英文摘要 |
Situated learning theory suggests that knowledge learning is embedded within a context. According to this theory, this quasi-experimental study explored the effect of situated context instruction in mathematics incorporating pictures (SCIMIP) on gifted elementary school students. Method: Sixty gifted students from 11 elementary schools in Taipei City participated in the study and were evenly divided into an experimental group and a control group. The participants in both groups attended 18 sessions during a 3- month extracurricular intervention. The mathematics materials used for both groups were adapted from the materials used in the Mathematical Olympiad, a challenging competition for students with high levels of mathematics ability. The experimental group received SCIMIP; the mathematics problems used for this group were embedded within pictures and story contexts. The control group was guided through traditional problemsolving materials used to prepare for Mathematical Olympiad. The materials were divided into 3 units: Velocity, Cow and Grass, and Permutation and Combination. SCIMIP emphasizes concept integration during the mathematics learning process. A pretest, posttest, and follow-up test were implemented before and after the teaching intervention. Three test instruments were developed for examining the learning effects, which included the effects on the immediate learning achievement performance, the learning retention performance, and the quantity of schema performance. Several oneway ANCOVA were conducted to examine learning effects in the experimental and control groups. Results/Findings: The major findings are outlined as follows: 1. SCIMIP benefited students in the experimental group, enabling enhanced immediate learning achievements and learning retention in the Cow and Grass and Permutation and Combination units. 2. SCIMIP aided the experimental group students in increasing declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge in the Cow and Grass unit and in the Cow and Grass and Permutation and Combination units, respectively. However, SCIMIP demonstrated a partial effect in the Velocity unit. In general, the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in learning achievement and knowledge retention. The results suggested that the contextual clues might guide students in accumulating complete declarative knowledge of mathematics concepts and effective procedural knowledge of mathematics problem-solving strategies. Conclusions/Implications: SCIMIP helps students in establishing informative and integrated knowledge representation, particularly when students are learning initial concepts. Firmly established knowledge representation enhances performance in mathematics learning and retention. According to the study results, the researchers provide the following suggestions: In designing situated contexts for mathematics learning, teachers can effectively use pictures and stories. However, for some gifted students, mathematics problems embedded within picture and story contexts are only beneficial at the initial learning stages. |