Empirical Study To Senior High School Student Engagement In Biology Teaching

Research has shown that student non-engagement is one of the most direct and continuing issues in the practice of education, the phenomenon is particularly evident with the realization of universal education. So improving students' behavior, cognitive and emotional tripartite engagement in the face of teaching and learning activities to promote student construct knowledge initiatively is significant. It not only is meaningful for improving classroom efficiency and better promoting students to master the knowledge, but also provides a strong guarantee to stimulate enthusiasm for learning, to develop good study habits and learning quality and accelerate students' all-round development.The thesis focused on high school students, applicated empirical research to realize the student engagement in biological courses, the correlation between student engagement and study results, and the impact of the factors on sudent engagement. In this research, the integration of examination results and biological scientific literacy test scores was regarded as the specific performance of study result.The research chose the grade 11 students in Gezhi Middle School, an exemplary high school in Shanghai, as a research object. This thesis relied mainly on questionnaire investigation, supplemented by observation, interviews and other qualitative research methods. The research was conducted to two groups of Grade 11 students in Gezhi Middle School, who used two different versions of biological textbooks. The results are concluded like below.A. There are correlations between student engagement and study results. (a) The scores of majority questions in the biological exam are related to all three areas of student engagement. (b) The scores of the scientific spirits, emotions and values in biology scientific literacy are related to the cognitive engagement and emotional engagement. The scores of the scientific process and method are related to the behaviour engagement and emotional engagement. The scores of the scientific basic knowledge are related to all three areas of student engagement. Positive emotional experience is necessary to cultivate all of the three parts of the biological scientific literacy. B. Some factors affect student engagement in learning biology. (a) Female is superior to male in behavior engagement and rely more on teachers in learning, in emotional engagement, positive emotional experience is dominant for female and negative emotional experience is dominant for male.(b) Compared with the science classe students, the regular class students concentrate on biology study better and have more fun experience. (c) The students using old version textbooks are superior to those using new ones in both behavior engagement and emotional engagement, but the students using old version textbooks rely more on teachers in learning. (d) Mother' s qualifications have not obvious impact on student engagement. At the same time, father's qualifications have significant impact on students' performance in both behavior engagement and cognitive engagement. (e) There are significant differences between the students teached by three teachers with different style in all three areas of student engagement. (f) Participate in the biological bilingual classes, contests and extra-curricular biological experiments can significantly promot students' behavior engagement and positive emotional experience. Meanwhile the students who participate in biological contests rely less on teachers and performance more independently in learning biology.C. The reasons for the imbalance of study results are like below. (a) The tendency of the school work arrangement. (b) The impact of students' family. (c) Students utilitarian attitude of learning. (d) The impact of teachers' concepts and teaching strategies.D. According to the results of the research, some points of suggestion about promote student engagement to improve the status of biology teaching in Shanghai are concluded. (a) Establish modern educational conception and principle. (b) Advocate inquiry in teaching.(c) Reflect the dominant position of students. (d) Carry out rich and varied student activities. (e) Establish a wide variety of innovative evaluation system. (f) Improve the rationalization of the curriculum.