ABSTRACT
The purposes of this study were to explore the effects of thinking styles on science achievement and attitudes toward science class among Taiwanese elementary school students and to explore the differences between male and female students in their modes of thinking. Participants included 756 sixth-grade students from 28 classes in four elementary schools in Taiwan. Data were collected from three data sources: (a) Style of Learning and Thinking to identify students’ thinking style, (b) Science Achievement Test to assess students’ science achievement, and (c) Asian Student Attitudes Toward Science Class Survey to measure students’ attitudes toward science class. Findings revealed that across both boys and girls, there were significant differences between the three modes of thinking with regard to attitudes toward science class but no significant difference between the three modes of thinking with regard to science achievement. Even though students of both genders tended to be more holistic in their thinking, students with an analytic thinking style and an integrative thinking style showed more positive attitudes toward science class than students with a holistic thinking style. Taiwanese male students tended to be more holistic thinking than their female counterparts, whereas Taiwanese female students tended to be more analytic thinking in contrast to male students.
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Wang, TL., Tseng, YK. DO THINKING STYLES MATTER FOR SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT AND ATTITUDES TOWARD SCIENCE CLASS IN MALE AND FEMALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN TAIWAN?. Int J of Sci and Math Educ 13, 515–533 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-013-9503-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-013-9503-z