2024 Volume 65 Issue 1 Pages 59-71
The purpose of this study was to assess how the use of binocular stereomicroscopes and polarized light microscopes in the observation of igneous rocks affects the students’ learning. The results of the classroom practice with 219 junior high school students in this study revealed the following three points, the first being the effect on pupils’ ‘interest’. Comparing binocular stereomicroscopy and polarized light microscopy, it was found that the students’ interest in microscopic observation of igneous rocks was comparable when using both types of microscopes. The second point clarified in the study was the students’ awareness of the ‘relationship between naked eye observation and microscopic observation’. In this lesson, the students felt that both microscopes provided information that could not be obtained by naked eye observation. The third point revealed from the results was the influence on pupils’ ‘comprehension level of naked eye observation’. The results of the classroom practice demonstrated that the students were more likely to focus on the microstructure in classifying volcanic and plutonic rocks when using the binocular stereomicroscope than the polarized light microscope.
