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From conceptual understanding to interdisciplinary innovation: the mediating mechanism of IESR among high school
Abstract:
Cultivating adolescents' interdisciplinary innovation capability has become a central concern in secondary education, yet the psychological mechanism through which abstract conceptual resources are transformed into authentic innovative practice remains insufficiently understood. Drawing on theories of self-regulated learning, knowledge construction, and learning transfer, this study examined the relationships among high school students' abstract thinking and conceptual understanding (ATCU), inquiry execution and strategic regulation (IESR), and interdisciplinary integration and practical innovation (IIPI), with particular attention to the mediating role of IESR. A total of 2,466 students in grades 10 to 12 from G Province, China, completed a 27-item self-report instrument adapted from the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, and the PISA 2015 Science Literacy Assessment Framework. The instrument demonstrated strong reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.977) and good construct validity. Structural equation modeling and bootstrap mediation analyses based on 5,000 resamples yielded four main findings: (1) ATCU significantly predicted IIPI (β = 0.220, p < 0.001); (2) ATCU significantly predicted IESR (β = 0.769, p < 0.001); (3) IESR significantly predicted IIPI (β = 0.704, p < 0.001); and (4) IESR partially mediated the relationship between ATCU and IIPI (total effect = 0.756; direct effect = 0.220, 29.10%; indirect effect = 0.536, 70.90%; 95% CI [0.509, 0.563]). The model explained 74.9% of the variance in IIPI. These findings suggest that abstract conceptual understanding contributes to interdisciplinary innovation primarily through inquiry execution and metacognitive regulation, forming an "understanding-inquiry-reflection" cycle that is central to the development of adolescents' scientific literacy. This study extends metacognitive theory into the domain of interdisciplinary innovation and offers evidence-based implications for competency-based STEM curriculum design, instructional intervention, and assessment reform.
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