有鑒於國小學童科學解釋能力之不足，研究者參考科教文獻改編課本的活動內容，設計一系列探究導向學習（inquiry-based learning）活動。本研究目的在探討國小六年級學童在探究活動中其科學解釋能力的成長。根據文獻，本研究將科學解釋能力細分為核心能力與相關能力兩部分。核心能力是：「指出因果關係」、「運用推理能力」與「使用證據」；相關能力有：「解釋提出主張」、「活動設計說明」、「運用圖表協助解釋」、「語文傳達解釋能力」與「學生評鑑解釋」。本研究從前後測、錄影、問卷、訪談、學生成品等方面蒐集資料，以質性和量化方法來分析學童的科學解釋能力的成長。資料經信度分析與三角校正歸納後，本研究發現學生科學解釋核心能力以指出因果關係成長最多（其中量化前後測成長結果t = -4.824, p=＜.01），其次是運用推理能力，最後是使用證據能力；相關能力亦有不等的成長，其中以學生解釋提出主張成長最快。此外，本研究亦討論探究活動、教師引導與科學解釋能力成長的關係。以科學解釋能力應受重視及早訓練等為建議，供未來相關研究之參考。

中文部分
王以德（1992）。我國國中學生邏輯思考與科學過程技能的研究。彰化師範大學科學教育研究所碩士論文。
毛松霖（1987）。我國中小學生資料處理與解釋能力之工具發展研究。科教研討會論文彙編，321-349頁。
毛松霖（1990）。解釋資料與形成假設及認知發展層次間相互關係測試工具之發展研究。第五屆科學教育學術研討會論文彙刊。
毛松霖（1997）。國中學生地球科學觀測資料之解釋能力與概念形成之教學策略研究。國科會八十六年度「科學教育研究專題研究計畫」成果討論會。
古瑞免（譯）（1999）。Berk, L. E. ＆ Winsler, A.著。鷹架兒童的學習：維高斯基與幼兒教育。台北：心理。
自然與生活科技課程綱領研究小組（2000）。國民教育九年一貫課程綱領之自然與生活領域課程綱領。教育部。
李暉（2000）。科學對話與科學概念的學習-以國中生理化課學習為例。國立彰化師範大學科學教育研究所博士論文。
李暉、郭重吉（1998）。科學對話與學習-國中理化教室中的個案研究。中華民國第十四屆科學教育學術研討會，高雄師範大學。
段德智、尹大貽、金常政（譯）（1999）。Peter A. Angeles著。哲學辭典。台北：貓頭鷹。
林正弘（1988）。伽利略、波柏、科學說明。台北：東大。
林政輝（2002）。國中生討論數樣式關係表達理由能力之成長探究。台灣師範大學數學研究所碩士論文，台北。
林俊華（1986）（譯）Burns Wise & Okey編訂之Integrated Science Process Skills：TIPSⅡ。國中生科學過程技能學習成就之調查研究。台灣師範大學物理研究所碩士論文。
林寶山（1988）。教學原理。台北市：五南。
姜滿（1993）。國小學童地球科學概念之理解。台南師院學報，26，193-219。
侯政宏（1996）。探究式教學法與講述式教學法在國中地球科學「太陽視運動」單元中學生學習成效之比較。台灣師範大學地球科學研究所碩士論文。
翁秀玉、段曉林（1997）。科學本質在科學教育上的啟示與做法。科學教育月刊，210，2-15。
郭生玉（2001）。心理與教育測驗。台北：精華。
張菊秀（1997）。「探究式教學法」與「講述式教學法」在國中地球科學「氣象」單元中學生學習成效比較。台灣師範大學地球科學研究所碩士論文。
張綺砡（2002）。兒童的科學解釋與科學解釋類型之研究。高雄師範大學科學教育研究所碩士論文。
黃達三（1998）。國小教師於科學教育的口語解釋研究。科學教育學刊，6（3），285-302。
楊榮祥（1978）。探討式教學模式分析－流程圖之運用。科學教育月刊第三期。
楊榮祥（1988）。自然科學教學法專輯。國立台灣師範大學科學教育中心編印。
國民小學自然科課程實驗研究委員會（1994）。國民小學自然科新課程概說。
王美芬、熊召弟（1995）。國民小學自然科教材教法。台北：心理出版。
歐用生（1989）。教學方法的新趨勢（上）（中）（下）。教與愛，24-26期。
歐陽鍾仁（1988）。科學教育概論。台北：五南。
蔣嘉得（1995）。台北地區國中三年級學生解釋資料過程技能與太陽視運動概念之相關分析研究。台灣師範大學地球科學研究所碩士論文。
鍾聖校（1996）。國小自然科課程教學研究。台北：五南。
魏明通（1997）。科學教育。台北：五南。
劉宏文（2001）。高中學生進行開放式科學探究活動之個案研究。網址：
http://203.71.212.1/resource/liu_proposal/homepage.htm.
西文部份
AAAS. (1967). Science - A Process Aproach. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1967.
Alwynelle, S. A. (1983). Determinism or probability-or teaching students how to ask questions. The American Biology Teacher, 2, 102-104.
