臺灣博碩士論文加值系統

The purpose of this study was to deeply investigate students’ nested ecology regarding science learning from multidimensional perspectives (i.e., the interrelations among scientific epistemological beliefs, metacognition, conceptions of learning science, and conceptions of science assessment). To this end, this study performed the quantitative method to initially explore the interrelations among scientific epistemological beliefs, metacognitive awareness, and conceptions of learning science. Then, the qualitative method was conducted to deeply investigate the interplays among scientific epistemological beliefs, conceptions of learning science, and conceptions of science assessment and to clarify the nested ecology model. In addition, the role of metacognitive awareness on scientific epistemological beliefs and conceptions of learning science and science assessment were discussed through both quantitative and qualitative results. The quantitative part of the study was conducted with a sampling pool of 240 tenth graders. And, those students’ responses from three questionnaires were used to yield some quantitative indicators (i.e., scientific epistemological beliefs, metacognitive awareness, and conceptions of learning science) and to clarify the interplay between those variables. In general, the quantitative results revealed that students having more sophisticated scientific epistemological beliefs tended to show higher metacognitive awareness while learning science and to express more constructivist-oriented conceptions of learning science. In particular, as long as the students have more sophisticated beliefs about the justification of knowledge; they may tend to express much higher metacognitive awareness and to embrace the constructivist conceptions of learning science. For qualitative part of study, 60 representative students selected from the sampling pool were deeply interviewed about their scientific epistemological beliefs (including beliefs about the nature of knowledge and beliefs about the nature of knowing), conceptions of learning science, and conceptions of science assessment. This study found that most selected students expressed the empiricist beliefs about the nature of knowledge. Through the phenomenographic analyze of selected students’ interview responses, seven categories of conceptions of learning science (i.e., memorizing, preparing for tests, practicing the experiments, the increase of knowledge, applying, understanding, and seeing in a new way) and six categories of conceptions of science assessment (i.e., reproducing knowledge, rehearsing, revealing the learning status, improving learning, applying, and the justification of knowledge) were identified in this study. Moreover, the qualitative results seemed to reveal that, on the one hand, the selected students’ beliefs about the nature of knowing seemed to have greater power to explain students’ conceptions of learning science than their beliefs about the nature of knowledge. On the other hand, their beliefs about the nature of knowledge seemed to more relate to their conceptions of science assessment. This study also implied that students expressing more mature conceptions of learning science tended to hold more cohesive conceptions of science assessment. Furthermore, the qualitative part of this study identified three major forms of students’ nested ecology regarding learning science, that is the complete, partial, and divergent nested ecology. In particular, nearly half of 60 representative students were categorized as the complete nested ecology.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………1
I.1. Background of the Study………………………………………1
I.2. Need for the Study…………………………………………………………2
I.3. An Overview of the Study……6
I.4. Research Questions……………7
I.4.1. General research question……………………7
I.4.2. Specific research question……………………7
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………9
II.1. The Scientific Epistemological Beliefs…………………9
II.1.1. The domain-specific personal epistemology..9
II.1.2. The views of the nature of science and the scientific epistemological beliefs………………………………15
II.1.3. The role of scientific epistemological beliefs on the nature of students’ science learning……………………21
II.2. The Metacognitive Awareness………………………………23
II.2.1. The definition of metacognitive awareness……………23
II.2.2. The methods to investigate the metacognitive awareness....25
II.2.3. The role of metacognitive awareness on the nature of students’ science learning……………………………………26
II.3. The Phenomenographic Study……………………………………28
II.3.1. The phenomenography……………28
II.3.2. The conception identified through phenomenographic study……………29
II.4. The Conceptions of Learning Science……………………31
II.4.1. The conceptions of learning…………………………31
II.4.2. The conceptions of learning science…………………34
II.4.3. The socio-cultural perspective of the conceptions of learning……………35
II.4.4. The multiple conceptions of learning…………………36
II.4.5. The features of conceptions of learning science ……………………37
II.5. The Conceptions of Science Assessment…………………40
II.5.1. The classroom assessment of science learning………40
II.5.2. The related research on conceptions of assessment………41
II.5.3. The socio-cultural impact on conceptions of assessment…………………42
II.6. Theoretical Model………………46
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY.......................................48
III.1. General Research Design………………………………48
III.2. Subjects……………………………52
III.3. The Instruments for Quantitative Part of Study…………………………………54
III.3.1. Assessing students’ scientific epistemological beliefs……………………54
III.3.2. Measuring students’ metacognitive awareness regarding science learning………………………………56
III.3.3. Evaluating students’ conceptions of learning science……………………57
III.4. The Data Analysis for the Quantitative Part of Study………………………………60
