Effects of Teaching the Function of Scientific Rules on Problem Solving: Understanding the Deepening Function of Rules

Problem-solving using scientific rules has repeatedly been confirmed as being more difficult than the teachers had expected. Previous studies on this issue, based on the "instructionist" premise that problem-solving becomes possible when rules are taught, focused on cognitive factors that may impede problem-solving. In contrast, the present study is based on the "constructivist" premise that emphasizes learners' knowledge construction and the relationship between their knowledge construction level and the functions of rules. In addition to the summarizing and predicting functions of rules, the present study proposes a deepening function that deepens learners' understanding of the concepts that make up the rules, and hypothesizes that teaching the functions of rules, particularly the deepening function, would increase learners' knowledge construction levels and promote problem-solving. The participants, university students, were asked to learn biological rules using instructional materials that emphasized each of the above functions of rules. The results indicated that the group that was taught the deepening function had the highest test scores, suggesting that knowledge construction levels may influence problem-solving.