Integrated Collaborative Learning and Polya Problem Solving Model for Enhancing Pre Service Teachers Critical Thinking through the Mediating Roles of Student Engagement and Attitudes and the Moderating Role of Prior Knowledge

Imagine the classroom as a giant, bustling kitchen where the goal is to bake the perfect loaf of "Critical Thinking Bread." For years, many teachers have tried to teach this recipe by standing at the front, shouting instructions, and having students copy the steps down in a notebook. But often, the students just memorize the list of ingredients without understanding why the bread rises. They can recite the recipe, but if you ask them to bake a cake instead, they freeze. This is the problem facing future math teachers: they can solve simple equations, but when faced with a tricky, real-life word problem, they struggle to think logically, analyze the situation, or come up with a creative solution.

To fix this, scientists have been testing a new "kitchen" setup. They are combining two powerful tools: Collaborative Learning, which is like getting a group of friends to cook together, sharing ideas and helping each other chop vegetables; and Polya's Problem-Solving Approach, which is a specific, four-step recipe card that tells you exactly how to tackle a tough dish (Understand the problem, Make a plan, Do the work, and Check your results). But here is the big question: Does just putting these tools in the kitchen actually make the bread rise? Or does it depend on other things, like how much the students like cooking (their attitude), how hard they actually work (their engagement), or how much they already knew about baking before they walked in (their prior knowledge)? This study dives into that very question to see if mixing these ingredients creates a better baker.

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The Big Experiment: A New Way to Bake Math

In this study, researchers Dookurong Dilor Isaiah and his team decided to test a new "Integrated Collaborative Learning and Polya Problem-Solving Model" on 390 future math teachers in Ghana. They wanted to see if this special mix of group work and structured problem-solving could turn these students into critical thinking superstars.

Think of the study as a massive cooking competition. The researchers split the students into two teams. The Control Group was the "Old School" team. They were taught the traditional way: the teacher explained the math, and the students practiced alone. The Treatment Group was the "New School" team. They were thrown into a collaborative kitchen where they had to work in groups, talk through problems, and follow Polya's four-step recipe card to solve tricky simultaneous equation word problems (like figuring out the dimensions of a rectangle or mixing different costs).

The researchers didn't just look at the final test scores; they wanted to know how the magic happened. They suspected that the new method worked because it changed how the students felt (their Attitude) and how hard they tried (their Engagement). They also wondered if the students' starting skill level (Prior Knowledge) acted like a turbocharger, making the new method work even better for some than others.

The Results: The Bread Rises!

The findings were deliciously clear. The "New School" group, who used the integrated collaborative and Polya approach, showed a massive improvement in their critical thinking skills compared to the "Old School" group. But the story gets even more interesting when we look at the ingredients that made it work.

1. The Attitude Switch (The Secret Sauce)
The study found that the new teaching method didn't just teach math; it changed how the students felt about math. Before the experiment, many students were hesitant or even a bit scared of word problems. But after working in groups and following the Polya steps, their attitudes shifted. They became more confident and interested.
The researchers discovered that this positive attitude acted as a mediator. Think of it like this: The new teaching method didn't just pour knowledge directly into the students' brains. Instead, it first made them like the task. Because they liked it and felt confident, they were more willing to think deeply. The data showed that this shift in attitude explained a big chunk of why their critical thinking improved. As one student put it, having a positive attitude made them "more open to collaboration," which helped them dig deeper into the problems.

2. The Engagement Engine (The Fire Under the Pot)
Next, the researchers looked at Engagement. This is about how active and focused the students were. The "New School" students weren't just sitting there; they were talking, arguing, sharing ideas, and checking each other's work.
The study found that engagement was another mediator. The new method got the students to do the work, and because they were actively doing it, their critical thinking skills grew. It wasn't enough to just be in the room; they had to be in the room, participating. The data showed that the more engaged the students were, the better their critical thinking scores became. It's like a fire: the new method provided the wood, but the students' active participation was the fire that actually cooked the meal.

3. The Prior Knowledge Turbo (The Engine Upgrade)
Here is where it gets a bit tricky, but also very important. The researchers tested if Prior Knowledge (what the students already knew about math before the study started) changed the results. They found that it did, acting as a moderator.
Imagine the new teaching method as a high-performance sports car. If you have a driver who already knows how to drive a stick shift (High Prior Knowledge), they can zoom down the road and really take advantage of the car's speed. But if you have a driver who has never driven before (Low Prior Knowledge), they might still get somewhere, but they won't go as fast or as far with the same car.
The data showed that students with strong prior knowledge benefited the most from the new method. Their critical thinking scores jumped the highest. Students with average knowledge also improved, but not as dramatically. Students with low prior knowledge still got better, but the boost was much smaller. The study suggests that while the new method helps everyone, it works best when the students already have a solid foundation to build upon.

What This Means for the Future

The researchers concluded that this integrated approach is a winner. By combining the social power of working together with the logical structure of Polya's steps, they successfully boosted the critical thinking skills of future teachers.

However, the study also gave a gentle warning. While the method is powerful, it's not a magic wand that works exactly the same for everyone. It relies heavily on the students' willingness to participate (engagement) and their feelings about math (attitude). Plus, it works best when students have some math knowledge to start with.

The authors suggest that teacher training programs should adopt this "group-cooking" style. They recommend that educators check what students already know before starting, so they can tailor the difficulty. They also say that teachers need to create an environment where students feel safe and excited to talk and make mistakes, because that's where the real thinking happens.

In short, if you want to teach future teachers how to think critically, don't just lecture them. Put them in a group, give them a clear map (Polya's steps), and make sure they are having fun and feeling confident. That's the recipe for success.