Effects of Communication Activities Facilitating Consistency in Explanation in Introducing the Concept of the Tendency to Burn

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how new communication activities facilitate students' ability to explain things consistently and to determine their impact on student motivation, understanding, and attitude. Forty-eight students (twenty-four girls and twenty-four boys) who studied the topic of oxidation reduction in a public junior high school were divided into twelve groups, each with four students (two girls and two boys). The teacher introduced communication activities and the concept of "the tendency to burn" in order to facilitate the students' ability to explain consistently. Students' motivation, understanding, and attitude were evaluated by using a pre-test, a post-test, and a post-post-test. As a result of our research, the following two points became clear: 1) Over 80% of the students were able to explain the newly-introduced topic "Tatara steel manufacture" in the post-test and the post-post-test. 2) Once students realized the importance of explaining scientific phenomena consistently, they were able to apply this new awareness to other scientific questions, and their enhanced understanding of oxidation reduction was maintained for at least two months.