Development of a Method for Assessing Students’ Ability to Find Variables in Natural Phenomena

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a method for measuring students’ ability to find variables in natural phenomena. We defined this ability as “to identify elements that can be changed from the natural phenomena” and created several survey questions. Using the developed questions, we conducted a survey of 1044 elementary school students, and analyzed the data we gathered based on the two-parameter logistic model of item response theory. The results showed that the developed questions were sufficiently discriminative and had high discriminability in a population where the relevant ability was slightly lower than average. As a result of comparing the measured ability values by grade, it was found that pupils’ ability to find variables in natural phenomena tended to be higher in the upper grades.