The level of problem solving ability and its relationship with metacognitive skills among form four physics students in secondary schools in Johor

Abstract

This paper respresents part of the findings of the short term research project on Metacognition funded by Research Management Centre (RMC) Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The aim of this paper is to highlight part of the findings of the main study which was to determine the level of problem solving ability and its relationship with metacognitive skills among form four physics students in secondary schools in Johor. In the study, a sample of 1 300 student respondents were selected from nine districts in Johor. The districts are Batu Pahat, Muar, Kota Tinggi, Pontian, Johor Bahru, Segamat, Mersing, Kulai and Kluang. Two well-validated instruments namely Metacognitive Skills Questionnaire (MSQ) and Physics Problem Solving Ability Test (PPSAT) were conducted and the data collected were analysed using SPSS software. Descriptive statistics- means, standard deviation, percentages and inferential statistics one way ANOVA and Pearson-r were used for interpreting the data. Findings of the study revealed that the level of problem solving ability among form four physics students in Johor was moderate. Furthermore, there was a weak but significant correlation (a=0.01) between metacognitive skills and Physics problem solving ability of the respondents. However, students with high metacognitive skills had mean score on PPSAT which was significantly different from those students with moderate and weak metacognitive skills (a=0.01). There was no significant difference in Problem solving skills between students with moderate and weak metacognitive skills.