A Science Teaching Method to Improve Pupils’ Attitudes toward Collaboration and Sense of Competence through Collaborative Problem Solving

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop a Science teaching method in elementary school with the aim of improving pupils’ attitudes toward collaboration, as well as their sense of competence, through collaborative problem solving. In the measures that we developed for improving pupils’ attitudes toward collaboration and their sense of competence, individual pupils are put in charge of one experiment among several that were planned by pupils to solve a problem. Pupils who chose the same experiment conduct their experiment together, every student explains the results of his/her experiment to groups that conducted other experiments, and pupils solve the problem collaboratively by using a worksheet that encourages them to perform well. Verification lessons were conducted in the unit “how things melt” in the 5th grade of an elementary school. An experimental group was taught using our newly developed method, while a control group was given the lesson using a standard method. The results showed that the effect of improving pupils’ attitudes toward collaboration and their sense of competence appeared only in the experimental group. The results also suggested that the experimental method increases the students’ confidence and interest in learning science. Our newly developed teaching method was thus verified to be effective.