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Scientific Reasoning and Its Relationship with Problem Solving: the Case of Upper Primary Science Teachers

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Abstract

This study aimed at identifying the levels of scientific reasoning of upper primary stage (grades 4–7) science teachers based on their use of a problem-solving strategy. The study sample (N = 138; 32 % male and 68 % female) was randomly selected using stratified sampling from an original population of 437 upper primary school teachers. The scientific reasoning test was based on a problem-solving strategy and consisted of five parts (32 items) covering basic problem-solving skills. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to interpret the data. Results indicated that the level of scientific reasoning of these science teachers was high with significant gender differences (p ≤ 0.05) on levels of scientific reasoning that favored the female teachers. The results also showed no significant differences (p > 0.05) in scientific thinking among teachers with different experiences, qualifications, and specializations. These results support holding professional development courses for teachers to develop their scientific reasoning and thinking skills.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine

    Mahmoud A. Alshamali & Wajeeh M. Daher

  2. Al-Qasemi Academic College of Education, Baqa, Israel

    Wajeeh M. Daher

Authors
  1. Mahmoud A. Alshamali
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  2. Wajeeh M. Daher
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wajeeh M. Daher.

Appendix

Appendix

Questionnaire (translated from Arabic)

figure a

Section 2: test items

Defining the problem: This section includes (8) paragraphs; each paragraph has a question with three choices. The problems need solutions that reflect the relationship between two variables that can be tested and piloted. Read each paragraph and then choose the question that fits the main problem included in the paragraph:

  1. 1.

    Farmers suffer from a terrible loss due to frost as a result of freezing temperatures that damage their crops in winter. The problem here is …

  2. a.

    How do farmers avoid the impact of frost on their crops?

  3. b.

    How do farmers avoid freezing water as a result of low temperatures?

  4. c.

    How do farmers get rid of frost in winter?

  5. 2.

    One of the challenges facing the spread of computers at schools is the low level of computer knowledge among workers in education. The problem is …

  6. a.

    What are the challenges facing the spread of computers at schools?

  7. b.

    What are the causes of low educational computing knowledge?

  8. c.

    How can we raise the level of computing skills and knowledge?

  9. 3.

    A person belongs to a family suffering from a serious genetic disease that has led to the death of a number of relatives. This person fears dying from this disease. The problem is …

  10. a.

    How do we eliminate the fear of death with this person?

  11. b.

    What are the causes of having a genetic disease in the family?

  12. c.

    How do we treat/face this genetic disease?

  13. 4.

    A residential building has recently fallen down in one neighborhood in a big city. The residents panicked and were displaced. The problem is …

  14. a.

    What caused the falling down of the building?

  15. b.

    What caused the residents’ panic?

  16. c.

    How can we avoid other accidents of falling down in the neighborhood?

  17. 5.

    Daily reports point out the prevalence of smoking among school children, which exposes them to facing discipline. The problem is …

  18. a.

    Why do school children violate school rules?

  19. b.

    What makes students be punished at schools?

  20. c.

    How can we help school children get rid of the smoking phenomenon?

  21. 6.

    One security officer claims the spread of drug use among people of one border area. The problem is …

  22. a.

    How can we avoid the lack of having anti-drug patrols in border areas?

  23. b.

    What causes the increased rates of drug trafficking in these border areas?

  24. c.

    How can we eliminate the phenomenon of drug use in border areas?

  25. 7.

    A report of traffic police indicates an increase in traffic accidents due to speed; this results in terrible loss of lives and properties. The problem is …

  26. a.

    Why are there no strict rules to restrict traffic accidents?

  27. b.

    What increases the rate of traffic accidents?

  28. c.

    How can we reduce and limit the rates of traffic accidents?

  29. 8.

    Environmentalists feel frustrated as they notice an increase in pollution despite the large number of awareness campaigns released in media. The problem is …

  30. a.

    What causes the failure of these awareness campaigns aimed at protecting the environment?

  31. b.

    How can we reduce the rates of pollution?

  32. c.

    Why do environmentalists feel frustrated?

Choosing hypotheses: A hypothesis is an educated guess that serves as a possible explanation of an observation. Following are six paragraphs with six situations; each situation is followed by three options. Choose the option that represents the best hypothesis.

  1. 9.

