Date of Award

7-22-1999

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching & Learning

First Advisor

Mary Lou Fuller

Abstract

This study presents the results of an examination of changes in six fourth grade students thinking about the nature of sound during a nine lesson unit on sound. At the core of the curriculum was a teaching strategy called constructivist teaching (Bybee, 1993). Classroom observation, students' written work, and interviewing were the major data gathering procedures used to develop a coding system to categorize the patterns that emerged: (a) students' conceptual learning, and (b) the students' perceptions of factors leading to this understanding. Three patterns emerged that indicated students' conceptual learning: (a) students added new concepts to their existing cognitive structures; (b) students' discussion were organized around the central concepts of vibration, frequency, and pitch as they relate to the nature of sound; and (c) these discussions were more in alignment with that of the scientific community. Students identified three factors that led to their conceptual learning: (a) they were able to actively explore the nature of sound through teacher guidance and thus construct their own understanding; (b) the social interaction, both in small group and in whole-class discussion; and (c) authentic learning task provided a meaningful way of learning about sound. A fourth factor, directly observed by me, was the strategic questioning the teacher used to activate students' prior knowledge. Conclusions drawn from the findings were: (a) learners actively construct their own understanding, (b) learning is facilitated by social interaction, (c) authentic tasks promote learning, and (d) new learning depends on students' prior knowledge. Educational recommendation were as follows: Educators should acquire a working knowledge of the various ways that students learn; collaborative committees need to be formed to determine availability of financial resources for new teaching models such as constructivist teaching; and a longitudinal study should be employed to follow the progress of new models (implementation, evaluation, and continuation), in order to determine the factors which affect these new methods.

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