Higher-order thinking is crucial to inquiry learning. It is important to investigate how students think in inquiry contexts. Given the tacit nature of higher-order thinking, cognitive maps (e.g., concept maps, reasoning maps) have been used to externalize thinking and have shown promising effects in terms of improving inquiry task performance. However, few studies have analyzed student-constructed maps that reflect the thinking underpinning students’ inquiry task performance. This study aimed to address this gap. Sixty-nine 11th grade students worked in small groups to explain a fish die-off phenomenon in a virtual ecosystem and collaboratively constructed an integrative cognitive map to facilitate thinking during the task. The map comprised a concept map (representing conceptual thinking about relevant subject knowledge) and a reasoning map (representing the reasoning process). Regression analyses showed that the quality of the student-constructed maps, particularly the reasoning maps, was a significant predictor of inquiry task performance assessed based on students’ written explanations of the phenomenon. Although the quality of the concept maps was not a significant predictor of inquiry task performance, it did predict the quality of the reasoning maps. Student thinking reflected in concept mapping and that reflected in reasoning mapping play different roles in inquiry learning.

高阶思维对于探究学习至关重要。重要的是要调查学生在询问环境中的想法。鉴于高阶思维的隐性性质，认知图（例如，概念图、推理图）已被用于外化思维，并在提高探究任务性能方面显示出有希望的效果。然而，很少有研究分析学生构建的地图，这些地图反映了支撑学生探究任务表现的思维。本研究旨在解决这一差距。69 名 11 年级学生以小组形式解释虚拟生态系统中的鱼类死亡现象，并共同构建了综合认知地图，以促进任务期间的思考。该图由概念图（代表对相关学科知识的概念性思考）和推理图（代表推理过程）组成。回归分析表明，学生构建的地图的质量，尤其是推理地图，是根据学生对现象的书面解释评估的探究任务表现的重要预测指标。虽然概念图的质量不是查询任务性能的重要预测指标，但它确实预测了推理图的质量。概念映射和推理映射中体现的学生思维在探究学习中扮演着不同的角色。是根据学生对该现象的书面解释评估的探究任务表现的重要预测因素。虽然概念图的质量不是查询任务性能的重要预测指标，但它确实预测了推理图的质量。概念映射和推理映射中体现的学生思维在探究学习中扮演着不同的角色。是根据学生对该现象的书面解释评估的探究任务表现的重要预测因素。虽然概念图的质量不是查询任务性能的重要预测指标，但它确实预测了推理图的质量。概念映射和推理映射中体现的学生思维在探究学习中扮演着不同的角色。