Well Prepared for Daily Work? Problem-Solving Competencies of Prospective Industrial Clerks

• In Event: Measuring Learning in the Workplace

Abstract

Problem-solving activities have become an essential part of office work. Against this background it is a yet unanswered research question whether dealing with complex and non-routine working tasks is adequately trained in vocational education. In order to assess the problem-solving skills of apprentices at the end of their apprenticeship the research project DomPL-IK aims at modelling and measuring domain-specific problem-solving competencies in the domain of operational controlling. Three domain-specific problem scenarios were implemented within a computer-based office simulation. For validation purposes the test was administered to participants from different training occupations. The pilot study indicates low solution rates in general but clear differences between the tested training occupations. Results from the main study (N=765) are presented in the full paper.

Authors

• Eveline Wuttke, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University

• Kristina Koegler, University Frankfurt am Main

• Andreas Rausch, University of Bamberg

• Steffen Brandt, OpenCampus.sh, Germany

• Christin Siegfried, Goethe University

• Rebecca Eigenmann, University of Mannheim