Cognitive Mechanisms of Guided Instruction in the Early Elementary Years

小学早期引导教学的认知机制

• 批准号: 2301180
• 负责人: Elizabeth Bonawitz
• 金额: $ 150万
• 依托单位: Harvard University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2028-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2301180&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Cognitive; Mechanisms; Guided; Instruction; Early

The purpose of this study is to compare the results of two teaching styles: direct instruction and guided query, for early elementary students in science. Guided queries -- when teachers ask questions that engage the learner in prediction, explanation, and reflection -- have been shown to support knowledge building and motivation in brief lab settings. However, there is disagreement among scholars about how the learning outcomes of guided query teaching styles compare to those of direct instruction in more traditional education settings, and it is unknown how the learning processes involved unfold over longer times, and among children embedded in different communities. This project addresses these gaps in our understanding by conducting a longitudinal study with early elementary school students to investigate the short- and long-term effects of direct and guided query instruction about a foundational physical concept: properties of matter. The sample includes children embedded in families and communities with diverse backgrounds, which allows observations on the effects of the different teaching styles on children with different prior experiences. This project informs the decision-making process about which teaching styles are best suited for teaching science to early elementary school children across different communities and also is developing an inexpensive, easy-to-scale-up, and ready-to-deploy curriculum that could be implemented in schools or families. The curriculum will address young children's known misconceptions about matter earlier than typical curricula. Cognitive and motivational mechanisms may be differently impacted by diverse teaching styles. To shed light on the mechanisms underlying learning from direct and guided instruction, this project involves longitudinal assessment of children's knowledge about matter and its interactions, as well as of their motivation and attitudes toward science before and after receiving training. A sample of 300 early elementary school children, drawn from communities with diverse backgrounds, will be randomly assigned to three conditions: (i) Direct Instruction, (ii) Guided Query; and (iii) Baseline condition. Children in all three conditions will be assessed in five different data collection waves over a period of 3.5 years. In addition to assessing cognitive mechanisms through children's a) factual, b) causal-explanatory, and c) conceptual knowledge about matter and its interactions, the project also assesses motivational mechanisms through measures of children’s d) curiosity, e) perseverance on science related tasks, and f) attitudes toward self and learning. After Wave 1 of data collection, children in the Direct Instruction and Guided Query conditions will receive supplemental training that is delivered across six different teaching modules. Children in the Baseline condition will not receive any training (outside their typical school curricula). The difference between the Direct and Guided Query Instruction conditions is in terms of how the training content is delivered to children. In the Direct Instruction condition, the content will be delivered directly via providing facts and explanations, whereas in the Guided Query condition it will be delivered after guiding children with questions, asking them to execute thought experiments, generate predictions, and produce explanations. The results of this study will illuminate the mechanisms by which direct and guided query instruction shape the process of knowledge construction and children's attitudes toward self and learning.This project is supported by NSF's EDU Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

本研究的目的是比较两种教学模式：直接教学和引导式提问对理科早期小学生的教学效果。引导式提问--当教师提出让学习者参与预测、解释和反思的问题时--已被证明在简短的实验室环境中支持知识构建和动机。然而，学者们对于引导式提问教学方式与传统教育环境下直接教学方式的学习效果如何比较存在分歧，也不清楚所涉及的学习过程是如何在更长的时间内以及在不同社区的儿童中展开的。这个项目通过对早期小学生进行一项纵向研究来解决我们理解中的这些差距，以调查关于一个基本物理概念：物质的性质的直接和引导提问教学的短期和长期影响。样本包括不同背景的家庭和社区中的儿童，这使得可以观察不同教学风格对具有不同先前经历的儿童的影响。该项目为决策过程提供信息，说明哪些教学方式最适合向不同社区的小学早期儿童教授科学，并正在开发一种廉价、易于扩大和随时可部署的课程，可以在学校或家庭实施。该课程将比一般课程更早地解决幼儿对物质的已知误解。不同的教学风格可能会对认知和动机机制产生不同的影响。为了阐明从直接和引导教学中学习的潜在机制，该项目涉及对儿童在接受培训前后关于物质及其相互作用的知识以及他们对科学的动机和态度的纵向评估。来自不同背景社区的300名小学早期儿童的样本将被随机分配到三种条件下：(I)直接教学；(Ii)引导式提问；(Iii)基线条件。所有这三种情况的儿童将在3.5年内的五次不同的数据收集浪潮中进行评估。除了通过儿童a)事实、b)因果解释和c)关于物质及其相互作用的概念性知识来评估认知机制外，该项目还通过测量儿童d)好奇心、e)对科学相关任务的毅力以及f)对自我和学习的态度来评估动机机制。在第一波数据收集之后，处于直接指导和引导式询问条件下的儿童将接受六个不同教学模块提供的补充培训。处于基线状态的儿童将不会接受任何培训(在其典型的学校课程之外)。直接查询和引导式查询教学条件的不同之处在于培训内容如何传递给孩子。在直接教学条件下，内容将通过提供事实和解释直接传递，而在引导性询问条件下，内容将在引导儿童提出问题、要求他们执行思维实验、产生预测和产生解释后传递。这项研究的结果将阐明直接和引导性提问教学塑造知识建构过程以及儿童对自我和学习的态度的机制。ECR计划强调基础STEM教育研究，以产生该领域的基础知识。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，认为值得支持。