Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Background of the Study

Student’s learning can be measured and evaluated by the way he reasons

out. It can also be distinguished the manner he explains, interacts, and modifies

ideas. In science subjects, student’s scientific reasoning skills and literacy are

congruent with the myriad exposure or engagement to science laboratory

activities and the teacher’s teaching strategies. Thus, the competent student in

scientific reasoning skills are recognized as one who can conceptualize, explain,

understand and design experiments , and create hypothesis in the context of

describing and interpreting data. But, these skills are a sort of saddle not only

locally, nationally, and globally.

As a matter of fact, Camfield and Darunee (2006) found out that science

education in the northeast of Thailand was extremely limited for they are just

primarily focused on theory rather than to general application.

In addition, in one district of Africa, almost eight (8) of ten (10) schools

have been intake where deficiency on science literacy was found. The statistics

obtained from the Department of Children, schools, a highlight, a problem which

needs immediate action (www.sunstar.com.ph).

In fact, there have been explosions in numbers of children without

prioritizing their education in science subjects. Notably, the National Research

Council (NRC, 1996) emphasized that students should engage in the process of
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science in addition to learning factual information

(http://tiee.ecoed.net/vol/v5/research griffith/article.html ).

Moreover, in the Philippines, the dominance of the Filipinos in scientific

reasoning skills is now in the brink of becoming a myth. Many Filipinos are poor

in conceptualizing and designing experiments.

In fact, it was only 65% of Filipinos can conceptualize and design

experiments, results of the Social Welfare Station (SWS) survey. The survey

utilized 1,200 respondents nationwide and was conducted March 14, 2004. It

was commissioned of the promoting Science and Technology Innovation of the

American Chamber of Commerce and Industry under the Makati Business Club.

The number who can understand experimental design after working in the

laboratory went down to 32% compared to 54% last survey. The result varied on

student’s laboratory engagement and student-active teaching strategies. The

number of Filipinos who can do self assessment of their own understanding of

experimental design after working in the laboratory also dropped to 27% from

44% in 2000. The survey showed that Filipinos who cannot totally understand

experimental design doubled from 7% to 14% this year (ABS-CBN Interactive,

http//www.abs-cbnnews.com, 2004).

Furthermore, in Tagum City, this observation is true at Aces Tagum

College. As per observed in major examinations ( both oral and written)

conducted by the science teacher last October, 2009. It was found out that 70%

of the students are poor in reasoning skills in science subjects Thus, teachers

find ways or approaches that would certainly uplift the students reasoning skills.
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Statement of the Problem:

The main thrust of this study is to determine the extent of Opportunities in

Science Laboratory Engagement and the Reasoning Skills of Fourth Year High

School students in Tagum City.

Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What is the extent of the Opportunities in Science Laboratory Engagement

in terms of:

1.1 interaction;

1.2 reflection;

1.3 explanation; and

1.4 modification?

2. What is the extent of the Reasoning Skills of Fourth year High

School students in Tagum City in terms of:

1.1 mnemonic skills;

1.2 matching skills; and

1.3 metacognitive skills?

3. Is there a significant difference on the extent of the Opportunities in Science

Laboratory Engagement when analyzed according to school?

4. Is there a significant difference on the Skills of Fourth

year High School students in Tagum City when analyzed according to

school?

5. Is there a significant relationship between the extent of Opportunities in

Science Laboratory Engagement and the Reasoning Skills of Fourth year

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High School students of Tagum City?

Hypothesis

The following hypotheses will be tested at 0.05 level of significance

1. There is no significant difference on the extent of Opportunities in Science

Laboratory Engagement when analyzed according to school.

2. There is no significant difference in the Reasoning Skills of Fourth Year

High School students in Tagum City when analyzed according to school.

3. There is no significant relationship between the extent of Opportunities in

Science Laboratory Engagement of Fourth Year High School students in

Tagum City.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A range of sources in relation to the investigation of the study were taken

from books, journals, studies, internet sources and others. Findings of the

different researchers on problem similar to this study where presented to provide

a suitable background and clear views on what is being emphasize on the study.

It is well known that students who enjoy science do well in science

(Kremer and Walberg 1981; Oliver and Simpson 1988; Raven and Adrian 1978;

Steinkamp and Maehr 1983). Improving students’ attitudes toward science can

therefore not only ensure greater student interest but also potentially contribute

to greater success and retention in science-based courses.

