The Development of Grade 9 Students’ Mental Models of Phenomena in the Solar System through Model-based Learning with Interactive Simulation

Abstract

Preparing students to create and use models is crucial to learning science because scientists use models to test, predict, and explain natural phenomena and scientific knowledge. Therefore, this classroom action research aims to develop mental models for grade 9 students on phenomena caused by the interaction between the sun, the earth, and the moon by using model-based learning in conjunction with interactive simulation. The participants consisted of 36 grade 9 students from a large public all-girls secondary school in Bangkok. Data obtained from an open-ended mental model test. Students’ responses were analyzed via a content analysis method by grouping the responses into five categories. The results of the research indicated that after learning with model-based learning in combination with interactive simulation, most students (37.78%) were in the Partial consistent mental model category. There were 28.89% of children who had a Consistent mental model with scientific model (CM). And the majority of students were in the CM category on the topic of seasons.