III.4.1. The factor analysis for SEB, MASI, and COLS…………………………60
III.4.2. The reliability analysis for SEB, MASI, and COLS………………………61
III.4.3. The correlation analysis for the data collected in the quantitative study…..61
III.4.4. The selection of the representative students………………………………61
III.5. The Data Collect Methods for Qualitative Part of Study……………………………62
III.5.1. The interview questions of scientific epistemological beliefs……………62
III.5.2. The interview questions about conceptions of learning science…………63
III.5.3. The interview questions about conceptions of science assessment………65
CHAPTER IV: MAJOR FINDINGS……………………………………68
CHAPTER V: RESULTS AND INTERPERTATIONS…………………78
V.1. Students’ Scientific Epistemological Beliefs Derived from Scientific Epistemological Beliefs survey (SEB)………………………………………………79
V.1.1. The exploratory factor analysis of SEB survey……………………………79
V.1.2. The confirmatory factor analysis of SEB survey……………………………80
V.1.3. The interrelations between factors of the SEB survey……………………82
V.2. Students’ Metacognitive Awareness Obtained from Metacognitive Awareness regarding Science learning Inventory (MASI)………………………………………84
V.2.1. The exploratory factor analysis of MASI…………………………………84
V.2.2. The confirmatory factor analysis of MASI………………………………85
V.2.3. The interrelations between factors of the MASI survey……………………87
V.3. Students’ Conceptions of Learning Science Derived from Conceptions of Learning Science questionnaire (COLS)………………………………………………………88
V.3.1. The exploratory factor analysis of COLS…………………………………88
V.3.2. The confirmatory factor analysis of COLS…………………………………90
V.3.3. The interrelations between factors of the COLS survey………………92
V.4. The Interactions between Students’ Responses toward the SEB, MASI, and COLS…94
V.4.1. The relations between students’ responses toward SEB and MASI………94
V.4.2. The relations between students’ responses toward SEB and COLS………95
V.4.3. The relations between students’ responses toward MASI and COLS……… 99
V.4.4. The brief summary for the relationships among SEB, MASI, and COLS adopted by 240 students…………………101
V.5. The Selected Students’ Scientific Epistemological Beliefs Obtained from Interview…………………………103
V.5.1. The Interview framework for exploring selected students’ scientific epistemological beliefs……………………………………………103
V.5.2. The results of the selected students’ scientific epistemological beliefs……108
V.5.3. The associations between the selected students’ beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing………………………………………………110
V.6. The Selected Students’ Conceptions of Learning Science Gained from the Phenomenographic method……………………………………………………113
V.6.1. The categories of students’ conceptions of learning science………………113
V.6.2. The distribution of students’ conceptions of learning science………………118
V.6.3. The characterization for conceptions of learning science…………………119
V.7. The Selected Students’ Conceptions of Science Assessment Obtained from the Phenomenographic method…………………………………………………………122
V.7.1. The categories of students’ conceptions of science assessment……………122
V.7.2. The framework for describing the variations of students’ conceptions of science assessment………………………………………………127
V.7.3. The distribution of students’ conceptions of science assessment…………128
V.7.4. The relation between students’ conceptions of science assessment and their metacognitive awareness regarding learning science……………………129
V.7.5. The brief summary of students’ conceptions of science assessment………131
V.8. The Interplay between Selected Students’ Beliefs about the Scientific Epistemological Beliefs, Conceptions of Learning Science, and Their Conceptions of Science Assessment………………………………………………………………133
V.8.1. The interplay between students’ scientific epistemological beliefs and their conceptions of learning science gained from qualitative data……………133
V.8.2. The interplay between students’ scientific epistemological beliefs and their conceptions of science assessment gained from qualitative data…………135
V.8.3. The interplay between students’ conceptions of learning science and their conceptions of science assessment gained from qualitative data…………137
V.8.4. The brief summary for the relations among students’ scientific epistemological beliefs, conceptions of learning science and their conceptions of science assessment gained from qualitative data…………139
V.9. The Nested Ecology of Selected Students’ Beliefs about the Scientific Epistemological Beliefs, Conceptions of Learning Science, and Their Conceptions of Science Assessment………………………………………………………………141
V.9.1. The combinations among selected students’ scientific epistemological beliefs, conceptions of learning science, and their conceptions of science assessment gained from qualitative data………………………………….141
V.9.2. The various types of students’ nested ecology regarding science learning…144
V.10. The Role of Metacognitive Awareness on Scientific Epistemological Beliefs, Conceptions of Learning Science and Conceptions of Science Assessment……..151
CHAPTER VI: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS………153
VI.1. Conclusions……………………………………153
VI.2. Implications for Science Education………………………159
VI.3. Recommendations for Further Research………………162
BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………..……………..……... 165
APPENDIXES………………………………………………………………180
Appendix A: Scientific Epistemological Beliefs Survey (SEB)……………………… 180
Appendix B: Metacognitive Awareness regarding Science Learning Inventory (MASI).............................. 183
Appendix C: Conceptions of Learning Science Questionnaire (COLS)……………….185
Appendix D: Interview Questions for Evaluating Scientific Epistemological Beliefs…190
Appendix E: Interview Questions for Evaluating Conceptions of Learning Science…..192
Appendix F: Interview Questions for Evaluating Conceptions of Science Assessment..…193



