The Effect of Free-inquiry Science Activity and Characteristics of Interaction in Each Inquiry Steps by Cognitive Level and Learning Motivational Type of the Students

Abstract

This paper analyzed the improvement of cognitive level of the students and interactions which occurred in each step of free-topic scientific inquiry to help science teachers understand free-topic scientific inquiry better. Free-topic scientific inquiry is helpful to students with a deep strategic learning goal orientation type or a deep strategic ability goal orientation type in their transition (2B/3A) of cognitive levels. Most students have difficulties in the phase of establishing topics and hypotheses. The result says that the discussion techniques are improved through free-topic scientific inquiry, but the quality of interaction is not easily improved. The deep strategic learning goal orientation type concretizes opinion through interaction in free-topic scientific inquiry. The deep strategic ability goal orientation type are actively involve in the interaction, but they pay no attention to the process because they stick to the result. The surface strategic ability goal orientation type can not deepen a discussion due to high frequency of low level inquiry. However, the frequency of high level inquiry increases through free topic scientific inquiry operation. As a result, the characteristics of free-topic scientific inquiry were discussed and the educational implications of the progress of free-topic scientific inquiry and the organization of grouping were drawn.