Basaga, H., Geban, O., & Tekkaya, C. (1994). The effect of the inquiry teaching method on biochemistry and science process skill achievements. Biochemical Education, 22(1), 29-31.
Bass, J. E., & Maddux, C. D. (1982). Scientific explanations and Piagetian operational levels. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 19(7), 533-541.
Bloom, B. S., Englehart, M. D., Furst, E. J., Hill, W. H., & Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook 1: Cognitive domain. New York: Mckay.
Bowen, G. M., & Roth, W. -M. (2002). Why students may not learn to interpret scientific inscription. Research in Science Education.32: 303-327.
Bruner, J. (1985). Vygotsky：a historical and conceptual perspective. In J. Wertsch (Ed). (1985). Culture communication and cognition: Vygitskian perspectives. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Campbell, R. L., & Okey, J. R. (1977). Influencing the planning of teacher with instruction in science process skill. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 14(3), 231-234.
Carin, A. A. and Sund, R. B. (1997). Teaching science through discovery, 8th Edition. Merrill Publishing.
Carey, S., & Smith, C. (1993). On understanding the nature of science knowledge. Educational Psychologist, 28(3).
Chen, F. C., Jiang, H. M., Lin, H. L., & Wang, H. R. (2001). A modified framework of LAIN for PBL high school learners: A portfolio-directed web environment for science contests. Center for Teacher Education Institute of Atmospheric Physics. TW: National Central University.
Cobern, W. W., & Loving, C. C. (2000). Defining “Science” in a multiculture world: Implications for science education. Paper set presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, San Diego. No. 50-67.
Crawford, B. A. (2000). Embracing the essence of inquiry: New roles for science teachers. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 37(9), pp. 916-937.
Culbertson, H. & Powers, R. (1959). A study of graph comprehension difficulties. A-V Communication Review, 7, 211-213.
Driver, R., Guesue, E., ＆ Tiberghien, A. (Eds.). (1985). Some features of children’s ideas and their implications for teaching. In R. Driver, E. Guesne, & A. Tiberghein (Eds.), Children’s Ideas in Science (pp.193-201). Milton Keynes: O U Press.
Driver, R., Leach, J. Millar, R. & Scott, P. (1996). Young people’s images of science: Open University Press.
Edgington, J. R. (1997). What Constitutes a Scientific Explanation? (Eric Document Reproduction Service No. ED406190)
Esler, W. K., & Esler, M. K. (1989). Teaching elementary science (5th ed.) Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Finley, F. N. (1983). Science process. Journal of Research in Science teaching,
20 (1), 47-50.
Flick, L. B. (2000). Cognitive scaffolding that fosters scientific inquiry in middle level science. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 11(2), 109-129.
Friedman, M. (1988). Explanation and understanding. In J. C. Pitt. (ed.), Theories of explanations. New York: Oxford University Press. Vol. IV.
Gabel, D. L., Rubba, P. A., & Franz, J. R. (1977). The effect of early teaching and training experiences on physics achievement, attitudes toward science and science teaching, and process skill proficiency. Science Education, 61, 503-511.
Gobert, J. (2000). A typology of casual models for plate tectonics: Inferential power and barriers to understanding. International Journal of Science Education. 22(9), 937-977.
Hempel, C. (1965). The logic of functional analysis. In aspects of scientific explanation and other essays in the philosophy of science. New York: The Free Press; London: Collier-Macmillan, 297-330.
Hempel, C. (1966). Philosophy of natural science. New Jersey: Prentice Hall/Englewood Cliffs.
Hempel, C. G. ＆ Oppeheim, P. (1988) Studies in the logic of explanation. In. J. C. Pitt Horwood, R. H. (1998) Explanation and description in science teaching. Science Education, 72. 41-49.
Hofstein, A. & Lunetta, V. N. (1982). The role of the laboratory in science teaching: Neglected aspects of research. Review of Education Research, 52(2), 201-217。
Kathleen E. M. (1998). Scientific inquiry within research of young children. International Handbook of Science Education, 81-96. Great Britian, Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Keating, J., Greenberg, R. D., Baldwin, M., Thousand, J. (1998). A collaborative action research model for teacher preparation programs, Journal of Teacher Education, 49(5).
Kempa, R. F. & Ward. J. E. (1975). The effect of different modes of task orientation on observational; attainment in practical Chemistry. Journal of Research in Science Education, Vol. 1, No. 68-76.
King, A. (1994). Guiding knowledge construction in the classroom: Effects of teaching children how to question and how to explain. American Educational Research Journal. Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 338-368.
Klahr, D., Dubar, K., & Fay, A. L. (1990). Designing good experiments to test bad hypotheses, Computational Models of Scientific Discovery and Theory Formation (p355-401). San Mateo, CA: Morgan Kaufman.
Krajcik, J. S., Czerniak, C. M. ＆ Berger, C. F. (1998). Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School Classrooms. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Krajcik, J. S., Blumenfeld, P. C., Marx, R. W., Bass, K. M., Fredricks, J., ＆ Soloway, E. (1998). Inquiry in Project-Based Science Classrooms: Initial Attempts by Middle School Students. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 7 (3 & 4). 313-350.
