2nd edition). USA: Thomson Wadsworth.
Goswami, U. (2011). Inductive and deductive reasoning. The wiley-blackwell handbook of childhood cognitive development. (2nd edition); 399-419. UK & USA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Gurian, M. (2011). Boys and girls learn differently. (2nd edition). USA: Jossey-Bass.
Hinz, M. A., Klavžar, S., Milutinović, U. & Petr, C. (2013). The tower of Hanoi: Myths and maths. New York & London: Springer Basel.
Klaivžar, S., Milutinović, U., & Petr, C. (2002). On the frame-stewart algorithm for the multi-peg tower of Hanoi problem. Discrete Applied Mathematics, 120(1-3):141-157.
Klegeris, A., Bahniwal, M., & Hurren, H. (2013). Improvement in generic problem-solving abilities of students by use of tutor-less problem-based learning in a large classroom setting. CBE Life Science Education,12(1):73-79.
Miller, PH. (2011). Piaget's theory: Past, present, and future. The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Childhood Cognitive Development. (2nd edition); 648-696. UK & USA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Narimani, M., Sharbati, A. (2015). Comparison of anxiety sensitivity and cognitive function in students with and without dysgraphia. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 4(4): 85-100. (Persian)
Ormrod, J. E. (1987). Human learning. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. (2014). UK: Oxford University Press.
Phillips, L. H., Wynn, V. E., Gilhooly, KJ, Della Sala S, Logie RH. (1999). The role of memory in the tower of London task. Memory, 7(2): 209-231.
Phillips, L. H., Wynn, V. E., McPherson, S. & Gilhooly, K. J. (2001). Mental planning and the Tower of London task. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 54(2):579-597.
Soleymani, S. (2016). The effectiveness of self-monitoring attention on performance of students with specific learning disorder in continuous operation Scale (CPT). Journal of Learning Disabilities, 5(2):54-73. (Persian)
Sternberg, R. J. (2003). Cognitive Psychology (3rd edition). USA: Vicki Knight.
Sternberg, R. J. (2009). Cognitive Psychology (5th edition). USA: Wad worth.
Sternberg, R. J. (2011). Individual differences in cognitive development. The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Childhood Cognitive Development. (2nd edition); 749-774. UK & USA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Sternberg, R. J. Sternberg, K. (2012). Cognition. (6th Ed). UK: Wad worth.
Taylor, L. M. (2005). Introducing cognitive development. New York: Psychology Press; 2005.
Teare, B. (2006). Problem-solving and thinking skills resources for able and talented children. GB: Ashford Colour Press, Gasport, Hants.
Vangundy, AB. (2005). 101 activities for Tteaching creativity and problem solving. US: Pfeiffer.
Welsh, M. C. & Huizinga, M. (2001). The development and preliminary validation of the tower of Hanoi-Revised. Assessment, 8(2):167-176.
Welsh, M. C., Pennington, B. F. & Groisser, D. B. (1991). A normative-development study of executive function: A window on prefrontal function in children. Developmental Neuropsychology, 7: 131-149.
 
Journal of School Psychology
Volume 8, Issue 3 - Serial Number 31
December 2019
Pages 56-73

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics