Two Types of 'Image-Change Graph' for Evaluating Teaching and their Application to Science Classes

Abstract

During a science class, students generally change their perception about some scientific concepts with regard to the lesson. If we can measure these image changes numerically, we will be able to evaluate teaching objectively. This method is called "the Image-Change Graph Method" by Ikeda (2000). There are two different methods for measuring the students' change in perceptions numerically through some questionnaires. One is the method of using several pairs of adjectives with mutually opposite meaning at the beginning and the end of the lesson. The other is one directly measuring their image changes at the end of the lesson. The latter is called here "the Improved Image-Change Graph Method". In this paper the writer will compare these two methods in a practical way, and will then discuss the applicability of these two methods. The results are summarized as follows: 1 In cases in which the average level of 'image' is high, the former method is easily influenced by the students' initial level. In these cases this method has poor applicability for the evaluation of teaching. 2 On the other hand, the latter improved method does not have a close connection with their initial 'image' level. After considering these points, we can conclude that although both methods have relative objectivity as method of evaluating teaching, the latter method (the Improve Image-Change Graph) has a wider range of applicability than the former.