Abstract
Hands-on activities are known in science education as effective learning methods. Especially for kindergarten- and primary school-age children, involvement in what they are learning and using all their senses to retain information about natural phenomena is crucial. A popular form of hands-on science activities that allows discovery learning is the conduction of a science experiment. However, the teacher cannot adequately trace each pupil’s individual learning process during classroom experiments.
Research in science didactic is interested in investigating students’ learning process to make teaching and learning more effective. Therefore, research studies are carried out to detect potential learning difficulties in various natural-science contexts and test the efficacy of different learning opportunities. To answer their specific research questions, researchers need data for describing, interpreting and gaining in-depth insights into children´s learning processes. This article describes and discusses different data collection methods (e.g. observations, interviews, tests, documents-analysis) and shows which are most suitable for studies that investigate the learning processes and outcomes of five- to seven-year-old children conducting hands-on science experiments. As the validity of collected data and main research findings will be determined by the research design, the article also shows the advantages and disadvantages of field research and laboratory research.
A literature analysis identifies specific data-collection research methods for this target group of research. Participating observation and/or videography are useful methods to gather data about children’s behaviour while they carry out a science experiment; clinical interviews and/or thinking aloud are appropriate for detecting children’s thinking while they are experimenting; pre- and post-survey and/or the analysis of drawings are adequate to document conceptual-change processes and can consequently pointing out learning progresses that are caused by hands-on experiments and interpreting the discovered phenomena. As a result of this research methodology, the opportunities and limits of each of these methods are demonstrated, and suggestions are given for realising holistic data ascertainment through methodological triangulation.
For the careful investigation of learning processes in science education, it is finally recommended to plan and implement laboratory studies. In contrast to field studies, laboratory research is conducted in a controlled setting outside the classroom, where researchers can accurately record the statements and actions of individual pupils or small groups during teaching and learning processes. Nevertheless, to maximise the external validity and for generalizability of research findings, a degree of realism should be maintained in such laboratory situations. This article explains how this claim can be implemented in learning situations with hands-on science experiments.