Examining the Gap in Adult’s Problem-Solving Competency in Technology-Enhanced Environment: A Cognitive Diagnostic Modeling Approach with Process Data
In a technology-rich world, digital problem-solving (DPS) skills are crucial to succeed in educational contexts and to meet the demands of 21st-century workplace environments, but recent studies have shown that the U.S. adults drop behind their international peers. This project aims (1) to understand the prevalence and nature of the challenges underrepresented adults face when engaging with digital assessments in the context of problem-solving skills relative to adults with sufficient resources and (2) to identify the most demanding subskills under the structure of problem-solving competence to assist in reducing the gap.
This project is of critical importance for two reasons, from both substantive and methodological aspects. First, underrepresented adults account for a sizable and non-ignorable proportion of the U.S. population. Understanding whether some of the digital problem-solving challenges faced by disadvantaged adults are unique to their group may help reduce achievement gaps. Second, computer-based assessment platform provides the possibility to track adults’ problem-solving process. The high dimensional and unstructured data format of process data promotes the development of novel methods beyond traditional psychometric models. This project will make a valuable contribution to leveraging process data into measurement and simultaneously disassembling the broad concept of problem-solving mastery into actionable subskills with a cognitive diagnostic model (CDM) approach.
Total amount awarded: $35,000
This project is of critical importance for two reasons, from both substantive and methodological aspects. First, underrepresented adults account for a sizable and non-ignorable proportion of the U.S. population. Understanding whether some of the digital problem-solving challenges faced by disadvantaged adults are unique to their group may help reduce achievement gaps. Second, computer-based assessment platform provides the possibility to track adults’ problem-solving process. The high dimensional and unstructured data format of process data promotes the development of novel methods beyond traditional psychometric models. This project will make a valuable contribution to leveraging process data into measurement and simultaneously disassembling the broad concept of problem-solving mastery into actionable subskills with a cognitive diagnostic model (CDM) approach.
Total amount awarded: $35,000
About the Program |
The AERA-NSF research grant program supports highly competitive studies using rigorous quantitative methods to examine large-scale, education-related data. This research program is designed to advance knowledge and build research capacity in education and STEM education and learning. See here for more information.
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The Team |