observing how higher-achieving students solve complex problems. The major difference between the experimental group and the control
group is the intervention of collaborative learning in the experimental group. That is, the middle- and lower-achieving students in the
experimental group could not only observe how the teacher solved problems, but could also obtain assistance from higher-achieving peers
to complete the tasks together. On the other hand, individual students in the control group could only observe the teacher’s demonstration
and guidance without the assistance of their peers.
Moreover, seven sets of constructive questions concerning different social issues for problem-solving practice were designed by the
teacher, as given in Appendix 1. The first and the seventh question sets were used to evaluate the students’ online problem-solving ability
before and after the learning activity, respectively, while the remaining question sets were used as training cases during the learning activity.
Moreover, each set of questions contained four sub-questions which were embedded in the Meta-Analyzer system based on the social issue.
First of all, the students were given a brief introduction of a social issue to construct basic prior knowledge. Subsequently, they were
requested to work through the problem-solving process via Meta-Analyzer to construct deeper understanding of the issue. For example, one
of the issues was the “Garbage problem.” The purpose of the learning unit was to learn how to reduce the garbage problem to protect the
environment. Thus, the teacher designed four sub-questions, namely, “What are the impacts on the Earth if lots of rubbish is produced?”,
“What are three main methods of waste disposal and how do they work?”, “What are the differences among landfill, garbage incineration,
and recycling?”, and “What waste disposal method would you accept to decrease the garbage problem?”. Through a series of informationsearching
processes, the students’ cognitive schemewas constructed accordingly; moreover, they became more conscious of the importance
of current social issues.
Prior to the experiment, all of the learners were given orientation and practice using the Meta-Analyzer system. The four phases of the
learning activity based on cognitive apprenticeship theory for the two groups of students are illustrated as follows: