• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.110-121
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• 2002

In this study, the verbal interactions occurred during the CASE(Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education) activities in the middle school science class has been analyzed regarding with students cognitive level. The subjects were 24 students of 6 groups in a middle school in Korea. Verbal interactions within group discussions during CASE activities were audio-taped, transcribed, and analyzed. Also, classroom observation and interview with students were carried out. The results showed that the student with higher cognitive level tended to be a group leader. They had strong influences on the group discussions in each step of problem solving. Also, the higher cognitive level students were more active in metacognitive discussion and more often used scientific terms. When their group met difficulties in each stage of problem solving, such as perception of problem and designing experiment, the higher cognitive level students suggested some ideas to help their peers and gave them an explanation of how they worked. Low cognitive level students had difficulties in perception and solving the problem as compared with high cognitive students. It was common during activities for the low cognitive level students to fail to identify variables and to distinguish between dependent variables and independent variables. They failed to hold a number of variables at once. However, the metacognitive questions from their peers or teacher were helpful for them to construct the concept of controlling variables. If there is no student who has a high level of thinking in a group, it was necessary to intervene for teacher. A well judged questions from teacher created the cognitive conflict which causes the students to reconstruct their strategy for problem solving and reinforce the control of variables reasoning pattern. From the above results, it is concluded that students' cognitive levels are much related to the verbal interaction patterns. This suggests that teacher should consider individual student's cognitive level in organizing groups and intervene to facilitate the environment for metacognitive interaction.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2019

This study aims to explore students' epistemic practices and considerations, which are explained as underlying epistemic thoughts that guide their epistemic practices, during argumentation in science classrooms. We also investigated how collaborative reflection facilitated the development of such epistemic considerations. Two seventh-grade classes participated in this study by engaging in argumentation activities and collaborative reflection after classes. A group with students' change in epistemic aspects and the influence of collaborative reflection clearly revealed from their practices was chosen as a focus group. We recorded their class discussions and collaborative reflections with the researchers. Transcriptions of the recordings and checklists we collected during the collaborative reflections were used for analysis. Results showed evident changes in the students' epistemic considerations and practices and four factors facilitating such developments were identified. First, the researcher facilitating the students to recognize each other as collaborators during collaborative reflection led development of epistemic considerations on "audience using the knowledge products." Second, the collaborative reflection facilitated construction of context for peer interactions where the students encouraged each other to participate in the discussion, resulting in the development of other students' epistemic considerations on "justifications in knowledge products." Third, the items provided on the checklists explicitly delineated expectations on their practices in argumentation, also facilitating development of epistemic considerations. Lastly, the students' imitation of the researcher's pattern of discourse facilitated construction of causal explanation and development of epistemic considerations on "nature of the knowledge products." This study will contribute to the construction of strategies that develop students' epistemic considerations and productive epistemic practices in argumentation.