An Analysis of Social Factors which affect the 6th Grade Students’ Engaging in Scientific Inquiry Work

• Main Authors: Tang Wei-chang, 唐偉成
• Other Authors: Chiang Shing-ho
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2008
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/69293714844634390321

博士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 科學教育研究所 === 96 === This research, adopting quality method of Grounded Theory, aims at how teachers, parents, peers and physical environments such social factors affect the 6th grade students’ engaging in scientific inquiry work. As follows are the findings: (1)inferences of teachers Within scientific inquiry work, teachers are not only the targets of students’ imitation, suppliers and judges of answers but also providers of rewards and punishments. Consequently, from teachers’ feedback, students understand whether their behaviors are correct and valuable; moreover, they perceive how their capabilities are. Hereafter, basing on these experiences, the students evaluate self-efficacy and meanings of behaviors when they encounter difficulties. (2)inferences of parents Parents’ vocations not only provide the cognition environments of children’s early years but also shape children’s interests and inquiry tendencies at specific domains. And parents’ discipline attitudes and expectations shape children’s values and bases of behavioral evaluation; moreover, these attitudes and expectations enhance more and better learning opportunities and environments for their children. (3)inferences of peers Peers’ interactions full of competition, cooperation, criticism, acceptance and encouragement et al. Peers’ criticisms diminish the students’ sense of self-efficacy and make them hesitant or comply with others’ opinions. Observation and imitation are the key forms of learning within peers’ interaction; however, under the motivation of being competitive and excellent, students tend to modify their own answers. (4)inferences of physical environments Television, networks and books are the important resources of students’ data-searching and knowledge-absorbing, and therefore are the important bases of students’ problem-raising and problem-solving. Students’ inquiry experiences upon daily commodities cultivate their manipulation abilities and success experiences. Treacherously, being unable to judge whether the information is true or false, students view virtual and unreal information of television, networks and books as realities in the real world. In conclusion, based upon the research outcomes, 「Mechanisms of Social Factors Affecting Students’ Scientific Inquiry Work」is constructed to illustrate how students’ scientific inquiry behaviors are formed in social interaction and reinforced in the behavior-feedback circulatory process.