    Among the challenges facing the spread of computers at schools is lack of computing knowledge in educators and workers. A possible hypothesis is …

  2. a.

    The spread of computers helps teachers to use them.

  3. b.

    The level of computing skills is crucial in education.

  4. c.

    The spread of computers helps develop the educational process.

  5. 10.

    Daily reports point out the prevalence of smoking among school children, which exposes them to facing discipline. The main hypothesis is …

  6. a.

    School rules help limit and reduce smoking.

  7. b.

    Spread of smoking among students leads them to punishment.

  8. c.

    Punishment helps students to abide by rules and regulations.

  9. 11.

    One security officer claims there is a spread of drug use among people of one border area. The best hypothesis is …

  10. a.

    Acts of border patrols will reduce and limit use of drugs among residents.

  11. b.

    Acts of border patrols reduce and limit drug trafficking.

  12. c.

    Increase of drugs results in spread of them in border areas.

  13. 12.

    Environmentalists feel frustrated as they notice an increase in pollution despite the large number of awareness campaigns released in media. The hypothesis is …

  14. a.

    Awareness campaigns will reduce and limit environmental pollution.

  15. b.

    Increase of pollution leads to health problems and hygiene deterioration.

  16. c.

    Failure of awareness campaigns lead to frustration.

  17. 13.

    An educational expert states that students suffer from stress and anxiety as examinations approach; this, in turn, affects their achievement. The hypothesis is …

  18. a.

    Failure in tests leads students to feel anxious and stressful.

  19. b.

    Reducing anxiety among students results in enhancing their achievement in tests.

  20. c.

    Tests increase levels of anxiety and stress among some students.

  21. 14.

    A report of traffic police indicates an increase in traffic accidents due to speed; this results in terrible loss of lives and properties. The hypothesis is …

  22. a.

    There is an increase in number of accidents.

  23. b.

    Lack of strict laws against traffic accidents leads to losses in life and property.

  24. c.

    Enacting strict laws against accidents helps reduce and limit them.

Testing hypotheses: this section contains six paragraphs with three choices; each choice represents procedures to test the hypotheses. Choose the best answer.

  1. 15.

    A botanist noticed that plants exposed to sunshine grow while those not exposed wither and die. The hypotheses can be verified by …

  2. a.

    Exposing some plants to sunshine and observing their growth.

  3. b.

    Exposing a particular plant to sunshine, putting another plant away from sunshine, and watching both.

  4. c.

    Exposing a number of plants to sunshine, putting another group away from sunshine, and watching the two groups.

  5. 16.

    One security officer claims the spread of drug use among people of one border area. This hypothesis can be verified by comparing the rates of drug use …

  6. a.

    Among residents of different border areas.

  7. b.

    In one border area and other border areas.

  8. c.

    In some border areas and other nonborder areas.

  9. 17.

    A company claimed that it has produced toothpaste that protects against tooth decay. The hypothesis can be tested by observing the effect of the new toothpaste on …

  10. a.

    A group of children chosen randomly.

  11. b.

    A group of children who do not have tooth decay.

  12. c.

    A group of children who have tooth decay.

  13. 18.

    A company claimed to produce a new type of milk (X) for children that helps them grow faster than children feeding on another milk (Y). This claim can be tested through comparing the growth rate of children feeding on X with the growth rate of others who …

  14. a.

    Feed on Y milk and are supplemented with natural feeding.

  15. b.

    Feed on Y milk without being supplemented with natural feeding.

  16. c.

    Feed on X supplemented with Y.

  17. 19.

    A chemical products company claimed to produce a laundry detergent that removes the worst stains from clothes. This claim can be verified and tested by washing some laundry using the new detergent and observing its impact on …

  18. a.

    Cleaning some pieces of clothes.

  19. b.

    Removing fatty stains from clothes.

  20. c.

    Removing stains that cannot be removed by other traditional detergents.

  21. 20.

    A researcher suggests that violent programs on television lead to aggressive behavior by children. This claim can be tested by observing the rate of violence acts in children who watch …

  22. a.

    A lot of varied television programs.

  23. b.

    Violent television programs.

  24. c.

    Violence-free television programs.

Interpretation: This section includes six paragraphs with three explanations for each. Choose the best applicable one.

  1. 21.

