TY - CHAP

T1 - Measurement Estimation Skills and Strategies of Lower Grade Students

AU - Stinken, Lisa

AU - Heusler, Stefan

PY - 2015

Y1 - 2015

N2 - Measurement estimation is an important part of everyday live and a higher-level competence in science and mathematics education. In order to improve estimation skills, at first, estimation abilities and strategies have to be examined. In this study, a questionnaire and an interview survey are combined in order to determine measurement estimation skills and strategies used by German students. So far, over 800 students in the grades eight to ten and 30 college juniors participated in the questionnaire survey. First results show no significant improvement of the estimation abilities for higher grades. Both; pupils and students have a lack in estimation skills. We found that estimates of physical quantities which are used quantitatively in everyday live, and/or perceptible quantities (such as temperature) were more accurate than others like force or acceleration. In addition to the questionnaire,first interviews revealed that students are untrained estimators, but also that they have too high confidence in their own estimates. Besides this, a whole number of different estimation strategies could be identified, confirming those known from previousestimation studies in mathematics, but expanding the range to physical quantities such as force or velocity, wherenew strategies like ‘physical decomposition’ were observed.

AB - Measurement estimation is an important part of everyday live and a higher-level competence in science and mathematics education. In order to improve estimation skills, at first, estimation abilities and strategies have to be examined. In this study, a questionnaire and an interview survey are combined in order to determine measurement estimation skills and strategies used by German students. So far, over 800 students in the grades eight to ten and 30 college juniors participated in the questionnaire survey. First results show no significant improvement of the estimation abilities for higher grades. Both; pupils and students have a lack in estimation skills. We found that estimates of physical quantities which are used quantitatively in everyday live, and/or perceptible quantities (such as temperature) were more accurate than others like force or acceleration. In addition to the questionnaire,first interviews revealed that students are untrained estimators, but also that they have too high confidence in their own estimates. Besides this, a whole number of different estimation strategies could be identified, confirming those known from previousestimation studies in mathematics, but expanding the range to physical quantities such as force or velocity, wherenew strategies like ‘physical decomposition’ were observed.

KW - Didactics of sciences education

KW - measurement estimation

KW - accuracy

KW - strategies

UR - https://www.dropbox.com/s/wrb22pgeociw8dr/eBook2015_Part_1_links.pdf?dl=0

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/ae7c080a-b1f4-3177-9bcb-97910c81c9c1/

M3 - Article in conference proceedings

SP - 143

EP - 149

BT - Science Education Research: Engaging learners for a sustainable future

A2 - Lavonen, J

A2 - Juuti, Kalle

A2 - Kampiselkä, Jarkko

A2 - Uitto, Anna

A2 - Hahl, Kaisa

PB - European Science Education Research Association

ER -