Assessing competence in teacher education: Development of university students’ problem-solving skills

Abstract

In our research, we examined the development of complex problem-solving skills among 1st-year teachers training undergraduate students in engineering at Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania (N = 73). The research aimed to determine whether knowledge transfer works among students in interpreting life-like, specific problems. A worksheet was used as a measuring tool. In compiling it, we applied the concept that tasks include computer-transferable algorithms (such as cryptography process, parallel computing, and constraints), and their solution does not require any special IT knowledge, only structured and logical thinking. The research reports on the extent to which teacher training students have acquired knowledge and problem-solving strategies related to certain disciplines. The obtained data shed light on the fact that the lack of an interdisciplinary approach hinders the recognition of the connections between the different fields of education. Keywords: Computational thinking; problem-solving skills; Teaching education.