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Tobin (1990) wrote that “Laboratory activities appeal as a way of allowing

students to learn with understanding and, at the same time, engage in a process

of constructing knowledge by doing science.

Hodson (1993) emphasized that the principal focus of laboratory activities

should not be limited to learning specific scientific methods or particular

laboratory techniques; instead, students in the laboratory should use the

methods and procedures of science to investigate phenomena, solve problems,

and pursue inquiry and interests.

It was supported by Baird (1990) one of several persons who has

observed that the laboratory learning environment warrants a radical shift from

teacher-directed learning to “purposeful-inquiry” that is more student-directed

Champagne (1990) suggested that meaningful learning in the laboratory would

occur if students were given sufficient time and opportunities for interaction and

reflection.

Opportunities in Science Laboratory Engagement

Effective laboratory instruction requires engaging the minds of the learners

so that they can think about the instructional episode in such a way as to

evaluate their understanding in relation to what is experienced. This involves

creating opportunities for reflection (Tien et al., 2007), as well as argumentation

(Driver, 1995; Osborne et al., 2004). Both are necessary, and to be effective they

must be explicitly linked to a specific laboratory experience (National Research

 6

Council, 2006). When to implement them for maximal effect depends on the

instructional style used.

Engaging and hands-on: The Literature suggests that in order to engage

students in science, the lab activities should include student participation as

opposed to simple demonstration. Students were most interested by lab activities

that were relevant to their lives Students reported that they were most interested

by the lab activities when they directly related to their lives. National Research

Council, (2006)

In addition, laboratory experiences provide opportunities for students to

interact directly with the material world (or with data drawn from the material

world), using the tools, data collection techniques, models, and theories of

science. National Research Council, (2006)

Many laboratory experiences involve students in carrying out carefully

specified procedures to verify established scientific knowledge, we also learned

of laboratory experiences that engaged students in formulating questions,

designing investigations, and creating and revising explanatory models, National

Research Council. (2006) . Laboratory experiences have the potential to help

students attain several important learning goals, including mastery of science

subject matter, increased interest in science, and development of scientific

reasoning skills. That potential is not being realized today.

Interaction.

(Harel, 1992) Students have an easier communication task when they talk

and listen to their peers. In such classrooms, the style of teacher talk often
 7

changes: Teachers assist students with the learning task (emphasizing content)

rather than providing error correction; moreover, teachers give fewer commands

and impose less disciplinary control

The teacher considers opportunities for students to talk about key

concepts, expects that students may clarify concepts and allows a variety of

means through which students can demonstrate their understanding.

Teacher ensures that students have numerous conversational partners

and opportunities to interact with the content of lessons. Interaction patterns

include teacher to student, student to teacher, student to student, student to

content, and student to self.

According to Goldenberg (1991) The teacher encourages expressions of

students’ own ideas, builds on students’ experiences and ideas, and guides them

to increasingly sophisticated levels of understanding. “Teaching through

Conversation” – engaging students through dialogue (CREDE, 1999)

Laboratory experiences provide opportunities for students to interact

directly with the material world (or with data drawn from the material world), using

the tools, data collection techniques, models, and theories of science.This

definition includes student interaction with astronomical databases, genome

databases, databases of climatic events over long time periods, and other large

data sets derived directly from the material world. It does not include student

manipulation or analysis of data created by a teacher to simulate direct

interaction with the material world (National Research Council, 2006).

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Reflection

Reflection is thinking for an extended period by linking recent experiences

to earlier ones in order to promote a more complex and interrelated mental

schema. Dewey, J. (1993). Research indicated that engaging with another

person in a way that encourages talking with, questioning, or confronting, helped

the reflective process by placing the learner in a safe environment in which self-

revelation can take place.

Educators normally consider Dewey (1993) as the modern day originator

of the concept of reflection, although he drew on the ideas of earlier educators,

such as Aristotle, Plato, and Confucius. He thought of reflection as a form of

problem solving that chained several ideas together by linking each idea with its

predecessor in order to resolve an issue. Most educators believe that "reflection

is useful in the learning process, even without the supporting research data."

However, it is often difficult to encourage reflection among the learners.

