The Development of Junior High School Students'' Mental Model-Taking Optics as an Example

• Main Author: 邱相銘
• Other Authors: 林煥祥
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2003
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/68907222914056706339

碩士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 化學系 === 91 === The Development of Junior High School Students’ Mental Model -Taking Optics as an Example Abstract This study has the following three objectives: to know case class students’ mental models in vision and image in a plane mirror prior to optics teaching and the reasons for these mental models; to explore the students’ changes of mental models ; to probe the students’ mental models in applying concept to solve problems in Common Problem Solving Test and Daily Life Phenomena Test. Taken Chapter 4 “Optics” of the current physical science of junior high school as the teaching subject, forty two Grade 8 students in a typical junior high school participated in this study. In addition, 8 of the students were interviewed for probing into students’ mental model development before/after teaching and when solving different problems. Major findings are as follows: 1. Before teaching, student’s mental models can be classified into five categories. The reasons for forming these categories include learning in advance before teaching, leading by life experience, and teaching context and intuition. 2. After teaching, the changes of student mental models emerged into three categories. The reasons for forming these categories include learning difficulty and entrenched presupposition and the strength of learning attitude. 3. The students have the remarkable difference in scores in different problem solving context. Their mental models of solving problems include: the undisturbed children’s science model, the two perspective models, the reinforced model, the mixed model, and the unified scientific model. 4. Most of the students’ explanations for different problems are inconsistent. Only few students who are full of enthusiasm about science have consistent explanations in different problems.