The Effect of Context Characteristics on Students' Situational Interest Within Differing Chemical Content Areas

• In Event: Poster Session 4
  In Poster Session: Science Teaching and Learning SIG Poster Session

Abstract

In the past decades many studies pointed out the positive effects of context-based science education on students’ interest. However, there is few empirical evidence about the specific characteristics of contexts which induce these effects. Based on previous research a reciprocal relationship between the context characteristics relation to everyday life/uniqueness and the underlying content area was assumed. Therefore, a study with 435 ninth-graders of German secondary schools has been conducted. The students rated their situational interest in 20 context-based introductory texts, which differed in the context characteristics and their underlying content area.
First results affirm our hypothesis that the usefulness of context-based tasks regarding affective dimensions of learning depends on an interaction of context characteristics and the underlying content area.

Authors

• Sebastian Habig, University of Duisburg-Essen

• Helena van Vorst, University of Duisburg-Essen

• Elke Sumfleth, University Duisburg - Essen