Effects of a Collaborative Science Intervention on High Achieving Students’ Learning Anxiety and Attitudes toward Science

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of a collaborative science intervention on high achieving students’ learning anxiety and attitudes toward science. Thirty‐seven eighth‐grade high achieving students (16 boys and 21 girls) were selected as an experimental group who joined a 20‐week collaborative science intervention, which integrated and utilized an innovative teaching strategy. Fifty‐eight eighth‐grade high achieving students were selected as the comparison group. The Secondary School Student Questionnaire was conducted to measure all participants’ learning anxiety and attitudes toward science. In addition, 12 target students from the experimental group (i.e., six active and six passive students) were recruited for weekly classroom observations and follow‐up interviews during the intervention. Both quantitative and qualitative findings revealed that experimental group students experienced significant impact as seen through increased attitudes and decreased anxiety of learning science. Implications for practice and research are provided.

Keywords:

• Anxiety of learning science
• Attitude toward science
• High achieving student
• Collaborative science intervention

Acknowledgements

This research was sponsored by the National Science Council, Taiwan NSC94‐2511‐S‐165‐001 and NSC95‐2511‐S‐165‐001‐MY3. Many thanks to the research assistants and teachers who have been very supportive of this study. Special thanks go to the editors and anonymous reviewers’ thoughtful comments, professor McCarthy Veach and professor Frances Lawrenz of the University of Minnesota, and my research consultant professor Huann‐shyang Lin of National Sun Yat‐sen University for their constructive suggestions on this manuscript.