Abstract
This study explored the structural relationships among secondary school students’ conceptions, self-regulation, and strategies of learning science in mainland China. Three questionnaires, namely conceptions of learning science (COLS), self-regulation of learning science (SROLS), and strategies of learning science (SLS) were developed for investigating 333 Chinese high school learners’ conceptions, metacognitive self-regulation, and strategies in science. The confirmatory factor analysis results verified the validity of the three surveys. Moreover, the path analyses revealed a series of interesting findings. Learners with lower-level COLS, namely “memorizing,” “testing,” and “practicing and calculating,” tended to use surface learning strategies such as “minimizing scope of the study” and “rote learning.” However, learners’ higher-level COLS, namely “increase of knowledge,” “applying,” “understanding,” and “seeing in a new way,” had complicated connections with their SROLS and SLS. On the one hand, learners’ higher-level COLS had negative relations to “minimizing scope of the study” and “rote learning.” On the other hand, their higher-level COLS were powerful predicators for their metacognitive self-regulation and further affected their use of “deep strategy” and “rote learning.” Though Chinese secondary students with higher-level COLS usually have a negative view of “rote learning,” the functioning of their metacognitive self-regulation may change their initial attitudes towards the surface strategy. Learners with higher-level COLS still used “rote learning” as a prior step for achieving deep learning. Therefore, we concluded that the SROLS played an important mediating role between the COLS and SLS and may change learners’ original intention to utilize learning strategies.
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Acknowledgments
The research is funded by the Humanities and Social Sciences Fund of Chinese Ministry of Education (Grant 13YJA880040, awarded to Mang Li and Grant 16YJC740099, awarded to Chunping Zheng).
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Appendix 1
Appendix 1
Three Questionnaires (English Version)
The Questionnaire for the COLS: Conceptions of Learning Science
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Factor 1
Memorizing (M)
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1.
Learning science means memorizing the important concepts found in a science textbook.
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2.
Learning science means remembering what the teacher lectures about in science class.
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3.
Learning science means memorizing scientific symbols, scientific concepts, and facts.
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4.
When learning science, just like when learning history or geography, the most important thing is to memorize the content of the text book.
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1.
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Factor 2
Testing (T)
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5.
Learning science means getting high scores on examinations.
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6.
I learn science so that I can do well on science-related tests.
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7.
The major purpose of learning science is to get more familiar with test materials.
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8.
There is a close relationship between learning science and taking tests.
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5.
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Factor 3
Practicing and calculating (PC)
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9.
Learning science means constantly practicing calculation and solving problems.
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10.
Learning calculations or problem-solving will help me improve my performance in science courses.
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11.
Learning science means knowing how to use the correct formulae when solving problems.
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12.
There is a close relationship between learning science, being good at calculations, and constant practice.
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9.
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Factor 4
Increase of knowledge (IK)
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13.
Learning science means the acquisition of knowledge about science.
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14.
Learning science means acquiring knowledge that I did not know before.
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15.
I am learning science when the teacher tells me scientific facts that I did not know before.
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16.
Learning science helps me acquire more facts about nature.
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17.
I am learning science when I increase my knowledge of natural phenomena and topics related to nature.
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18.
For me, learning science means getting new knowledge.
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13.
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Factor 5
Applying (A)
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19.
Learning science means acquiring knowledge and skills to enhance the quality of our lives.
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20.
Learning science means learning how to apply knowledge and skills I know to unknown problems.
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21.
We learn science to improve the quality of our lives.
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19.
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Factor 6
Understanding (U)
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22.
Learning science means an understanding of some problems or phenomena that couldn’t be solved before.
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23.
Learning science means enlarging my knowledge scope and experience.
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24.
Learning science helps me understand more natural phenomena and knowledge about nature.
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22.
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Factor 7
Seeing in a new way (S)
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25.
Learning science means using a new viewpoint to view natural phenomena or topics related to nature.
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26.
Learning science means changing my way of viewing natural phenomena and topics related to nature.
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27.
Learning science means finding a better way to view nature or topics relating to nature.
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28.
Learning science means finding a more reasonable way to explain the topics in our lives.
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25.
The Questionnaire for the SROLS: Self-Regulation of Learning Science
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Factor 1
Basic self-regulation (BSR)
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1.
I try to think through a topic and decide what I am supposed to learn from it rather than just reading it over when studying for this course.
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2.
When studying for this course I try to determine which concepts I don’t understand well.
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3.
When I study for this class, I set goals for myself in order to direct my activities in each study period.
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4.
If I get confused taking notes in class, I make sure I sort it out afterwards.
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1.
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Factor 2
Advanced self-regulation (ASR)
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5.
When reading for this course, I make up questions to help focus my reading.
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6.
When I become confused about something I’m reading for this class, I go back and try to figure it out.
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7.
If course readings are difficult to understand, I change the way I read the material.
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8.
Before I study new course material thoroughly, I often skim it to see how it is organized.
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9.
I ask myself questions to make sure I understand the material I have been studying in this class.
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5.
The Questionnaire for the SLS: Strategies of Learning Science
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Factor 1
Deep strategy (DS)
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1.
I like constructing theories to fit odd things together when I am learning science topics.
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2.
I try to find the relationship between the contents of what I have learned in science subjects
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3.
I try to relate new material to what I already know about the topic when I am studying science.
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1.
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Factor 2
Minimizing scope of the study (Mini)
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4.
As long as I feel I am doing well enough to pass the examination, I devote as little time as I can to studying science subjects. There are many more interesting things to do with my time.
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5.
I generally will restrict my study to what is specially set as I think it is unnecessary to do anything extra in learning science.
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6.
I find that studying each topic in depth is not helpful or necessary when I am learning science. There are too many examinations to pass and too many subjects to be learned.
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4.
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Factor 3
Rote learning (RL)
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7.
When learning science, I would like my teacher to tell us the focus of examinations, then we can be better prepared for the exams.
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8.
When learning science, I will recite or memorize related contents repeatedly until I remember all the contents in the learning unit.
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9.
When learning science, I focus on the part related to the examination and memorize it in particular.
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7.
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Li, M., Zheng, C., Liang, JC. et al. Conceptions, Self-Regulation, and Strategies of Learning Science Among Chinese High School Students. Int J of Sci and Math Educ 16, 69–87 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-016-9766-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-016-9766-2