2015 Volume 55 Issue 4 Pages 405-414
Students do not have sufficient ability to define variables, according to research conducted by the Japanese National Institute for Educational Policy Research in 2011. In particular, there is difficulty in ensuring valid practical procedures when planning experiments. In order to solve the problem, teaching methods are required that encourage students to examine the validity of practical procedures by considering variables. There are teaching materials for science process skills; however, the majority of them focus on practical aspects of science process skills and not on cognitive aspects. In addition, even though there are teaching materials oriented towards promoting student’s cognitive processes, indications for teaching each process skill from a cognitive perspective are not given clearly.
The aim of this research is to find characteristics of teaching methods for defining variables, which promote cognitive processes. Three different types of teaching materials, oriented towards promoting students’ cognitive processes, were analysed. The findings will contribute to the development of teaching methods that improve students’ experiments, and show that teaching methods can be improved by the following:
1. Helping students to construct a framework that enables them to justify experimental methods by defining variables.
2. Connecting the variables defined with further practical procedures by deciding the types of variables (categorical or continuous variables).
3. Setting steps in teaching methods for defining variables.
4. Setting up situations that stimulate students to consider variables.
