Group CVS performance on classroom worksheets rose after instruction, and experimentation alone without instruction produced no significant gain¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r1 · q3
Currency · newest study 2000 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Group mean CVS scores on worksheets increased from 2.32 (58%) to 3.86 (97%) after instruction, while no significant increase occurred across preinstruction experiments. → Eva Erdosne Toth 2000

Evidence¶

Eva Erdosne Toth 2000¶

Eva Erdosne Toth, David Klahr, and Zhe Chen. (2000). Bridging Research and Practice: A Cognitively Based Classroom Intervention for Teaching Experimentation Skills to Elementary School Children. Cognition and Instruction, 18(4), 423–459. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532690xci1804_1

q3 · i? · causal · r1

Analysis of classroom laboratory worksheets from 22 small groups in the classroom study; group-level CVS scores rose from 2.32/4 to 3.86/4, t(21) = 4.2, p < .0004. Consistency rose from 45% to 91% of groups, χ2(1, N = 44) = 10.48, p < .0012.

"Mean CVS performance scores for each group increased significantly, from a mean of 2.32 (58%) before instruction to a mean of 3.86 (97%) after instruction, t(21) = 4.2, p < .0004."

Eva Erdosne Toth 2000 (2)¶

Eva Erdosne Toth, David Klahr, and Zhe Chen. (2000). Bridging Research and Practice: A Cognitively Based Classroom Intervention for Teaching Experimentation Skills to Elementary School Children. Cognition and Instruction, 18(4), 423–459. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532690xci1804_1

q3 · i? · causal · r1

Null result from the same worksheet analysis: comparing the first and last preinstruction experiments showed no significant increase; the article concludes learning CVS by experimentation alone did not occur during group work.

"An additional t test comparing mean scores for the first and last experiment conducted prior to instruction revealed no significant increase, that is, learning CVS by experimentation alone did not occur in the classroom during group work."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Classroom expository CVS instruction dramatically increased fourth graders' CVS performance in individual hands-on interviews — related
• In the underlying laboratory study, only expository instruction combined with probes produced CVS learning, with transfer limited by grade level — related
• Students' experiment-evaluation strategies shifted toward correct CVS after instruction, though 23% still used incorrect strategies — related
• Instruction increased students' ability to evaluate experiments designed by others on a paper-and-pencil test — related
• Instruction increased robust CVS use — designing unconfounded experiments plus providing a CVS rationale — in individual interviews — related