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The effects of general ability and inquiry-based learning on the acquisition of scientific reasoning skills
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Type
Thesis
Author
Ng, Boon Eng
Supervisor
Toh, Kok Aun
Abstract
There is universal agreement that very few adolescents acquired effective scientific understanding, and furthermore, in the past 20 years, adolescent reasoning about scientific phenomena has declined (Mullid & Jenkins, 1988). One of the reasons for the lack in students' scientific learning is that students memorize rather than organize and integrate scientific information. This study was based on what The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has emphasized on the importance of inquiry skills in their publication NSTA Pathways to the Science Standards.
The above phenomenon is especially obvious for Singapore's students. Students should develop the inquiry skills that enable them to ask questions, plan investigations, gather data using appropriate tools, reasonably explain relationships among the collected data, and communicate the results. Singapore classrooms normally consist of a wide range of abilities student. However, most of the time, we are using a common teaching method that does not really help the less able students. The common teaching method also does not help the moderate and better students to excel further.
The less able students require a curriculum or at least a teaching method that helps them to overcome their weakness in order to match pace with the rest of the students. Moderate and better students, on the other hand, require a curriculum or at least a teaching method that challenges them at their level of achievement and provide them with challenging questions with a high degree of creativity. Therefore, in this study, we shall look into how inquiry-based learning can act as a teaching method to help the less able students to overcome their weakness and the moderate and better students to excel further.
The study involved students taking the AH4 General Intelligence Test to measure their General Ability. The General Ability variable was divided into three levels: low, intermediate, high and students were grouped into one of these levels depending on their scores in the AH4 General Intelligence test.
After taking the AH4 test, all students sat for a Scientific Reasoning test that measured their scientific reasoning skills. After the test, besides the usual science lessons, students in the experimental group went through a series of eight inquiry based lessons, one lesson per week, over a eight-week period. The control group of students instead of going through the inquiry based lessons attended normal remedial lessons that do not focus on anything about acquiring scientific reasoning skills. At the end of the eight weeks of lessons, both control and experimental groups sat for another scientific reasoning test.
The study found that there is no significant difference in the scientific reasoning skills tests between the 2 treatment groups before they go through any of the instructional treatment. However, there is a significant difference in their scores after they have gone through their respective instructional treatments. Results also show that there was a significant interaction between General Intelligence levels and the type of instructional treatments for the posttest scores.
The above phenomenon is especially obvious for Singapore's students. Students should develop the inquiry skills that enable them to ask questions, plan investigations, gather data using appropriate tools, reasonably explain relationships among the collected data, and communicate the results. Singapore classrooms normally consist of a wide range of abilities student. However, most of the time, we are using a common teaching method that does not really help the less able students. The common teaching method also does not help the moderate and better students to excel further.
The less able students require a curriculum or at least a teaching method that helps them to overcome their weakness in order to match pace with the rest of the students. Moderate and better students, on the other hand, require a curriculum or at least a teaching method that challenges them at their level of achievement and provide them with challenging questions with a high degree of creativity. Therefore, in this study, we shall look into how inquiry-based learning can act as a teaching method to help the less able students to overcome their weakness and the moderate and better students to excel further.
The study involved students taking the AH4 General Intelligence Test to measure their General Ability. The General Ability variable was divided into three levels: low, intermediate, high and students were grouped into one of these levels depending on their scores in the AH4 General Intelligence test.
After taking the AH4 test, all students sat for a Scientific Reasoning test that measured their scientific reasoning skills. After the test, besides the usual science lessons, students in the experimental group went through a series of eight inquiry based lessons, one lesson per week, over a eight-week period. The control group of students instead of going through the inquiry based lessons attended normal remedial lessons that do not focus on anything about acquiring scientific reasoning skills. At the end of the eight weeks of lessons, both control and experimental groups sat for another scientific reasoning test.
The study found that there is no significant difference in the scientific reasoning skills tests between the 2 treatment groups before they go through any of the instructional treatment. However, there is a significant difference in their scores after they have gone through their respective instructional treatments. Results also show that there was a significant interaction between General Intelligence levels and the type of instructional treatments for the posttest scores.
Date Issued
2004
Call Number
Q183.4.S55 Ng
Date Submitted
2004