An Investigation of the Problem-Solving Abilities of University Students in the Elementary School Teacher-Training Course Through Comparison between Fifth- to Sixth- Graders and First-year University Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the problem-solving abilities of university students in the elementary school teacher-training course. For this purpose, we compared fifth- to sixth-graders with first-year university students. For the comparison, we developed a test of problem-solving abilities: to make a hypothesis, to devise an experimental method, and to make an outcome prediction. After comparing the results from 301 fifth- to sixth-graders with those from 388 first-year university students, we found that the problem-solving abilities of fifth-sixth graders are higher than those of the first-year university students.