Abstract
This study examined the factors affecting students' self-confidence in their cooking skills in the fifth grade cooking classes. Previous observation studies of cooking classes only analyzed written records of their activities. This study focused on the processes of gaining cooking skills, and how the students observed their classmates and teachers during the classes. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to clarify factors that promote students' self-confidence in cooking. A questionnaire survey concerning the learning of cooking skills was administered to 335 elementary school students who studied about "Stir-frying of vegetables." Observation and interviews were conducted to 12 students during this classes. Twelve students were divided into two groups in terms of their cooking skills: a "higher improvement cognitive group" and a "no improvement cognitive group." The higher improvement cognitive group frequently observed classmates' skills which occurred 36〜45% in cooking. This was a higher percentage compared with the students in no improvement cognitive group. The students who observed classmates' skills did so before they engage in actual cooking. The higher improvement cognitive group took a long time to cut the vegetables during the second class as they did the first class. This suggests that the higher improvement cognitive group cut the vegetables more carefully in the second class compared with the first class. Students gained self-confidence in their cooking skills by carefully observing their classmates to reflect on their own skills, and by thinking about how they could make more delicious dishes
