The Study of the Mental Model of Integrated Science Process Skills In Fifth and Sixth Grade Elementary School Students

• Main Authors: Horng, Shin - Der, 洪信德
• Other Authors: Jin Meei Kuo Hsieh
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2001
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/04679150353588343620

碩士 === 國立嘉義大學 === 國民教育研究所 === 89 === This research aims to understand the mental model of fifth and sixth grade students in Chang-Hua elementary schools on forming the integrated science process skills of "hypothesizing", "experimenting" and "interpreting" through the methodology of written survey and interviewing. Written survey is taken with 186 fifth-grade students and 183 six-grade students in six different classes. Based on the "integrated science process skills" established by Hsu (76b), questions in the written survey are designed specifically according to the hypothesizing-experimenting-interpreting logic to understand student''s ability to analyze the "con-trolling variable", "resulting variable" and "consequence". The distribution of "understanding level" in each integrated science process skill is revealed through statistical analysis. Three students in each class representing statistical dis-tribution in the written survey were selected for interviewing. This written survey shows that 44.65% of fifth grade students and 26.90% of sixth grade students lack "consequence" un-derstanding. They are unable to define the "control variable " and the "resulting variable " from the questions and neither to explain the consequence relationship between factors. 26.45% of fifth grade and 29.43% of sixth grade students are able to differentiate between "controlling" and "resulting variable " in the question, but unable to explain the relationship of the causes and consequences or fail to come up with appropriate experiment designs to validate their arguments. Only 28.90% of fifth grade and 43.63% of sixth grade students are successful to build their mental model through "hypothesiz-ing-experimenting-interpreting" logic. Analysis from interviewers suggests that the instinct, daily experience, misconception of scientific terms and science directly leads to incorrect hypothesiz-ing-experimenting-interpreting logic.These incorrect mental models can be cataloged into: (1) deficiency of variants; (2) deficiency of comparing and interpreting different controlled experiments; (3) misconception of controlling variable; (4) misconception of resulting variable; and (5) misconception of using two controlling variables simultaneously to form hy-pothesizing experimenting. This mental model research provides instructors in natural sciences useful ways to enhance students'' hypothesizing-experimenting-interpreting logic. (1) leveling the instruction content to the science process skills of students in order to enhance learning efficiency; (2) em-phasizing the correct understanding of scientific concepts, building up science process skills, and strengthening the ability of understanding and interpreting experimental results through using controlling variable, resulting variable and other related experimental factors; (3) recognizing students'' learning progress, and emphasizing and repeating the material where students misunderstand; (4) adopting the concept of "zone of proximal development" to strengthen students'' integrated science process skills and clarify misconception through the peer discussion; and (5) providing students hand-on experiences and peer interaction. This study on mental models also implies further development of methodologies ：(1) developing more simple methodology to process and compare between schools, sexes and other variances; (2)limiting research topics and attempting further insight; (3) interviewing through hand-on operation for better understanding of students'' hypothesizing-experimenting-interpreting logic.