In addition, Dewey defined reflective thought as 'active, persistent, and

careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of

the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends' (Dewey

1933: 118)

The great strength of the work of Boud, Keogh and Walker (1985) is that

they address emotions. For them reflection is an activity in which people

'recapture their experience, think about it, mull it over and evaluate it' (ibid: 19).

Furthermore, Hatton and Smith (1995) stated that, the learner allows

himself to experience surprise, puzzlement, or confusion in a situation which he

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finds uncertain or unique. He reflects on the phenomena before him, and on the

prior understandings which have been implicit in his behavior. He carries out an

experiment which serves to generate both a new understanding of the

phenomena and a change in the situation. He does not keep means and ends

separate, but defines them interactively as he frames a problematic situation. He

does not separate thinking from doing. Because his experimenting is a kind of

action, implementation is built into his inquiry. (Schön 1983: 69)

Typical laboratory experiences rarely incorporate ongoing reflection and

discussion among the teacher and the students, although there is evidence that

reflecting on one’s own thinking is essential for students to make meaning out of

their laboratory activities (National Research Council, 2006)

Some simple things can be done to alleviate the one-student-dominating

problem by sharing ideas and plans at school. This presents a more cooperative

situation, where hopefully sharing of control will lead to sharing of ideas and

plans. (Relliro) Partnering for Shared Interactions.

Explanation.

“Scientific explanation” is a topic that raises a number of interrelated

issues. Some background orientation will be useful before turning to the details of

competing models. A presupposition of most recent discussion has been that

science sometimes provides explanations (rather than something that falls short

of explanation—e.g., “mere description”) and that the task of a “theory” or

“model” of scientific explanation is to characterize the structure of such

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explanations. It is thus assumed that there is (at some suitably abstract and

general level of description) a single kind or form of explanation that is

“scientific”. In fact, the notion of “scientific explanation” suggests at least two

contrasts—first, a contrast between those “explanations” that are characteristic of

“science” and those explanations that are not, and, second, a contrast between

“explanation” and something else. However, with respect to the first contrast, the

tendency in much of the recent philosophical literature has been to assume that

there is a substantial continuity between the sorts of explanations found in

science and at least some forms of explanation found in more ordinary non-

scientific contexts, with the latter embodying in a more or less inchoate way

features that are present in a more detailed, precise, rigorous etc. form in the

former. It is further assumed that it is the task of a theory of explanation to

capture what is common to both scientific and at least some more ordinary forms

of explanation. These assumptions help to explain (what may otherwise strike the

reader as curious) why, as this entry will illustrate, discussions of scientific

explanation so often move back and forth between examples drawn from bona-

fide science (e.g., explanations of the trajectories of the planets that appeal to

Newtonian mechanics) and more homey examples involving the tipping over of

inkwells. ("Theories of Explanation", by G. Randolph Mayes )

Students are encouraged to discuss their existing ideas about the science

concept and their emerging ideas during the course of their laboratory

experiences, both with their peers and with the teacher. The sequence of

laboratory experiences and other forms of instruction is designed to help

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students develop a more sophisticated understanding of both the science

concept under study and the process through which scientific concepts are

developed, evaluated, and refined (National Research Council, 2006)

Modification.

Involving students in laboratory activities in science courses is supported

by most of the science education researchers and science teachers for it is

believed to contribute not only in content knowledge but also in the development

of a scientific way of thinking.

Hodson (1992) suggests that students in the laboratory are “doing

science”, which means that they are using the methods and processes of science

to investigate phenomena, solve problems and follow interests that the students

have. Unless one knows what to do (and why), and unless one has the

laboratory skills to do it, one cannot ‘do science’ – at least, not well and not

successfully. Thus, the target for practical work assessment becomes doing

science well. He defines a three element model, where one of the elements is:

“the ability to plan & design “powerful” experiments that test or illustrate a theory

in an elegant way”.

In addition, according to Hodson (1992) planning an experiment is largely

a concept-driven activity. It is the ‘thinking part’ of experimental inquiry. It includes

several dimensions such as identifying a particular issue or problem for

investigation, formulating a hypothesis, ascertaining the dependent and

independent variables. “Designing” an experiment involves fitting a particular

experimental procedure to the proposed investigation. It consists primarily of:

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making decisions about treatments, conditions, controls, specific measurements

to be taken (and how frequently), techniques and instruments to be utilized, and

so on. Both of these aspects of doing science can only be gained by experience

of doing science either in traditional or simulated laboratories.

