6학년 학생의 과학에 대한 인식론적 신념과 학습 관련 요소들과의 관계 분석

Analysis of Relation between Features of Sixth Grade Elementary Students' Epistemological Beliefs about Science and Factors Related Students' Learning

Prior research has reported that student epistemological beliefs might affect their participation in learning and the process of conceptual change. The purposes of this study were to investigate the characteristics of sixth grade students epistemological beliefs about science and the relation between their epistemological beliefs about science and factors related their learning. For this research questions, 245 sixth grade students participated and various test instruments were used in this study. Students answered two types of questionnaires on epistemological beliefs about science and three test instruments on factors related students' learning(achievement in science, science inquiry skills, and cognitive levels). The results of this study were as follows. First, a large number of elementary school students believed that the purpose of science to perform activities like simple experiments. A lot of students believed that scientific knowledge was changeable according to the nature of scientific knowledge and that scientific knowledge could be learnt on their own. Also, many students believed experiment results to be basis on which to form personal scientific conceptions. Second, students who believed in more modern epistemology about science represented higher levels of science learning achievement, science inquiry skills, and cognitive levels. Therefore, when developing science curriculum, science educators need to consider how to develop student modern epistemological beliefs about science.