理科的問題解決における生徒の比例的変量関係認識

抄録

Paper-and-pencil tests (N=607) and interviews (N=36) on a variety of proportional reasoning tasks in science were administered to lower-secondary school students in order to investigate the characteristics of their understanding of proportional relationships among variables in solving science problems. The main findings are as follows: 1. Many students have not developed the conceptual entities necessary for a qualitative understanding of the relationships among variables. 2. Qualitative understanding of the relationships among variables is not connected with formal operational procedures or calculations for solving proportional reasoning tasks in many students. 3. Students tend to start a calculation process in problem solving with out analyzing the relationships among the variables of the problem qualitatively. 4. Most students cannot use metacognitive functions for evaluating their own problem solving process. 5. The way of understanding the relationships among variables is different between students. The author concludes that it is important for students to build conceptual entities through activities, that students understand a given problem situation qualitatively and not start calculations until the situation is properly understood, reflect on the adequacy of their calculations, and master calculation skills. It is also important to teach them multiple methods of constructing and interpreting the relationships among variables in solving science problems.