Development and Validation of an Instrument for Detecting and Assessing Scientific Reasoning in Primary Education Students


Γεώργιος Χιονάς
Αναστάσιος Εμβαλωτής
Abstract

This study presents the development and validation process of a novel instrument designed to assess scientific reasoning skills, the Elementary Scientific Reasoning Questionnaire (ESRQ), aimed at 6th-grade students. The ESRQ comprises 28 items evaluating eight dimensions that international literature identifies as key components of scientific reasoning. The instrument was administered to 829 students, and the results confirmed the unidimensional structure of the subscales, supported by satisfactory reliability and validity indices.

Article Details
  • Section
  • 14th Panhellenic Conference of Didactics in Science Education
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Cheung, G., Cooper-Thomas, H., Lau, R., & Wang, L. (2024). Reporting reliability, convergent and discriminant validity with structural equation modeling: A review and best-practice recommendations. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 41(2), 745–783. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-023-09871-y
Coleman, A., Lorenzo, K., McLamb, F., Sanku, A., Khan, S., & Bozinovic, G. (2023). Imagining, designing, and interpreting experiments: Using quantitative assessment to improve instruction in scientific reasoning. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 51(3), 286–301. https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.21727
Emden, M. (2021). Reintroducing “the” Scientific Method to Introduce Scientific Inquiry in Schools?: A Cautioning Plea Not to Throw Out the Baby with the Bathwater. Science and Education, 30(5), 1037–1073. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-021-00235-w
Fischer, F., Kollar, I., Ufer, S., Sodian, B., Hussmann, H., Pekrun, R., Neuhaus, B., Dorner, B., Pankofer, S., Fischer, M., Strijbos, J. W., Heene, M., & Eberle, J. (2014). Scientific reasoning and argumentation: Advancing an interdisciplinary research agenda in education. Frontline Learning Research, 2(3), 28–45. https://doi.org/10.14786/flr.v2i3.96
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. (1995). Evaluating model fit. In R. H. Hoyle (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues and application (pp. 77–99). Sage Publications, Inc.
Janoušková, S., Pyskatá Rathouská, L., Žák, V., & Urválková, E. S. (2023). The scientific thinking and reasoning framework and its applicability to manufacturing and services firms in natural sciences. Research in Science and Technological Education, 41(2), 653–674. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2021.1928048
Opitz, A., Heene, M., & Fischer, F. (2017). Measuring scientific reasoning–a review of test instruments. Educational Research and Evaluation, 23(3–4), 78–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803611.2017.1338586
Pedaste, M., Baucal, A., & Reisenbuk, E. (2021). Towards a science inquiry test in primary education: development of items and scales. International Journal of STEM Education, 8(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-021-00278-z
Pedaste, M., Mäeots, M., Siiman, L. A., de Jong, T., van Riesen, S. A. N., Kamp, E. T., Manoli, C. C., Zacharia, Z. C., & Tsourlidaki, E. (2015). Phases of inquiry-based learning: Definitions and the inquiry cycle. In Educational Research Review (Vol. 14, pp. 47–61). Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.02.003
Peteranderl, S., & Edelsbrunner, P. (2020). The Predictive Value of Children’s Understanding of Indeterminacy and Confounding for Later Mastery of the Control-of-Variables Strategy. In Frontiers in Psychology (Vol. 11, p. 2613). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.531565
Schlatter, E., Molenaar, I., & Lazonder, A. W. (2020). Individual differences in children’s development of scientific reasoning through inquiry-based instruction: Who needs additional guidance? Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 904.