WINNIE WING-MUI SO LEARNING SCIENCE THROUGH INVESTIGATIONS: AN EXPERIENCE WITH HONG KONG PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN ABSTRACT. This paper reports on a study of children learning science through investi- gations. Because many skill-type performances depend upon knowing and understanding the relevant content, this paper addresses both the children’s understanding of scientific ideas and their performance of the science process skills. Twenty-four written records of investigations conducted by Hong Kong primary school children were studied to ex- plore children’s cognitive processes in scientific investigations. The paper concludes with a model that provides useful information about aspects of children’s cognitive understanding and the practical processes that are necessary for scientific investigation. KEY WORDS: learning science, performance in science, scientific investigation, scientific processes, scientific understanding The aim of the paper is to develop an understanding of primary school children’s learning through investigation projects. As many skilled per- formances depend upon knowing and understanding the relevant content (Millar, Gott, Lubben & Duggan, 1996), this study is also interested in the interplay between children’s understanding of scientific concepts and the details of their performance of science process skills. Twenty-four writ- ten records of investigations by Hong Kong primary school children were studied to explore the science processes used by the children and their sci- entific understanding. A model is proposed to provide useful information about aspects of their understanding and processes that are necessary for scientific investigation. This is of particular importance to teachers because of the emphasis placed on children’s inquiry and investigative skills for the construction of knowledge and independent learning capacities in the recent Curriculum Guide of the subject General Studies for Hong Kong primary schools (Curriculum Development Council, 2002). WHAT I S THE ROLE OF ‘PROCESS’ AND ‘CONTENT’ IN SCIENCE? Roden (2000) reports that heated debates about the role of ‘content’ versus ‘process’ in primary science took place in the 1980s, during which time process and content seemed to have become divorced from each other, and teachers appeared not to have recognized the interrelated nature of these two aspects of science. However, the primary science National Curriculum International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 1: 175–200, 2003. © 2004 National Science Council, Taiwan. Printed in the Netherlands.