“Planning” is also one of the tree elements proposed for the assessment

of laboratory work by Doran et al. (1993) which is used in a broader perspective

(compared to Hodson’s) , and it involves: identify questions to investigate,

describe strategy for investigation, describe how to measure and/or observe

variables, plan for recording of data.

Reasoning Skills

Reasoning skills are utilized in the decision-making process and refer to

specific cognitive abilities, some of which include assessing probability and

thinking systematically or abstractly (Fischhoff, Crowell, & Kipke, 1999).

Cognitive factors refer to the mental processes of reasoning and perception

(Gordon, 1996). These decision-making processes mature with age and

experience and are influenced by an adolescent's brain development and

acquisition of knowledge. Social and psychological factors refer to those

influences from within an adolescent's family, peer group, or self (e.g., self-

esteem, locus of control). Some cultural and societal factors which influence

adolescents' decisions include religious beliefs, socio-economic conditions, and

ethnicity (Gordon, 1996).This skills are those processes basic to cognition of all

forms. (Benchmarks for Science Literacy: A tool for curricular reform, The

American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1996). Scientific

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reasoning includes the ability to solve problems through the analysis of

quantitative empirical data. The methods of scientific inquiry help students

answer questions in natural, behavioral and social sciences. The methods also

help students understand how technology and science will affect their lives, the

environment and their culture. Reasoning should provide experiences working

with the methods science including hypothesis formation and testing, systematic

observation and analysis of quantitative data.

Mnemonic Skills

This skill enables the thinker to transfer information to and from long-term

memory. The learner does something on purpose to focus on the information

being studied or to relate it to information that is already in long-term memory. An

example of a commonly used storage and retrieval technique is visual imagery

mediation. The learner purposely develops a visual (or auditory, kinesthetic, or

emotional) representation for the information to be remembered.

Scruggs and Mastrpieri (1992) describe the systematic use of mnemonic

skill to help learning disabled students master scientific concepts. When

information was considered to be concrete and familiar to mildly handicapped

learners, they used mimetic reconstructions in which the information was simply

represented pictorially in an interesting fashion. For abstract information, they

used symbolic reconstructions, in which symbolized pictorial representations

were shown interacting pictorially with relevant target information. When abstract

information was unfamiliar, they used acoustic reconstruction, in which target

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information was linked with acoustically familiar keywords. They found not only

that these strategies were extremely effective, but also that the students were

able to generalize the strategies to new situations.

To generalize the mnemonic skills, they (1) referred students back to

previous mnemonic instruction, (2) provided explicit attribution training. This last

consisted of making comments such as, “You have learned this information

because you used this good skill.”

Matching skills

This skill enable a learner to determine how incoming information is similar

to or different from information already stored in long-term memory Scheid

(1993). There are five types of matching skills: Categorization enables learners

to classify objects or ideas as belonging to a group and having the characteristics

of that group. It speeds up the thinking process, making it possible to generalize

and to go beyond the information immediately given by the isolated object or

idea. When you look at an animal and call it a cat, you are categorizing. When

you listen to a comedian and decide that a particular story was a stupid joke, you

are categorizing. Any time you classify something as being an example of

something you already know, you are categorizing. In the sense that it is used

here, a category is synonymous with concepts. Extrapolation enables learners to

match the pattern of information from one area to that found in another area. This

strategy assists the thinking process by making it unnecessary to start from

scratch when learners encounter new information. Instead, the learner takes
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information that already exists for a different purpose and adapts it to a new

situation. Analogical reasoning involves seeing the similarities among essentially

different objects or ideas and using existing knowledge about the first set of

objects or ideas to understand the others. For example, a computer-literate

person reading Chapter 6 of this book might realize that the short-term memory

is similar to random access memory (RAM) and that long-term memory is similar

to a hard drive. By using this analogy, the person would have a basis for

understanding short-term memory, long-term memory, and the relationship

between them. Analogical reasoning enables learners to combine the first two

basic reasoning processes (categorization and extrapolation) in order to deal with

new information and new relationships more effectively. A very large number of

programs that train students to improve their thinking skills include an analogical

