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Understanding of students' perception in a Social Studies inquiry task
Author
Tan, Mui Ngee
Supervisor
Ooi, Giok Ling
Chang, Chew Hung
Abstract
Since Social Studies (SS) was implemented as part of the Combined Humanities subject at the Upper Secondary level in 2001, it has generated much debate among educators and policy makers. One key issue that is still concerning educators is the way SS is being taught and learnt in classrooms. Classroom instructions crafted by SS teachers are crucial to students’ learning. Moreover, effective teaching and learning of SS can only take place with well-crafted SS classroom tasks.
This research seeks to examine and compare students’ perception towards direct instructional and inquiry tasks. Initially, the SS teacher used direct classroom teaching and students were then tested with structured-essay questions. Subsequently, the SS teacher switched to an inquiry approach and students were tasked to complete an inquiry task instead as a way to learn about the content of the topic. The SS teacher facilitated the learning by structuring the tasks. Students worked in groups and they were given time to research and prepare their presentations. They were then assessed based on their presentation and research materials. Finally, the students completed a survey, which reflected their perception of both classroom tasks.
The classroom study has been set up within a local neighbourhood secondary school with 97 Secondary Three students. This survey investigated students’ perception in learning SS and how this perception affected students’ motivation and academic performances. The survey results examined the correlation between students’ perception towards both classroom tasks and how the extent of their perception impacted their motivational level in learning SS.
This research also analyzed SS teachers’ perception of classroom instruction, the SS curriculum, as well as assessment. This is important as teachers are instrumental in executing the entire SS curriculum within classrooms. 20 SS teachers participated in the survey to investigate teachers’ perception of teaching SS based on their personal experiences.
The analysis tools used for this research are descriptive statistics and correlation. Survey responses from SS teachers and students were analyzed with mean scores and skewness.
This paper examines students’ preferences on two different types of classroom tasks and how each classroom instruction task affected students’ self-efficacy and performance mastery in content knowledge and skills, as this would in turn reflect their level of motivation in learning SS.
One major finding from this research revealed that students were not confident in undertaking inquiry tasks due to their low performance mastery which consequently affected students’ motivation in learning SS. Students are extrinsically motivated to work on directed instructional task that are associated with their expectations to do well in examinations. Another major finding is, although the SS teachers are aware of the benefits of teaching SS using inquiry tasks, they faced the constraints of limited curriculum time and assessment. Therefore, direct instruction tasks were most frequently adopted. It was interesting to note the contrasting perceptions between students and SS teachers towards both instructional tasks. While students do not like to do inquiry tasks and feel that it is not helpful in the examinations, SS teachers would like students to be engaged in inquiry tasks as they feel that it is helpful for students to develop critical thinking skills.
Based on the findings, this research highlights the importance of scaffolding when designing inquiry tasks. It is important for curriculum specialists and SS teachers to take note of the difference in perception between students and SS teachers and take proactive steps in closing this gap as this will contribute towards the success of SS education in the long run. With the findings of students’ perception towards both classroom tasks, SS educators will be able to enhance students’ performance mastery when designing tasks by targeting what students perceive to be useful in achieving self-efficacy and high performance mastery, thus motivating them in learning SS.
This research seeks to examine and compare students’ perception towards direct instructional and inquiry tasks. Initially, the SS teacher used direct classroom teaching and students were then tested with structured-essay questions. Subsequently, the SS teacher switched to an inquiry approach and students were tasked to complete an inquiry task instead as a way to learn about the content of the topic. The SS teacher facilitated the learning by structuring the tasks. Students worked in groups and they were given time to research and prepare their presentations. They were then assessed based on their presentation and research materials. Finally, the students completed a survey, which reflected their perception of both classroom tasks.
The classroom study has been set up within a local neighbourhood secondary school with 97 Secondary Three students. This survey investigated students’ perception in learning SS and how this perception affected students’ motivation and academic performances. The survey results examined the correlation between students’ perception towards both classroom tasks and how the extent of their perception impacted their motivational level in learning SS.
This research also analyzed SS teachers’ perception of classroom instruction, the SS curriculum, as well as assessment. This is important as teachers are instrumental in executing the entire SS curriculum within classrooms. 20 SS teachers participated in the survey to investigate teachers’ perception of teaching SS based on their personal experiences.
The analysis tools used for this research are descriptive statistics and correlation. Survey responses from SS teachers and students were analyzed with mean scores and skewness.
This paper examines students’ preferences on two different types of classroom tasks and how each classroom instruction task affected students’ self-efficacy and performance mastery in content knowledge and skills, as this would in turn reflect their level of motivation in learning SS.
One major finding from this research revealed that students were not confident in undertaking inquiry tasks due to their low performance mastery which consequently affected students’ motivation in learning SS. Students are extrinsically motivated to work on directed instructional task that are associated with their expectations to do well in examinations. Another major finding is, although the SS teachers are aware of the benefits of teaching SS using inquiry tasks, they faced the constraints of limited curriculum time and assessment. Therefore, direct instruction tasks were most frequently adopted. It was interesting to note the contrasting perceptions between students and SS teachers towards both instructional tasks. While students do not like to do inquiry tasks and feel that it is not helpful in the examinations, SS teachers would like students to be engaged in inquiry tasks as they feel that it is helpful for students to develop critical thinking skills.
Based on the findings, this research highlights the importance of scaffolding when designing inquiry tasks. It is important for curriculum specialists and SS teachers to take note of the difference in perception between students and SS teachers and take proactive steps in closing this gap as this will contribute towards the success of SS education in the long run. With the findings of students’ perception towards both classroom tasks, SS educators will be able to enhance students’ performance mastery when designing tasks by targeting what students perceive to be useful in achieving self-efficacy and high performance mastery, thus motivating them in learning SS.
Date Issued
2011
Call Number
H62.5.S55 Tan
Date Submitted
2011