IMPROVEMENT OF STUDENTS' COMMUNICATION AT SECONDARY-LEVEL SCIENCE BY MEANS OF WORKSHEETS AND ROLE EXCHANGES

抄録

The objective of our research was to improve students' communication in a secondary science classroom setting. To this end, we designed a system of worksheets and role exchanges, and then introduced them into four classes of seventh-grade students. We also sought to analyse the impact of these new activities on the sixty-four students' understanding, achievement and communication by testing students at three different stages during the exercise. As a result of this research, the following three points became clear : 1) There was a significant increase in the level and quality of students' communication during the lesson in which the worksheets and role exchanges (with roles such as Explainer, Questioner, and Checker) were used. 2) There was a significant difference in the patterns of change between new activities and normal activities in the scores achieved in the pre-test as opposed to the scores achieved in the post-post test. Comprehension of the content of "Why can't you hear the thunder and see the lighting at the same time?" with the new activities was maintained for at least four months. 3) Interrogative questions such as "Is that idea consistent?" on the worksheets do in fact work well, as students were generally able to express their ideas consistently on the post-post test.