Students' mental models of the environment

What are students' mental models of the environment? In what ways, if any, do students' mental models vary by grade level or community setting? These two questions guided the research reported in this article. The Environments Task was administered to students from 25 different teacher‐classrooms. The student responses were first inductively analyzed in order to identify students' mental models of the environment. The second phase of analysis involved the statistical testing of the identified mental models. From this analysis four mental models emerged: Model 1, the environment as a place where animals/plants live—a natural place; Model 2, the environment as a place that supports life; Model 3, the environment as a place impacted or modified by human activity; and Model 4, the environment as a place where animals, plants, and humans live. The dominant mental model was Mental Model 1. Yet, a greater frequency of urban students than suburban and rural students held Mental Model 3. The implications to environmental science education are explored. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 327–348, 2007     

Students' preconceptions of the nature of gases

A total of 1098 students, from second graders to university chemistry students, drew representations of highly magnified views of air at 1.0 atmosphere of pressure and at 0.5 atmosphere of pressure. The drawings were classified and the authors inferred from them a relatively limited number of preconceptions of the nature of gases. Several major trends occurred in the frequencies of these inferred preconceptions held at different grade levels. The majority of the drawings that were not in fairly close agreement with atomic theory seemed to reflect one or more of the following misconceptions: (a) air is a continuous (nonparticulate) substance, (b) gas behavior is similar to liquid behavior, and (c) there is relatively little space between gas particles. The number of drawings that gave evidence of particulate views ranged from 8% for Grades 2–4 to 85% for university chemistry students. However, 33% of the university students' drawings showed highly packed particles, and only 37% showed particles in an approximately correct geometrical distribution. The authors suggest a technique for promoting conceptual change among students who possess alternative views of the nature of gases.     

Students' and teachers' conceptions of the nature of science: A review of the research

The development of adequate student conceptions of the nature of science has been a perennial objective of science instruction regardless of the currently advocated pedagogical or curricular emphases. Consequently, it has been an area of prolific research characterized by several parallel, but distinct, lines of investigation. Although research related to students' and teachers' conceptions of the nature of science has been conducted for approximately 40 years, a comprehensive review of the empirical literature (both quantitative and qualitative) has yet to be presented. The overall purpose of this review is to help clarify what has been learned and to elucidate the basic assumptions and logic which have guided earlier research efforts. Ultimately, recommendations related to both methodology and the focus of future research are offered.     

Rethinking historical and cultural source of spontaneous mental models of water cycle: in the perspective of South Korea

This review explores Ben-Zvi Assaraf, Eshach, Orion, and Alamour’s paper titled “Cultural Differences and Students’ Spontaneous Models of the Water Cycle: A Case Study of Jewish and Bedouin Children in Israel” by examining how the authors use the concept of spontaneous mental models to explain cultural knowledge source of Bedouin children’s mental model of water compared to Jewish children’s mental model of water in nature. My response to Ben-Zvi Assaraf et al.’s work expands upon their explanations of the Bedouin children’s cultural knowledge source. Bedouin children’s mental model is based on their culture, religion, place of living and everyday life practices related to water. I suggest a different knowledge source for spontaneous mental model of water in nature based on unique history and traditions of South Korea where people think of water in nature in different ways. This forum also addresses how western science dominates South Korean science curriculum and ways of assessing students’ conceptual understanding of scientific concepts. Additionally I argue that western science curriculum models could diminish Korean students’ understanding of natural world which are based on Korean cultural ways of thinking about the natural world. Finally, I also suggest two different ways of considering this unique knowledge source for a more culturally relevant teaching Earth system education.     

Teachers' views on the nature of models

A semi‐structured interview was used in Brazil to enquire into the ‘notion of model’ held by a total sample of 39 science teachers who were: employed in ‘fundamental’ (6–14 years) and ‘medium’ (15–17 years) schools; student science teachers currently doing their practicum; and university science teachers. Seven ‘aspects’ of their notions of a model were identified: the nature of a model, the use to which it can be put, the entities of which it consists, its relative uniqueness, the time span over which it is used, its status in the making of predictions, and the basis for the accreditation of its existence and use. Categories of meaning were identified for each of these aspects. The profiles of teachers' notions of ‘model’ in terms of the aspects and categories were complex, providing no support for the notion of ‘Levels’ in understanding. Teachers with degrees in chemistry or physics had different views about the notion of ‘model’ to those with degrees in biology or with teacher training certificates.     

