In its recent Education Blueprint, the Malaysian Ministry of Education has emphasised the imperative to enhance national critical thinking skills. This call-to-action stems from the alarming low rankings in the PISA Problem-Solving Test, and mathematics test and reports from employers highlighting pervasive skill gaps. This research aims to explore a potential tool for developing problem-solving skills: Strategy Video Games (SVGs).
The integration of play in education systems is a growing trend in various nations, including China, the USA, and Denmark, recognising its significance in pedagogy (Mardell, Solis & Bray, 2019). Play, as highlighted by Prince (2017), is instrumental in children's learning and the development of problem-solving skills and fluid reasoning. Given the acknowledged benefits of play and the recognition of video games as a manifestation of play, thus, proposing the use of SVGs is not an outrageous idea to improve cognition. Digital games, specifically SVGs, not only enrich the learning experience but also foster skill development, enhance memorisation, and deepen understanding in STEM fields (Ishak, Din & Hasran, 2021). This approach aligns with the current digital landscape where today's youth spend significant time in the digital world, and SVG skills inherently mirror those demanded by the problem-solving process. However, despite this potential, there is limited empirical evidence linking SVGs to problem-solving skill improvement.
Most research to date on gaming and PS focuses exclusively on self-reported measures. For example, Adachi and Willoughby's (2013) previous study sought to investigate the correlation between strategy video gameplay frequency and adolescents' self-reported problem-solving skills. Their findings suggested a positive relationship: a higher video gameplay frequency was associated with higher self-reported problem-solving skills. The only study that has searched for such links using non-self-reports struggled to find an effect. In this project, Emihovich (2017) explored the impact of two distinct types of video gameplay, namely strategy role-playing video games (World of WarCraft) and brain-training video games (CogniFit), on undergraduates' problem-solving skills. However, the study found no significant effects on problem-solving. Nonetheless, Emihovic, Rogue and Mason (2020) noted that results could be different by prompting participants to actively recognise the strategies during gaming sessions. Therefore, by adding reflection sessions as a medium to transfer learnt problem-solving skills from SVGs to real-life situations could yield different outcomes. Research on metacognition and mindset suggests that combining SVGs with student reflection could further enhance skill development.
The utilisation of reflection sessions in problem-solving proves to be a valuable tool in education. Reflection, as defined by Bjuland (2004), involves the conscious consideration of personal experiences, aligning with Dewey (1933), Inhelder and Piaget (1958), Hiebert (1992), and Wistedt (1994) in the context of forming interactions between ideas and action. In education, reflection is the process of thoughtful examination and evaluation of one's experiences, thoughts, and actions to gain insight and make informed decisions for future practice (Chang, 2019). It plays a pivotal role in transforming experiences into the development of new skills, attitudes, knowledge, and capabilities (Gribbin, Aftab, Young, & Park, 2016).
Thus, this study hypothesises that strategy video gaming may affect both (1) externally assessed and (2) self-reported problem-solving skills when reflection sessions are employed. In response, this study investigated the relationship between SVG and two dependent variables: (1) externally assessed problem-solving skills (2) self-reported problem-solving skills. To test the power of student reflection on problem-solving development, it further assessed whether changes in these variables differed with or without engagement in reflection sessions.
RQ 1: Does playing SVGs affect (1) externally-assessed problem-solving skill assessment scores?
RQ1a: Do these effects change with the inclusion of reflection sessions?
RQ 2: Does playing SVGs affect the (2) self-reported problem-solving skill assessment scores?
RQ2a: Do these effects change with the inclusion of reflection sessions?

Participants of the study were about 404 Form 4 pupils (15- to 16-year-olds) from nine (9) participating Malaysian National secondary schools. Participants were split equally across one control and two treatment groups. Using a randomised controlled trial (RCT) approach, participants were stratified into two groups based on gender (male and female) before they were randomised equally into the 3 groups (in control or intervention conditions). To test the power of reflection, this research compared pre- and post-test scores of 3 groups: a control group ("A") that received no treatment; a group ("B") that played SVGs; and a group ("C") that played SVGs and engaged in supplemental of reflection sessions. Through this experimental design, we were able to monitor the possible effect (if any) of both playing SVGs and reflection on the development of self-perception of problem-solving skills and examined actual problem-solving skills. Two instruments were used to measure the 2 variables of interest during pre-intervention and post-intervention. The external assessment measure employed in this study is the publicly accessible isomorphic test designed by the OECD for the 2003 iteration of the PISA Problem-Solving Test. To adapt it for this research, the test was divided into two sets, resulting in two distinct PISA Problem-Solving Tests. To assess students' self-reported problem-solving skills, the study employed the Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI) created by Heppner and Petersen (2011). This inventory comprises 32 items and utilises a 6-point Likert scale to gauge an individual's self-evaluation of their problem-solving competence, focusing on their perceived competency rather than their demonstrated abilities. The intervention protocol involved gaming phases and reflection sessions. A gaming phase includes three (3) weeks of gaming session aimed at yielding about 5 hours of gaming duration. Within the 3 weeks, there were three reflection sessions (before, during and after reflection sessions) conducted. Before-reflection sessions was done before gaming sessions starts (in the first week), and in the second week, during-reflection session was done as a group discussion. After-reflection sessions was done at the end of each gaming phases. Before- and after-reflection sessions were done online individually. There were 4 intervention phases all together, each using four different strategy video games. The analysis of the data used a quantitative technique, multiple regression, to assess the relationships between SVGs, reflection sessions, and outcome variables of interest. Ultimately, it attempts to cover gaps from previous studies and provide a guide to utilise SVGs in a school context.

Due to COVID restriction policies, dosage, adherence, and participants' responsiveness, the quality of intervention delivery varied significantly. Nonetheless, the findings yielded interesting insight into the hypotheses. There is some evidence that SVGs together with reflection sessions have the potential ability to affect actual Problem-solving skills. RQ 1: Based on the statistical analysis, we can reject the null hypothesis and accept there is a significant difference in PISA Pre-post-test score difference means among the 3 groups, with a consideration that it is a positively weak model (R-squared =0.0248). Group C difference is significant at p=0.025. The post-hoc Tukey test revealed significant differences between Group C and Group B (p = 0.041), and near significant between Group C and Group A (p = 0.064). All groups' mean score showed decline in PISA Problem-Solving score performance, but Group C performed slightly better by having the least amount of decline. Group B did not perform any differently than Group A . RQ 2: Similarly, regression analysis showed that Group C is significantly different than the other groups, with a p value of = 0.018 with a weak model (R-squared =0.0271). Tukey's post hoc test revealed that Group C is significantly different than Group A (p = 0.054). However, Group B is not statistically significantly different from Group A and C. Both findings in RQ 1 and 2 above may indicate that SVGs without the supplement of reflection session do not help in improving or developing Problem-Solving skills, as seen in PISA problem-solving scores. In conclusion, these findings suggest that there is potential to utilise SVGs in developing competent problem-solvers, provided that SVGs are paired with reflection sessions to aid in transferring learnt problem-solving skills into real-life situations. However, there is a need to further delve into the findings, especially exploring the measurement of fidelity to ensure these results are not a result of positive placebo effect.

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