    A botanist noticed that plants exposed to sunshine grow while those not exposed wither and die. This phenomenon takes place because …

  2. a.

    Sunshine helps plants to grow.

  3. b.

    Darkness harms plants.

  4. c.

    Sunshine is vital for plants to grow.

  5. 22.

    Fans of the national football team notice a drop in their performance in the middle of the second half; they receive many goals and lose games. This loss can be attributed to …

  6. a.

    The many goals the national team gets.

  7. b.

    The drop in their performance in the second half.

  8. c.

    The drop in their morale.

  9. 23.

    A dentist used a special filling to cure a decayed tooth of one patient, who complained about losing the filling after eating hot food. The best explanation for this phenomenon is …

  10. a.

    The patient’s teeth are damaged and beyond repair.

  11. b.

    Hot foods lead to losing the filling.

  12. c.

    The rate of filling extension is higher than teeth extension.

  13. 24.

    Environmentalists feel frustrated as they notice an increase in pollution despite the large number of awareness campaigns released in media. The increase in pollution results from …

  14. a.

    The awareness campaigns are futile and useless.

  15. b.

    Environmentalists’ frustration.

  16. c.

    Exploiting the environment.

  17. 25.

    A report from a legal court shows an increase in divorce rates. Such an increase harms children by …

  18. a.

    Disintegrating families.

  19. b.

    Increasing divorce cases.

  20. c.

    Not observing children’s rights.

  21. 26.

    An educational expert states that students suffer from stress and anxiety as examinations approach. Such stress and anxiety result from …

  22. a.

    Approaching school examinations.

  23. b.

    Increasing rates of failure in examinations.

  24. c.

    Fearing to fail examinations.

Generalization: This section includes six paragraphs with three statements for each. They represent possible generalizations. Choose the correct answer, which can be inferred from the texts.

  1. 27.

    Reports from a hospital show that 75 % of lung diseases result from smoking; another hospital claims that smoking causes 82 % of lung diseases. It can be inferred that …

  2. a.

    Causes of lung diseases cannot be identified.

  3. b.

    Smoking is a major cause of lung diseases.

  4. c.

    Hospital reports about lung diseases cannot be trusted.

  5. 28.

    A botanist noticed that plants exposed to sunshine grow while those not exposed wither and die. This means that …

  6. a.

    Some plants cannot resist environmental change.

  7. b.

    Plants’ needs of sunshine differ according to their type.

  8. c.

    Sunshine is vital for the growth of plants.

  9. 29.

    A famous surgeon carried out a surgery on a patient, who died after some hours. This refers primarily to …

  10. a.

    The medical services, in that hospital, are weak.

  11. b.

    The surgeon is not competent.

  12. c.

    The surgery failed.

  13. 30.

    A residential building in a big city neighborhood had fallen down. This means that …

  14. a.

    People should not deal with the constructing company.

  15. b.

    The land was not suitable for construction.

  16. c.

    The building was not constructed properly following scientific, architectural standards.

  17. 31.

    A report from the Center of Seismology shows that it is difficult to predict the occurrence of an earthquake in a particular area as a result of the lack of indicators. This report includes the following generalization …

  18. a.

    An earthquake is unlikely to happen in that area.

  19. b.

    Predicting when an earthquake will happen is difficult due to lack of capabilities.

  20. c.

    It is possible to predict an earthquake depending on some indicators.

  21. 32.

    The results of four educational studies show that students’ levels of stress and anxiety increase as physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics examinations approach. This refers to …

  22. a.

    When examinations approach, stress levels increase.

  23. b.

    When examinations of scientific materials approach, stress levels increase.

  24. c.

    It is impossible to reach a generalization out of the given text.

Answer key

No. of question item

Answer

No. of question item

Answer

1

a

17

b

2

c

18

b

3

a

19

c

4

c

20

c

5

c

21

c

6

b

22

b

7

c

23

c

8

a

24

a

9

a

25

a

10

c

26

c

11

b

27

b

12

a

28

c

13

b

29

c

14

c

30

c

15

c

31

b

16

c

32

b

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Alshamali, M.A., Daher, W.M. Scientific Reasoning and Its Relationship with Problem Solving: the Case of Upper Primary Science Teachers. Int J of Sci and Math Educ 14, 1003–1019 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-015-9646-1

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