| Summary: | 博士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 科學教育研究所 === 88 === Abstract
The purpose of this research was to adapt research programmers from Lakatos (1970) and Chi (1992) and Chi et al.’s (1994) conceptual change theory of ontological categories to analyze high school students’ mental models and mechanism of conceptual change in learning science. Based on the perspectives mentioned above, this research developed a probe test for examining students’ misconception of chemical equilibrium (MCEPT). Thirty students out of 172 12th grade students from a senior high school in Taipei County, who majored in natural science, were selected as the target subjects. Then, these subjects were conducted through concept association activity, established measurement questionnaire set, relativity concept activity, and competition concept activity.
The results of this study revealed that the conceptual change could be classified into two major categories: First, the hard core changed model: this model contained the following characteristics: 1. hard core and its conceptual series had been replaced entirely; 2. matter and process concepts of chemical equilibrium interchanged their positions, and 3. reorganizing structure of knowledge in the hard core. The researcher considered this type of model as hard conceptual change (HCC). Second, hard core unchanged model: this model has the following characteristics: 1.It contained surroundings that utilized the auxiliary hypotheses to protect hard core or only justified the auxiliary hypotheses of protective belt; 2. in the circumstance of unaltered hard core structure. This type of model was considered as soft conceptual change (SCC). Besides, these two major types of models, there are other models were varified in this study. The researcher found the difficulties of conceptual change were IA-HCC>IB-HCC>IC-HCC.
The results also revealed that both designs of related concept activity and competition concept activity could promote students’ conceptual change. In particular, competition concept activity was more effective to stimulate students to re-interprete concepts, and to guide their peripheral theory change. Based on these activities we found that the matter concept (connected more process concept) properties and the process concept (connected more matter concept) properties were not simply activated students’ conceptual change. The result shown here was inconsistent with Chi’s study in which she considered the ontological categories changes within a tree as weak conceptual change.
In regard to different classifications of target subjects, those who have the misconception of matter concepts were unclear about concept definitions or misunderstood the relationships between the matter concepts and the rest of matter concepts. In contrast, those who have the misconception of process concepts misunderstood about the relationships between the ontological categories with process attributes and sub-category in ontological categories. The target subjects of the misconception of both matter and process concepts showed difficulties in correctly applying the matter and process concepts.
In the analysis of ontological category, the study found the crossing between the sub-category of matter and process concepts to be difficult. The analysis of ontological category also showed the crossing between the matter concept’s sub-category’s Simple Maritialistic Properties’ (SMP) matter sub-category and Rich Processlistic Properties’ (RPP) matter sub-category to be difficult. The analysis of ontological category also showed the crossing between the process concept’s sub-category’s Event’s (EVENT) sub-category and Constrain Based Interaction’s (CBI) sub-category to be difficult.
Investigating mechanism process of individual conceptual change will uncover our understanding of students’ learning in science, and further to provide implications for cognitive psychology and science education. In this study, Implications and suggestions for science curriculum, science Instruction, and future research topics were also discussed.
|
|---|
