The Collaborative Action Research on Integrating Metacognitive Scaffolding Strategies with Open-ended Scientific Inquiry

• Main Authors: Chen-Jane Yeh, 葉辰楨
• Other Authors: Dr. Shih-Chieh Huang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/12285689116795461522

博士 === 國立彰化師範大學 === 科學教育研究所 === 98 === The purpose of this research is to integrate the Gowin’s Vee and concept map with the writing modes of scientific fairs, and to evaluate its effectiveness by means of collaborative action research. A senior science teacher was invited to develop collectively with the researcher “an instructional model for scientific inquiry integrated with metacognitive scaffolding strategies”. The subjects of the research include the collaborating teacher, and 83 students from natural science clubs in three junior high schools, whom the teacher taught during the course of the research. Data collection and analysis were done qualitatively. Qualitative data were collected, such as students’ Vee map; concept map; groups’ staged self-assessment forms; recordings and videos of observation from the scenes of instruction; recordings of groups’ discussions and talks between the teacher and the students; interviews with the collaborating teacher; interviews with the student groups, etc. The data collected were coded with “constant comparative method” (Bogdan ＆ Biklen, 1992). “Triangulation” was employed to cross-check the agreement among the data from different sources, in order to enhance the credibility of the findings in this research. The findings indicate that after implementations and modifications, “the instructional model for scientific inquiry integrated with metacognitive scaffolding strategies” developed in this research included the structural scaffolding constructed with meta-Vee map (revised from Gowin’s Vee map) , concept maps, and the checklist of inquiry courses, along with the dynamic scaffolding strategies employed by the teacher. All scaffoldings were incorporated into the three-staged instruction model of scientific inquiry that consists of “science competition”, “critiques on science fairs”, and “open-ended science inquiry”. The results also show that, the most suitable operation of the model is to gradually guide the students to comprehend and to conduct scientific inquiry through application of recursive and spiral scaffolding strategies. Students would form their themes in actual inquiry, expand their cognitive structures, and establish the mechanism of self-evaluation and self-adjustment through staged self-assessment. From the students’ learning performances, it was revealed that structural scaffoldings are helpful to “planning” and “evaluation” of inquiry; while dynamic scaffoldings played the role of activating students’ reflections, and showed stronger function of “self-evaluation” and “self-adjustment”. With the progress of the activities, students’ cognitive structures and inquiry skills were both enhanced. The teacher’s role as a provider of scaffoldings faded out, while the students showed their abilities of actively and independently conducting inquiry. The research developed an instruction model of inquiry with collaborative action research, making an attempt of integrating science education theories and teaching practice through the guidance by the diverse experiences of the participants. In the process of actions and reflections, instruction and research made a mechanism of reciprocal feedback. Not only teachers’ practical knowledge of implementing inquiry instruction gradually developed, but the process and findings of action research became more refined and promoted in both aspects of instruction and research.