Changes in science attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and physiological arousal after implementation of a multimodal, cooperative intervention in primary school science classes
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-08-2018-0089 |
| Published date | 08 July 2019 |
| Date | 08 July 2019 |
| Pages | 409-425 |
| Author | Annemaree Carroll,Robyn M. Gillies,Ross Cunnington,Molly McCarthy,Chase Sherwell,Kelsey Palghat,Felicia Goh,Bernard Baffour,Amanda Bourgeois,Mary Rafter,Tennille Seary |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Changes in science attitudes,
beliefs, knowledge and
physiological arousal after
implementation of a multimodal,
cooperative intervention in primary
school science classes
Annemaree Carroll, Robyn M. Gillies,Ross Cunnington,
Molly McCarthy,Chase Sherwell, Kelsey Palghat,Felicia Goh,
Bernard Baffour,Amanda Bourgeois,Mary Rafter and
Tennille Seary
(Author affiliations can be found at the end of the article)
Abstract
Purpose –Student competency in science learning relies on students being able to interpret and use
multimodal representations to communicate understandings. Moreover, collaborative learning, in which
students may share physiological arousal, can positively affect group performance. This paper aims to
observe changes in student attitudes and beliefs, physiology (electrodermal activity; EDA) and content
knowledge before and after a multimodal, cooperative inquiry, science teaching intervention to determine
associationswith productive science learning and increasedscience knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach –A total of 214 students with a mean age of 11years 6 months from
seven primary schools participated in a multimodal, cooperative inquiry, science teaching intervention for
eight weeks during a science curriculum unit. Students completed a series of questionnaires pertaining to
attitudes and beliefs about science learning and science knowledge before (Time 1) and after (Time 2) the
teaching intervention. Empatica E3 wristbands were worn by students during 1 to 3 of their regularly
scheduledclass sessions both before and afterthe intervention.
Findings –Increases in EDA, scienceknowledge, self-efficacy and a growth mindset, and decreasesin self-
esteem, confidence,motivation and use of cognitive strategies,were recorded post-intervention for the cohort.
EDA was positively correlated with science knowledge, but negatively correlated with self-efficacy,
motivation and use of cognitive strategies. Cluster analysis suggested three main clusters of students with
differingphysiological and psychological profiles.
Practical implications –First, teachers need to be aware of the importance of helping students to
consolidate their current learning strategies as they transition to new learning approaches to counter
decreased confidence. Second, teachers need to know that an effective teaching multimodal science
interventioncan not only be associated with increases in science knowledge but alsoincreases in self-efficacy
and movement towardsa growth mindset. Finally, while there is evidencethat there are positive associations
between physiological arousal and science knowledge, physiological arousal was also associated with
reductionsin self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation and the use of cognitivestrategies. This mixed result warrants
furtherinvestigation.
This work was supported by an Australian Research Council Grant: ARC-SRI: Science of Learning
Research Centre (project number SR120300015). The ARC funding was used to support personnel to
conduct the research study and to assist in the analysis of data.
Changes in
science
attitudes
409
Received27 August 2018
Revised10 November 2018
22April 2019
Accepted15 May 2019
Informationand Learning
Sciences
Vol.120 No. 7/8, 2019
pp. 409-425
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-08-2018-0089
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2398-5348.htm
Originality/value –Overall, this study proposes a need for teachers to counter decreased confidence in
students who are learning new strategies, with further research required on the utility of monitoring
physiologicalmarkers.
Keywords Collaborative learning, Electrodermal activity, Science attitudes, Science beliefs,
Science content knowledge, Science learning
Paper type Research paper
Highlights
Physiological arousal (electrodermal activity, or EDA), science knowledge and self-efficacy
increased post-teachingintervention:
EDA was positively correlated with science knowledge, but negatively correlated
with self-efficacy, motivation and use of cognitive strategies.
Three distinct student clusters show variance in physiological and psychological
traits and these have differing responses to the teaching intervention.
There is a need for countering decreased confidence when learning new strategies.
More research is required to determine the potential utility of monitoring
physiological changes in learning environments.
1. Introduction
Students need to be able to use and interpret different scientific representations such as models,
diagrams and tables (Rennie, 2005). They need to be able to understand how scientificideas
and concepts are represented and appreciate how scientific knowledge is constructed and
validated (Prain and Tytler, 2013) if they are to be scientifically literate. Successful learning in
science requires students to interpret and use different representations such as language, text,
diagrams, tables, models, drawings, portfolios and artefacts, as well as embodied forms of
communication such as gesture, role play, facial expressions, mime and exhibitions of
performance. Moreover, students need to competently use, critique and explain representations
as well as learn new representations quickly if they are to demonstrate meta-representational
competence (diSessa, 2004). Waldrip et al. (2010) argue that the discipline of science should be
seen as the integration of different modes (i.e. verbal, visual, and mathematical) to represent
and communicate various understandings with students, in turn, learning about these
multimodal representations (i.e. different types of representations) and how the same concepts
of science can be represented in different modes.
In a review of the empirical evidenceon scaffolding for science education, Lin et al. (2011)
reported that there is now a major trend towards using multiple representations, including
visualisations, social interactions among peers, written prompts to support students’
conceptual understanding,procedural and strategic skills, metacognition and epistemology.
In short, students need to be able to use multiple representations across a range of
modalities. Multimodal representations range from figures and diagrams, to pictures,
symbols and equations.In arguing for an integrative framework for the analysis of multiple
and multimodal representationsfor meaning-making in science education, Tang et al. (2014)
propose that students need to be exposed to both multiple representations and multimodal
representations simultaneously. In the former, the focus is on how science concepts can be
re-represented in differentways (i.e. models, role plays, manipulatives), whereas in the latter,
the focus is on how the components of a representation are integrated to produce
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