LIST OF TABLES
page
Table 2.1. The descriptions of the dimensions of epistemological theories……11
Table 2.2. The descriptions of Elder’s (2002) constructs………………………13
Table 2.3. The varied characteristics of NOS in Ziman’s (1984) dimension…..18
Table 2.4. The description of components and subcomponents for metacognition………………………………………………………. 25
Table 2.5. Conceptions of learning proposed by educators…………………… 33
Table 2.6. The possible features of conceptions of learning science…………..39
Table 2.7. The studies conducted the conceptions of assessment……………..43
Table 3.1. The method of data collection for quantitative part and qualitative part of study……………………………49
Table 3.2. The interview framework about conceptions of science assessment............ 66
Table 5.1. The exploratory factor analysis, reliability, factor means, and standard deviations of the SEB (n=240)……………….................... 80
Table 5.2. The confirmatory factor analysis and reliability of the SEB (n=240)……………………………………... 81
Table 5.3. The interrelations between factors of the SEB survey (n=240)………………………………... 82
Table 5.4. The exploratory factor analysis, reliability, factor means, and standard deviations of the MASI (n=240)………………………….85
Table 5.5. The confirmatory factor analysis and reliability of the MASI (n=240)…………………………………….. 86
Table 5.6. Students’ responses to the MASI (n=240)………………………….87
Table 5.7. The exploratory factor analysis, reliability, factor means, and standard deviations of the COLS (n=240)……………………....88
Table 5.8. The confirmatory factor analysis and reliability of the COLS (n=240)…………………………………91
Table 5.9. The interrelations between factors of the COLS (n=240)…………93
Table 5.10. The correlations between students’ responses toward SEB and MASI (n=240)……………………………………94
Table 5.11. The correlations between students’ responses toward SEB and COLS (n=240)…………………………… 96
Table 5.12. The regression analysis for SEB factors predicting COLS factors (n=240)……………………………97
Table 5.13. The correlations between students’ responses toward MASI and COLS (n=240)……………………………………… 100
Table 5.14. The framework for categorizing students’ scientific epistemological beliefs……………………………… 104
Table 5.15. Results for selected students’ scientific epistemological beliefs (n=60)…………………………………… 108
Table 5.16. The differences between constructivist and empiricist students’ responses to the Scientific Epistemological Beliefs (SEB) survey……………………………110
Table 5.17. The association among students’ beliefs about the nature of knowledge and the nature of knowing (n=60)…………………... 111
Table 5.18. Students’ conceptions of learning science gained from phenomenographic method (n=60)………………………………119
Table 5.19. Students’ conceptions of learning science characterized as cohesive and fragmented conception (n=60)……………………..120
Table 5.20. The differences between cohesive and fragmented students’ responses to the Conceptions Of Learning Science (COLS) questionnaire (n =60)………………. 121

Table 5.21. Students’ conceptions of science assessment gained from phenomenographic method (n=60)……………………………….. 128
Table 5.22. Students’ conceptions of science assessment characterized as cohesive and fragmented conception (n=60)……………………...129
Table 5.23. The differences between cohesive and fragmented students’ responses to the MASI questionnaire (n =60)……………………. 130
Table 5.24. The association among students’ beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing and conceptions of learning science (n=60)………………………………………….134
Table 5.25. The association among students’ beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing and conceptions of science assessment (n=60)……………………………. 136
Table 5.26. The association among students’ conceptions of learning science and conceptions of science assessment (n=60)……………………138
Table 5.27. Possible combinations among selected students’ scientific epistemological beliefs, conceptions of learning science, and their conceptions of science assessment (n=60)………………………...143
Table 5.28. The varied types of selected students’ nested ecology regarding science learning found in this study……………………………..146



LIST OF FIGURES

page
Figure 2.1. The relation between domain-general and domain-specific epistemological beliefs…………………………………………….. 12
Figure 2.2. The interrelations among personal epistemological beliefs, scientific epistemological beliefs, and NOS………………………. 21
Figure 2.3. The hypothetical nested ecology regarding science learning……... 47
Figure 3.1. The research design of this study………………………………… 51
Figure 5.1. The hypothesized roles of beliefs about knowing in metacognitive awareness and conceptions of learning science…………………… 102
Figure 5.2. The hypothesized connections between the categories of conceptions of science assessment and conceptions of learning science……………………………………………………………. 132
Figure 5.3. The nested ecology model for describing the interrelations among scientific epistemological belief, conception of learning science and science assessment……………………………………………. 140
Figure 5.4. Two examples of nested ecology illustrated by selected students’ belief about nature of knowledge, belief about nature of knowing, conception of learning science and conception of science assessment………………………………………………………… 145
Figure 5.5. The relations among metacognitive awareness, scientific epistemological beliefs, conceptions of learning science, and conceptions of science assessment………………………………… 152

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