Is it possible to improve science process skills and attitudes towards chemistry through the development of metacognitive skills embedded within a motivated chemistry lab?: a self-regulated learning approach

AbstractThe aim of this study was to improve pre-service science teachers’ science process skills and attitude towards chemistry by developing their metacognitive skills embedded within a motivating chemistry laboratory. The sample of the study was 54 preservice science teachers who took the first year chemistry lab course at Marmara University. Both the control (n=27) and the experimental group (n=27) carried out 11 experiments, each of which was performed over a lab course. The students comprising the control group performed the experiments following the instructions described in the laboratory manual. However, in experimental group pre- and post-discussions about the design of the experiments were held in order to create metacognitive awareness of the experimental design. The students in the experimental group were always encouraged during the course and were given four semi-structured reflective interview forms developed by the authors. Differently from the control group, the students in the experimental group were asked to inquire the subjects the researcher wanted them to do so. While the students in the control group had no feedback for their reports, the students in the experimental group had always positive feedbacks. The results showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the Science Process Skill Test, particularly in the categories of identifying variables, operationally defining and designing investigations. The first and the last interview forms, which were given at the beginning and the end of the semester, were used for a deeper analysis of the students’ metacognitive skills, motivation and attitude towards the course. The second and the third reflective forms were used to create metacognitive awareness in students. Although the students reflected very positive feedbacks for the last interview form, results of the t-test analysis showed that no significant gain could be achieved either in control or experimental group in terms of their attitudes towards chemistry