New Perspectives in Science Education
A Research about Students’ Understanding of Scientific Inquiry Through a Formative Concept Map Design
Christine Buchegger, University of Vienna (Austria)
Suzanne Kapelari, University of Vienna (Austria)
Erika Keller, University of Graz, University of Vienna (Austria)
Abstract
A main objective in science education is to develop Scientific Literacy [1, 2] According to Schwartz et al. [3] Nature of Science (NOS) as well as Nature of Scientific Inquiry (NOSI) is regarded as an important basis for the development of Scientific Literacy. In this study we focus on the students’
acquisition of knowledge on NOSI in a students’ – scientists partnership (“Sparkling Science program”) [4]. Two projects - “Pollen and Respirable Dust – Mutual Allergy Triggers?” and “Pollen & Respirable Dust 2” - provide suitable environments for learning about research processes in an authentic inquiry setting [5, 6]. A formative concept map study is carried out, with the aim to analyze, how the participation of high-school students in the research process influences their understanding of and their views on inquiry. In the course of the two projects, concept maps are employed in different settings: Before / during the introduction workshop all students generate concept maps on the focus question: “What do scientists do in their research?” Then, in a stepwise procedure, interested students
have the opportunity to attend voluntarily up to three follow-up workshops. Particularly interested students can then apply for a summer internship. After completing the workshops / the summer internship further concept maps are created by the students. This time a think aloud process [7] is
employed and the concept maps are embedded in interviews. The concept maps are analyzed in a quantitative way, using Bonatos´ [8] evaluation scheme. They are also analyzed - together with the interviews / the think aloud protocols - in a qualitative way, employing the Qualitative Content Analysis[9]. As the individual students performed different levels of involvement within the inquiry processes, we expect to find out about the impact of these different degrees of involvement on the development
of the students’ views and understanding of NOSI. However the formative concept map setting is not only used as a research tool, but also as a tool for the students’ explicit reflection on NOSI – an aspect that is regarded as crucial for the development of a deeper understanding of NOSI [10, 11].
