Emerging Research-Empirical--Investigating Scaffolding Strategies to Promote Reasoning and Conceptual Change in Science

该项目调查了脚手架策略，可以促进(a)推理能力的增长，(b)对科学本质的理解，以及(c)中学生命科学主题的概念变化。具体来说，它关注的是一种框架——质量的认知标准——它有可能在学生的学习中产生巨大的收益。新泽西州两所高度多样化的城市中学的教师和学生将参与这项研究。本项目将进行三项实验：(1)为这些支架的有效性提供证据；(2)阐明支架改善学生学习的课堂机制。将收集口头资料、课堂讨论、小组作业和学生个人作业的书面资料。测试前和延迟的测试后数据将从个人和成对收集，评估他们的认知理解，对认知标准的掌握，推理和概念理解。评估将涉及近距离和远距离转移。分析将确定不同支架发挥作用的机制。一个项目网站将提供教学干预，说明学生和教师在模块的关键组成部分工作的注释叙述，各种注释的学生模型和论点，以及主要研究人员进行的研讨会摘录的视频记录。

The project investigates scaffolding strategies that can promote (a) growth in reasoning abilities, (b) understanding of the nature of science, and (c) conceptual change on topics in middle school life science. Specifically, it focuses on a type of scaffold--epistemic criteria of quality--that has the potential to produce large gains in student learning. Teachers and students in two highly diverse New Jersey urban middle schools will participate in the study.This project undertakes three experiments that will: (1) provide evidence for the efficacy of these scaffolds, and (2) illuminate classroom mechanisms by which the scaffolds improve student learning. Oral data, written artifacts from class discussions, group work, and individual student work will be gathered. Pretest and delayed posttest data will be collected from individuals and pairs, assessing their epistemic understanding, mastery of epistemic criteria, reasoning, and conceptual understanding. Assessments will address both near and far-transfer. Analyses will identify mechanisms by which different scaffolds have their effects. A project website will make available the instructional interventions, annotated narratives illustrating students and teachers working on key components of the modules, a variety of annotated student models and arguments, and video recordings of excerpts from workshops that the Principal Investigators conduct.