High School Students’ Semantic Networks of Scientific Method in an International Science Olympiad Context
Adem Ekmekci 1, Alpaslan Sahin 2 * , Ozcan Gulacar 3, Kadir Almus 4
More Detail
1 Rice University Wiess School of Natural Sciences, Houston, TX, USA2 Research Scientist, Harmony Public Schools, Houston, TX, USA3 University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA4 North American University, Houston, TX, USA* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This study examines students’ conceptualization of scientific method from three perspectives: (a) participation in an international science fair, (b) gender differences, and (c) participation from different geographic regions worldwide. An online Word Association Test (WAT) with 10 stimulus words that are associated with scientific method was administered to high school students from more than 35 countries. Findings indicated that the semantic network of students who participated in the I-SWEEEP Olympiad had stronger connections among the 10 key concepts compared to that of non-I-SWEEEP students. Findings also revealed that male participants overall had a more complex semantic network of scientific method than their female counterparts. In addition, students from Americas, mostly U.S., had a more complex conception of scientific method than their counterparts from Eastern Europe and Asia. Results have implications about understanding affordances of science fairs in conceptualization of scientific method and about addressing gender and geographic differences.

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 14, Issue 10, October 2018, Article No: em1604

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/93677

Publication date: 22 Jul 2018

Article Views: 3197

Article Downloads: 1371

Open Access References How to cite this article