Processes of students development of scientific practices

在过去的15年里，学习科学和学习科学一直被认为与实现科学素养有关。国家和国际科学教育标准描述了这些学习目标，研究越来越重视与学习科学有关的以过程为基础的科学能力。目前，研究主要评估学生基于过程的能力，以及不同年龄的学生这些能力有何不同。只有有限数量的研究调查了基于过程的能力是如何发展的，如何在学习过程中促进其发展，以及具有特定个人特征的学生之间的发展可能或可能不同。因此，该项目的主要目的是调查学生在提出问题和形成假设、计划实验和分析数据方面的科学实践的发展。选择把科学实践作为以过程为基础的能力的组成部分，是因为科学实践与德国科学教育高度相关，可能与国家和国际研究有关，特别是关于变量控制战略的研究。此外，学生必须在学习过程中进行实验(以科学探究为教学方法)，以便研究人员能够确定学生如何理解和使用科学实践(作为教学目标)以及这种理解是如何在学习过程中发展的。该项目利用了从N=160名高中生的准实验研究中收集的数据。本研究对比了两种方法，一种是明确以科学实践为学习目标的方法，强调与实践相关的概念；另一种方法是以这些概念为重点构建的，但这些概念必须由学生自己发现。这两种方法都表明促进了科学实践的发展，但显性方法的效果要高得多。N=95名学生以小组形式被记录在视频中，同时进行两种方法中的任何一种，每种方法持续225分钟，分布在三周内。视频数据将用基于类别的方法进行分析，并在适用的情况下，对成绩单进行顺序分析，以确定学生如何发展科学实践，以及这种发展在这两种方法中有何不同。此外，结果还可以与学生的探究知识(前后)、他们的力学知识、他们的认知能力、他们对物理的兴趣和他们的自我概念的评估有关。

During the last 15 years, the learning of science and the learning about science have been considered relevant for achieving scientific literacy. National and international science education standards describe these learning goals and research has paid growing attention towards the process-based science competencies associated with the learning about science. Currently, research mainly assesses students process-based competencies and how these differ for students of different age. Only a limited number of studies investigates how process-based competencies are developed, how their development can be promoted during learning, and how the development may or may not differ between students with specific individual profiles. Main aim of the project is, therefore, to investigate the development of students scientific practices with respect to asking questions and formulating hypotheses, planning experiments, and analyze data. The focus on scientific practices as an integral part of process-based competencies was chosen as these are highly relevant for German science education and can be related to national and international research in particular on the control of variables strategy. Furthermore, students have to conduct experiments during learning (scientific inquiry as teaching method) so that researchers can identify how students understand and make use of scientific practices (as teaching goal) and how this understanding develops during learning. The project utilizes data gathered already from a quasi-experimental study with N = 160 students of upper secondary. The study contrasts two approaches one of which explicitly targets scientific practices as learning goal by emphasizing the concepts relevant for the practices whereas the other approach is constructed with a focus on these concepts but these have to be discovered by students themselves. Both approaches have shown to promote the development of scientific practices but the explicit approach has a significantly higher effect. N = 95 students in small groups were documented on video while working on either approach which lasted each 225 minutes and was distributed over three weeks. The video data will be analyzed with a category-based approach and, where it applies, a sequential analysis of transcripts in order to identify how the students develop scientific practices and how this development does (not) differ in the two approaches. Furthermore, results can be related to the assessment of students inquiry knowledge (pre- and post), their knowledge in mechanics, their cognitive abilities, and their interest in physics and their self-concept.