reasoning component. In addition, tests that attempt to measure the thinking

abilities of students often include an analogies section. Evaluation of logic is the

process of comparing the structure of information with an internalized system of

logic to see if the information is valid or true. For example, students can learn to

follow the rules of deductive and inductive logic and to look for and avoid specific

types of errors, such as hasty generalizations and non sequiturs. Evaluation of

value is the process of matching information to an internalized value system and

analyzing the logic of that value system. For example, a learner might decide that

a con cept or a solution to a problem represents "the way things should be" and

accept it as accurate. Or a person might realize that a certain piece of

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information (e.g., the exact names of the people in an anecdote) is not really

worth remembering.

Metacognitive skills

Temple (2003) metacognitive skills are those involved in concept

formation, problem solving, switching tasks, inhibiting inappropriate responses,

initiating rapid and fluent responses, planning and sustained attention.

Metacognition refers to learners' automatic awareness of their own knowledge

and their ability to understand, control, and manipulate their own cognitive

processes. Metacognitive skills are important not only in school, but throughout

life.

Mumford (1986) says that it is essential that an effective manager be a

person who has learned to learn. These include Metamemory. This refers to the

learners' awareness of and knowledge about their own memory systems and

strategies for using their memories effectively. Metamemory includes (a)

awareness of different memory strategies, (b) knowledge of which strategy to use

for a particular memory task, and (c) knowledge of how to use a given memory

strategy most effectively. Metacomprehension. This term refers to the learners'

ability to monitor the degree to which they understand information being

communicated to them, to recognize failures to comprehend, and to employ

repair strategies when failures are identified. Self-Regulation. This term refers to

the learners' ability to make adjustments in their own learning processes in

response to their perception of feedback regarding their current status of

learning. The concept of self-regulation overlaps heavily with the preceding two
 17

terms; its focus is on the ability of the learners themselves to monitor their own

learning (without external stimuli or persuasion) and to maintain the attitudes

necessary to invoke and employ these strategies on their own. To learn most

effectively, students should not only understand what strategies are available and

the purposes these strategies will serve, but also become capable of adequately

selecting, employing, monitoring, and evaluating their use of these strategies.

Executive procedures are the final set of basic reasoning skills. These

skills are executive in the sense that they coordinate a set of other skills in order

help learners build new cognitive structures or drastically restructure old ones.

(They act much like the executives in corporations, who coordinate the activities

of other employees in order to achieve commercial goals.) There are three basic

executive skills:Elaboration is the process of inferring information not explicitly

stated in what the learner saw or heard. Learners use such skills as

categorization, elaboration, analogical reasoning, and information retrieval to

make these inferences. There are two reasons why elaboration is necessary: (1)

the learning situation (book, teacher, problem setting, etc.) may provide

incomplete information, or (2) the learner may not perceive all the information

that is available. Neither of these reasons necessarily represents a "mistake." If

learners are capable of elaboration, then both teachers and learners should take

advantage of this phenomenon - and most teachers and learners do so

automatically. Teachers skip details that learners can easily infer - if they didn't,

their presentations would become unduly long and boring. Likewise, learners do

not attend to every detail of a presentation; they focus on important details and
 18

infer others. {That is why proofreading is a different task than reading. Good

readers do not focus on every letter in every sentence they read. They catch the

important ideas and fill in the rest, because they know it is there.}Good learners

make good inferences regarding what they need to fill in. On the other hand,

some learners make incredibly inaccurate inferences, and this leads to learning

problems. Students who make bad inferences can become much better thinkers

by learning to make better inferences. Problem solving is the process of finding

information or a strategy to achieve a goal & emdash; to overcome an obstacle.

In school, the goal is usually to find declarative or procedural information in a

content area. Almost everything a learner does can be viewed as directed toward

solving a problem (Anderson, 1985). Problem solving has been described in

many ways, but it usually consists of describing the problem, determining the

desired outcome, selecting possible solutions, choosing strategies, testing trial

solutions, evaluating the outcomes of these trials, and revising steps as

necessary. Problem solving is an important process that is described in detail in

Newell & Simon (1972), Chipman, Segal, & Glaser (1985), Gagne (1985),

Chance (1986), Lesgold (1988), Perkins & Salomon (1989), Gagne, Yekovich, &

Yekovich (1993). Since the solution to problems often requires original thinking,

creativity is often an important aspect of problem solving. Since it is important to

evaluate the quality of solutions, critical thinking is often an important aspect of

problem solving. Composing is the process of creating new information to

express an idea. It can be viewed as a specific type of problem solving, in which

the problem is to communicate ideas in an appropriate way to achieve a goal.

