Identifying strategies to support junior secondary students to engage in scientific investigation tasks

Identifying strategies to support junior secondary students to engage in scientific investigation tasks

• Cheng, May May Hung Hong Kong Institute of Education

Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics, & Technology Education, 8(2), 99-120, 2008

Routledge

2008

• G Curriculum, Teaching & Learning: Specific Disciplines
  • GD Science & Technology

Science -- Study & Teaching Education, Secondary Science Teachers Learning Ability Student Activities

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Secondary Education

This article describes the outcome of a collaborative project between the Hong Kong Institute of Education and four secondary schools that aims to promote the development of scientific investigation skills. The project team designed scientific investigation tasks collaboratively with the teachers and provided school-based support when the tasks were implemented. A total of six teachers and 575 students were involved. Data were collected through questionnaires completed by the students and individual interviews with science teachers about their classroom practice after the completion of the project. The findings suggest that the students did not meet many difficulties and that there were positive influences on students' interest in learning science. The teachers perceived that there were challenges related to raising students' self-regulated learning abilities, structuring tasks that were at appropriate levels of difficulty, and promoting group cooperation among the students. Finally, the article argues that the strategies implemented in this study were effective, though it takes much time and effort to help students develop self-regulated learning abilities. The conclusion suggests that teachers consider these challenges collectively and proposes a two-staged model for planning scientific investigation tasks.
[Copyright of Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics, & Technology Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14926150802169222]

• English

Journal Articles

• 14926156

• 10.1080/14926150802169222

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/76f70d22

2010-11-24