A Descriptive Interpretive Analysis of Students’ Oral Verbalization During the Use of Think–Aloud Pair Problem Solving While Troubleshooting

Abstract

Researchers assert that the metacognitive nature of think–aloud pair problem solving (TAPPS) improves students’ problem solving by focusing their attention on their own thinking. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe oral verbalizations indicating cognitive processes of secondary–level career and technical education students who used TAPPS while troubleshooting. A task outcome (successful or unsuccessful) was recorded for students who used TAPPS while troubleshooting a small gas engine fault on the basis of whether they were able to identify the correct solution to repair the fault. A qualitative interpretive approach was used to describe and interpret students’ thoughts while they were engaged in TAPPS. A quantitative analysis was used to compare levels of oral verbalization between successful and unsuccessful TAPPS students. The total average percentage of oral verbalizations indicating metacognitive thought was 54% for successful students and 52% for unsuccessful students. The content of students’ oral verbalizations revealed that the metacognitive nature of the TAPPS strategy does not improve problem–solving success when secondary–level career and technical education students do not possess enough domain–specific knowledge. TAPPS can provide school–based agricultural education instructors with a formative assessment tool for checking students thinking and understanding of technical information for problem solving.