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Composing can consist of either written or oral communication of ideas. Although

composition skills are often taught in English or language arts classes, they are

employed in all areas of the curriculum. For example, social studies students

may use their composing skills to integrate their ideas regarding the causes of

the American Civil War or the progress of the human rights movement.

Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

This study was anchored on the concept of Abel and Lederman (2001).

That students’ opportunity to have some control of their activities can be offered

by the school science laboratory enhancing their perception of ownership and

motivation. It can be an environment particularly well suited for providing a

meaningful context for learning, determining and challenging students’ deeply

held ideas about natural phenomena, and reconstructing their ideas. Though a

complex process, meaningful learning in the laboratory can occur if students are

given sufficient time and opportunities to interact, reflect, explain, and modify

their ideas.

It is supported by Barron et al., (1998) that in moving students toward

more “minds-on” engagement in the laboratory (including problem solving,

reflecting on the learning data, and decision making,etc.), we now understand

that teachers must sequence complex ideas and experiences in ways that enable

students to engage meaningfully in these activities.

Reasoning Skills
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Figure 1. presents the Conceptual paradigm of the study. The independent

variable of the study is the opportunities in science laboratory engagement with

four indicators namely: interaction, reflection, explanation and modification. While

the dependent variable is on the Scientific Reasoning Skills of Fourth Year High

School Students in Tagum City with the indicators namely: Storage and Retrieval

Skills,Matching Skills and Execution Skills and the moderator is school.

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Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Opportunities in Science Scientific Reasoning

Laboratory Engagement Skills

 Interaction  Mnemonic Skills

 Reflection  Matching Skills

 Explanation  Metacognitive Skills

 Modification

Moderator

School

Figure 1. Conceptual paradigm of the study

Significance of the Study

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This study is beneficial to the following persons:

Students. They may recognize the importance of the laboratory activities in

school to ensure that the intellectual quality of student is fully supported.

Parents. They may appreciate and become aware of the weight of laboratory

activities in learning and understanding the essence of science subject to the

total development of their children.

Teachers. Make them aware regarding the significance of laboratory activities in

teaching science as one of the integral parts of learning.

Administration. Through this study, they may encourage to be aware and to be

supportive to the needs of students. Furthermore, this will guide them in decision

making for the enhancement of the curriculum and most especially the

improvement of the schools laboratory.

Definition of Terms

Some key terms employed in this investigation are defined conceptually

and operationally for easy understanding:

Explanation. a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing

the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc. In this study it refers to

the act of students in explaining; making something plain or intelligible

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Interaction. Interactions” is a kind of action that occurs between two or more

objects where the action has an impact on each other. (wikipedia.com). In this

study it refers the students do their activities, present their outputs (answers)

orally with the group.

Matching skills. enable a learner to determine how incoming information is

similar to or different from information already stored in long-term memory.

((http://education.calumet.purdue.edu/vockell/EdPsyBook/Edpsy7/edpsy7_reaso

ning.htm)

Metacognitive skills. Metacognition refers to one’s knowledge concerning one’s

own cognitive processes or anything related to them using knowledge as

distinguished from merely (wikipedia.com)

Mnemonic Skills enable the thinker to transfer information to and from long-term

memory.

(http://education.calumet.purdue.edu/vockell/EdPsyBook/Edpsy7/edpsy7_reason

ing.htm).

Modification. a slight change or alteration made to improve something or make it

more suitable (Encarta Dictionary). In this study it refers to the chance of

students in improving their activity.

Opportunities in Science Laboratory Engagement. In this study it refers to the

students’ active participation in academic discussions and activities both inside

and outside of class.

Reflection. The act of reflecting (dictionary.com). In this study it refers to how

students integrate their experiences to their lessons

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Scientific reasoning skills. Scientific reasoning is the ability to solve problems

through the analysis of quantitative empirical data.(wikipedia.com)