Conceptual complexity and student engagement with science in secondary school

研究表明，学生对学校科学的负面态度与这门学科的难度和它与现实世界经验的缺乏相关。然而，将学习与学生的经验联系起来的教师可能会加剧科学的难度，因为在现实世界中，概念的应用是复杂的。本研究将首先调查教师对这一困境的看法，然后将重点放在两个教师承认其复杂性的课堂上。使用一个新颖的概念框架和创新的数据收集技术，这项研究将如何探索学生？复杂性的经历塑造了他们对科学的态度。这些发现将有助于提高学生对科学的参与度。

Research demonstrates that negative student attitudes to school science are associated with the subject's difficulty and its lack of relevance to real-world experience. However, teachers who link learning to students' experience may exacerbate the difficulty of science, because real-world applications of concepts are complex. This study will initially investigate teachers' perceptions of this dilemma, and then focus on two classrooms where teachers acknowledge the complexity involved. Using a novel conceptual framework and an innovative data collection technique the study will explore how the students? experiences of complexity shape their attitudes to science. The findings will help improve student engagement with science.