New Perspectives in Science Education

Psychophysical arousal becomes important even in the context of education when pupils have to achieve an objective. Research on which learning situation or context elicits how much arousal is essential to giving teachers an idea in which situations children are ready to learn and perform. The optimal levels of arousal slightly differ from person to person: someone like a lower and others a higher level; however, people generally feel uncomfortable on a very low (i.e. sedated) or very high (i.e. overexcited) level of arousal. This would mean that at school, learning activities should not be too boring nor too exhausting. It is well known that children generally like to carry out science experiments. Some experiments create amazing effects and elicit fascination in children [1]. In this context, knowing which psychophysical changes can be observed in children during hands-on science activities could be revealing. An indicator to detect psychophysical activation is electrodermal activity (EDA), which reflects the activity of the autonomous nervous system. A low electrodermal activity indicates a parasympathetic activity, whereas a high one indicates sympathetic activity. Compared to other parameters such as heart rate or temperature, electrodermal activity reacts within a remarkably short time [2]. The aim of this study is to clarify which electrode position works with primary school children in a real learning situation in science education and how psychophysical arousal in children is changing during hands-on science activities. Four single case studies with 6-year-old first-graders were conducted, analyzed and compared. EDA data were collected during the conduction of three science experiments. A Shimmer device was used to investigate changes in electrodermal activity. The data collection took place in the Cognitive and Educational Science Lab (CesLab) of the Free University of Bolzano. A critical control variable was the temperament of a child. Temperament is a concept, which describes how individuals deal with their arousal. For these reasons, parents were asked to complete a temperament questionnaire [3]. Another important aspect is represented by the executive functions of children, which are supposed to inhibit and handle arousal to guarantee planned and reflected behavior. Accordingly, the German adaption of the ‘Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function’ was assessed [4]. In this article, preliminary results among the four subjects are presented.

Keywords: Primary School, Science Experiment, Electrodermal Activity.

References: 

1. Pahl, A. & Tschiesner, R. (2017). What Is it about Science Experiments that Fascinates Children? The Role of Novelty and Intensity. Conference proceedings. New Perspectives in Science Education, 6, 260-264.
2. Boucsein, W. (2012). Electrodermal activity (2nd ed.). New York: Springer.
3. Zentner, M. (2010). IKT – Integrative Erfassung des Kind-Temperaments. Bern: Huber.
4. Drechsler, R. & Steinhausen, H.-C. (2013). BRIEF – Verhaltensinventar zur Beurteilung Exekutiver Funktionen. Göttingen: Hogrefe.