Cognitive Skills in Internet‐Supported Learning Environments in Higher Education: Research Issues

Abstract

How did Internet‐supported learning environments (ISLE) impact students’ critical thinking (CT) and problem solving (PS) skills in higher education? What specific indicators have been used to measure CT? What types of problems and learning approaches were chosen to assess PS skills? This paper qualitatively reviewed studies published in academic journals, books, professional databases, and reliable web sites between 1995 and 2006. The review indicated that students demonstrated CT and PS skills in different contexts. Most of the core cognitive and sub‐cognitive CT skills identified by the Delphi study of the American Philosophical Association were found. All the studies delimited CT to a cognitive domain whereas half of them considered it as a PS process. To assess students’ PS skills, problem‐based learning with ill‐structured problems was chosen. Quazi experimental and experimental studies dominated research. The theoretical and methodological issues in and for research on ISLE are discussed.

Keywords:

• cognitive skills
• critical thinking
• Internet‐supported learning environments
• problem solving