Kuhn, D., Amsel, E., & O’Loughlin, M. (1988). The development of scientific thinking skills. San Diego: Academic Press.
Kuhn, D., Schauble, L., & Garcia-Mila, M. (1992). Cross-domain development of scientific reasoning. Cognition and Instruction, 9 (4), 285-327.
Lederman, N. G. (1992). Students’ and teachers’ conceptions of the nature of science: a review of the research. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 29(4), 331-359.
Linn, M. C., & Songer, N. B. (1993). How do students make sense of science? Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 39(1), 47-73.
Liption, P. (1993). Inference to the best explanation. New York: Routledge press.
Lisa M. -H. (2002). Defining Inquiry. The Science Teacher, 34-37.
Malley, M. (1992). The nature and history of science. Chapter V in Teaching about the history and nature of science and technology: Back ground papers (pp.67-80). Colorado Springs: Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS).
Mattheis, F. E., & Nakayama, G. (1988). Effects of a laboratory-centered inquiry program on laboratory skills, science process skills, and understanding in middle grades students. (Eric Document Reproduction Service No. ED307148)
National Research Council (1996). National science education standards. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press. p32-33.
National Research Council (2000). Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards. Washington, D.C., National Academy Press.
Novak, J. D., & Gowin, D. B. (1984). Learning how to learn. NY: Cambridge University press.
Ohlsson, S. (1992). The Cognitive skill theory of articulation: A neglected aspect of science education. Science Education, 1, 111-192.
Palincsar, A. S. ＆ Brown, A. L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and comprehension-monitoring activities. Cognition and Instruction, 1(2), 117-175.
Pallrand, G. J. (1996). The relationship of assessment to knowledge development of science education. Phi Delta Kappan, 315-318.
Qualitative Solutions and Research Pty Lfd. (1997). Non-numerical Unstructured Data Indexing Searching and Theorizing (NUD*IST) (Version 4.0) [computer software]. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Reiner, M., Chi, M., & Resnick, L. (1988). Naive materialistic belief: An underlying epistemological commitment. Tenth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Eelbaum Associates.
Reiser, B. J., Tabak, I., Sandoval, W. A., Smith, B. K., Steinmuller, F., & Leone, A. J. (2001). Bguile: Strategic and Conceptual Scaffolds for Scientific Inquiry in Biology Classrooms’. Cognition and instruction：Twenty-five years of progress. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Sandoval W. A. (1998). Inquire to Explain: Structuring inquiry around explanation construction in a technology-supported biology curriculum. Ph. D. Dissertation, Northwestern University.
Sandoval, W. A. (2002). Conceptual and epistemic aspects of students’ scientific explanations. The Journal of the Learning Science, 2 (1), 6-7.
Sandoval, W. A., & Reiser. B. J. (2002). Explanation-driven Inquiry: Integrating Conceptual and Epistemic Supports for Scientific Inquiry. Unpublished manuscript.
Scriven, M. (1988). Explanations, predictions and laws. In J. C. Pitt (ed.), Theories of explanation, New York: Oxford University Press. 51-74.
Sigel, I. (1982). The relationship between parental distancing strategies and the child’s cognitive behavior. In families as learning environments for children. New York: Plenum.
Simon, E. W. (1980). Learning to interpret data. Journal of Biological Education, 14 (2) 132-136.
Simon, H. A. (1996). Alternative representation of instructional material. In D. Peterson (Ed). Forms of Representation. Intellect Books Ltd, Exeter United Kingdom.
Solomon, J. (1986). Children’s Explanations. Oxford Review of Education, 12(1), 41-51.
Solomon, J. (1995). Higher level understanding of the nature of science. The Nature of Science. 76(276), 15-22.
Stherland L. M. (2002). Guidelines for Explanation in Scientific Inquiry. UM and UPS teacher meetings (July).
Tabak, I. (2002). Teacher as monitor, mentor or partner: Uncovering participant structures involved in supporting student-directed inquiry. Unpublished manuscript.
Tamir, P. (1989). Training teacher to teach effectively in the Laboratory. Science Education, 73 (1), 59-69.
Tobin, K. G., & Capie, W. (1982). Relationships between formal reasoning ability, locus of control, academic engagement and integrated process skill achievement. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 19, 113-121.
Tobin, K. G. (1986). Student task involvement and achievement in process-oriented Science activities. Journal of Research in Science teaching, 70(1), 61-72.
Toulmin, S. (1961). Foresight and understanding. New York: Harper.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1987). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wavering, M. J. (1989). Logical reasoning necessary to make line graphs. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 26( 5), 373-379.
Weintraub, S. (1967). Reading graphs, charts and diagrams. Reading Teacher, 20, 345-349.
Zuzovsky, R., & Tamir, P. (1999). Growth patterns in students’ ability to supply scientific explanation: Findings from the third international mathematics and science study in Israel. International Journal of Science Education. 21(10), 1101-1121.