This study aimed to investigate the effect of learning in science classes at junior high school level that included operational thinking tasks within the framework of “direct application of knowledge,” “operational application of knowledge,” and “controlled application of knowledge.” Two different types of classes were delivered; one included thirty-five students, the other included thirty-seven students. The aforementioned operational thinking tasks were used in one of the classes, whose participants were classified as the operational group, while participants in the other were classified as the recollecting group.

First, before the class, students were tested on a retention task and a transfer task. Not many students from both groups gave correct answers. Therefore, both groups had the same level of prior knowledge. Second, after the class, students were tested on a retention task, transfer task, and false premise task. Many students from both groups answered correctly in the retention task. However, more students from the operational group gave correct answers in the transfer task and false premise task than those from the recollecting group.

The results suggest that operational thinking tasks facilitated learners’ understanding of relating scientific concepts and transformed the structure of scientific knowledge.