科學史文本閱讀對學生學習興趣與科學本質觀的影響

This research was aimed to design nontextbook reading materials regarding the history of science (HOS) that could improve students’ understandings of nature of science (NOS). The multi-functional communication notebook was the target product for including historical vignettes regarding science and scientists, and prompt questions to elicit students’ ideas about science. The design research methodology was adopted to study whether the product succeeds in affecting students’ daily reading and their understandings of NOS. A total of 100 HOS essays were written by researchers, and reviewed and revised by experts for content accuracy. School teachers were interviewed to identify their strategies of using communication notebook for class management and gather ideas about how to design the page layouts. The product was field-tested with two classes of grade 8 students in a pilot study. Results indicated that students’ understandings of NOS improved significantly after using the product for one semester. A larger scale study was then conducted with 18 classes from four different schools, involving grade 7 and 8 students. Students’ epistemic beliefs about science and individual interest in science and reading were measured to evaluate what characteristics of this design product influence students’ ideas about science.