Chinese Journal of Science Education


Vol. 10 No. 2 , Pages 135 - 156 , 2002

Exploring the Interrelationship Between Tenth- Graders’ Problem-Solving Abilities and Their Prior Knowledge and Reasoning Skills in Earth Science (Article written in chinese)

Chia-Ling WU & Chun-Yen CHANG

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop the Problem Solving Ability Test (PSAT) and a matching Domain-Specific Knowledge Test (DSKT) that covers the basic knowledge central to the PSAT, with the aims to investigate the interrelationship between students’ problem solving ability (PSA) and their domain-specific knowledge (DSK) as well as reasoning skills (RS) in the area of earth science. The PSAT was constructed based on the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) model, which emphasizes students’ divergent-thinking ability (DTA) and convergent-thinking ability (CTA) subscales. The sample consisted of 260 tenth-grade students enrolled at a national senior high school in the eastern region of Taiwan. Quantitative analyses employed Pearson-product-moment correlation and stepwise multiple regression method. Qualitative data were acquired through semi-structured interviewing with coding and triangulation procedures to explore students’ perceptions toward the PSAT and DSKT in greater depth. Results are as follows: (a) The overall scores of the PSAT are highly correlated with both the subscales of DTA (r = .814, p < .001) and CTA (r = .898, p < .001) with an inter-rater reliability ranged from .813 to .965. The reliability of the DSKT (KR20) ranged from .60 to .63; (b) A significantly positive correlation existed between students’ PSA and their DSK (r = .482, p < .01) and RS (r = .435, p < .01) with medium to large effect sizes. In addition, students’ DSK, RS and attitudes toward problem solving (ATPS) significantly predict their performance on the PSAT (R2 = .343). Students’ DSK and RS also predict their performance on the DTA and CTA subscales of the PSAT (R2 = .172–.332), approaching large effect sizes; (c) Students’ RS are more significantly correlated with their DTA (large effect size) and students’ DSK are more significantly correlated with their CTA (toward large effect size); (d) Semi-structured interviews revealed that students’ perceived knowledge, attitudes and experiences are essential in scoring high on the DSKT; while students thought that knowledge, attitudes, thinking, and experiences were fundamental to better performance on the PSAT. The results of qualitative analyses are generally in line with the findings of quantitative analyses. It is, therefore, suggested that teachers should be able to improve students’ problem solving performance through the enhancement of students’ domain-specific knowledge and reasoning skills in earth science classrooms. Moreover, we should emphasize students’ reasoning skills in developing divergent-thinking abilities, while stressing domain-specific knowledge in increasing students’ convergent-thinking ability.

Keywords: secondary education; prior knowledge; earth science; reasoning skills; problem solving

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