Mastering Models in a Quasi-learning Situation of Problem-solving

The purpose of our work was to study the factors that determine the effectiveness of model acquisition in solving inquiry-based problems (balance scale problem). An experimental lesson, which we conducted in the 4th grade, revealed the differences in the way children refer to a general method of assessing equilibrium provided by the teacher. At the end of the lesson a test was conducted. Its results allowed us to divide the participants (22 students) into two groups according to their success, which depended on whether they applied the model, that they had tried out during the lesson. The performance of students in the «Transpositions» test (A.Z. Zak), which was designed to identify students' approach to solving inquiry-based problems («empirical» or «theoretical»), showed significant differences in the level of reflection, analysis, and planning between the two groups (according to the Mann-Whitney criterion p<0.01). These results and data analysis allow us to connect the success of the modeling means' acquisition to the predominance of either an «empirical» or a «theoretical» approach to mastering ways of solving a new problem.