Secondary school science teachers' arguments for the particulate nature of matter

How do secondary school science teachers justify the model of a particulate nature of matter, and how do the arguments they use relate to historical arguments? To find out, we individually interviewed 11 in‐service secondary school science teachers (certified to teach chemistry and/or physics in secondary school, and with 2 to 30 years of teaching experience) regarding their arguments for the particulate nature of matter and experiments that could demonstrate the existence of particles. The collected data were qualitatively analyzed. Three qualitatively different categories of arguments could be constructed from data: philosophical arguments, indirect experimental arguments, and direct experimental arguments. The indirect experimental arguments which is the largest category could be further divided into qualitatively different subcategories: nonspecific research and experiments, and chemical, physical, and subatomic experiments. Even though several experiments and arguments were suggested by the informants in our study, the arguments regarding the validity of the experiments were quite uncertain and vague. The experiments and arguments were used to corroborate the particulate nature of matter and taken for granted in advance rather than used to justify a model with particles. The outcome was discussed in relation to scientific arguments and experiments and in view of results from previous science education research. Based on our data, teacher education and in‐service teacher training, as well as teacher guides, were suggested to be more elaborate regarding contemporary knowledge, with direct experimental evidence for the particulate nature of matter being presented.     

The particulate nature of matter in science education and in science

This article addresses ideas about the particulate nature of matter that are considered to be correct or acceptable in science education and studies of children's misconceptions. It argues that science teachers and educators use educational as well as scientific criteria for correctness, and that these criteria do not always coincide. Relations between the particulate nature of matter in science and science education are analyzed in an attempt to make more intelligible children's inclination to attribute all kinds of macroscopic properties to particles. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

高职学生心理压力的归因分析

对营口职业技术学院学生的心理压力状况及其原因进行了调查研究,调查结果表明：大学生的总体压力感处于一般水平,压力的主要来源是学习压力因素、经济压力因素、人际交往压力因素、就业压力因素。在此基础上,提出缓解大学生心理压力的建议。     

Evaluating mental models in mathematics: a comparison of methods

Cognitive scientists investigate mental models (how humans organize and structure knowledge in their minds) so as to understand human understanding of and interactions with the world. Cognitive and mental model research is concerned with internal conceptual systems that are not easily or directly observable. The goal of this research was to investigate the use of Evaluation of Mental Models (EMM) to assess the mental models of individuals and groups in solving complex problems and to compare novices and experts models as bases for providing feedback to learners. This study tested a qualified web-based assessment tool kit, Highly Interactive Model-based Assessment Tools and Technologies (HIMATT), in an as yet untested domain—mathematics. In this study, university students and their mathematics instructors used two tools in HIMATT, Dynamic Evaluation of Enhanced Problem Solving (DEEP) and Text-Model Inspection Trace of Concepts and Relations (T-MITOCAR). The research questions include: Do novice participants exhibit common patterns of thoughts when they conceptualize complex mathematical problems? Do novices conceptualize complex mathematical problems differently from experts? What differences in DEEP and T-MITOCAR patterns and responses exist according to the measures of HIMATT? Findings suggest that EMM and HIMATT could effectively support formative assessment in a complex mathematical domain. Finally, this study confirms a common assumption of cognitive scientists that the tool being used could affect the tool user’s understanding of the problem being solved. In this case, while DEEP and T-MITOCAR led to somewhat different expert models, both tools prove useful in support of formative assessment.     

Seventh grade students' mental models of the greenhouse effect

This constructivist study investigates 225 student drawings and explanations from three different schools in the midwest in the US, to identify seventh grade students' mental models of the greenhouse effect. Five distinct mental models were derived from an inductive analysis of the content of the students' drawings and explanations: Model 1, a ‘greenhouse’ for growing plants; Model 2, greenhouse gases cause ozone depletion or formation, causing the Earth to warm; Model 3, greenhouse gases, but no heating mechanism, simply gases in the atmosphere; Model 4, greenhouse gases ‘trap’ the sun's rays, heating the Earth; and Model 5, the sun's rays are ‘bounced’ or reflected back and forth between the Earth's surface and greenhouse gases, heating the Earth. Science textbooks are critiqued in light of the students' mental models and curricular and instructional implications are explored.     

Dynamic mental models in learning science: The importance of constructing derivational linkages among models

We present a theory of learning in science based on students deriving conceptual linkages among multiple models which represent physical phenomena at different levels of abstraction. The models vary in the primitive objects and interactions they incorporate and in the reasoning processes that are used in running them. Students derive linkages among models by running a model (embodied in an interactive computer simulation) and reflecting on its emergent behaviors. The emergent properties they identify in turn become the primitive elements of the more abstract, derived model. We describe and illustrate derivational links among three models for basic electricity: a particle model, an aggregate model, and an algebraic model. We then present results of an instructional experiment in which we compared high school students who were exposed to these model derivations with those who were not. In all other respects, both groups of students received identical instruction. The results demonstrate the importance of enabling students to construct derivational linkages among models, both with respect to their understanding of circuit theory and their ability to solve qualitative and quantitative circuit problems. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 806–836, 1999     

Dynamic characteristics of mental models and dynamic visual displays

Mental models are hypothetical constructs for explaining human cognitive processes of understanding external reality, translating the reality into internal representation and utilizing it in problem solving. Three experiments were conducted to investigate important characteristics of mental models, their influence on task performance, and instructional strategies facilitating their formation. The experiments were conducted in computer-based training environments designed to teach troubleshooting electronic logic circuits. The results suggested: (a) dynamic characteristics of mental models are important for solving problems if understanding functional behaviors of the system is required to perform the task; (b) dynamic characteristics of mental models are determined primarily by subjects' understanding of the system features and functions more than by the visually presented training contents of the system; and (c) motion simulating system functions in visual displays is more effective than static visual displays in facilitating the formation of dynamic characteristics of mental models. Consequently, dynamic visual displays are more effective than static visual displays for teaching electronic troubleshooting skills. These findings provide direct implications for the development of training programs.     

学生前科学概念的特点及对理科教学的启示

所谓前科学概念，一般是指学生在接受正规的科学教育之前所形成的概念。20世纪70年代中期以来，西方科学教育界(包括认知学家、科学哲学家)采用调查问卷、结合实例或现象进行访谈、作业分析以及观察学生的活动等方法，对学生的前科学概念进行了大量、深入的研究。做出这些研究的主要理论基础是奥苏贝尔的有意义学习理论，研究的结果已成为西方科学教学中较为盛行的概念转变学习理论的认知科学基础。近年来，我国也有学者对学生的前科学概念给予研究与关注。     

A comparison of applied and theoretical knowledge of concepts based on the particulate nature of matter

This study compares 183 high school chemistry students' applied and theoretical knowledge of selected concepts based on the particulate theory. The concepts are dissolution, diffusion, effusion, and states of matter. A two-form instrument called the Physical Changes Concepts Test (PCCT) was developed for this study. The application form measures students' knowlege using everyday language. The theoretical form measures students' knowledge using scientific language. Students' formal reasoning ability was measured using the Test Of Logical Thinking (TOLT). The overall results of the two forms of the PCCT indicate that more than 40% of the students displayed alternative conceptions (ACs) of the concepts covered in the PCCT. The study found that students' formal reasoning ability and their preexisting knowledge are associated with their conceptions and use of the particulate theory. The analysis of the nature of students' ACs and their use of the particulate theory revealed a significant difference between students' applied and theoretical knowledge.     

The nature and development of preservice science teachers' conceptions of subject matter and pedagogy

The purpose of this study was to assess the development and changes in preservice science teachers' subject matter and pedagogy knowledge structures as they proceeded through a professional teacher education program. Twelve secondary preservice science teachers were asked to create representations of their subject matter and pedagogy knowledge structures periodically (four times spanning the entirety of their subject-specific teacher education program) and participate in a videotaped interview concerning the eight knowledge structure representations immediately following student teaching. Qualitative analyses of knowledge structure representations and transcribed interviews within and between subjects were performed by one of the researchers and “blindly” corroborated by the other two researchers. Initial knowledge structure representations were typically linear and lacked coherence. Both types of knowledge structure representations were highly susceptible to change as a consequence of the act of teaching. Although there was some overlap between subject matter and pedagogy knowledge structures, they were reported to exert separate influences on classroom practice, with the pedagogy knowledge structure having primary influence on instructional decisions. Furthermore, the complexity of one's subject matter structure appeared to be a critical factor in determining whether the structure directly influences classroom practice.     

Developing and refining mental models in open-ended learning environments: A case study

This qualitative case study focused on the nature of science learning through open-ended problem solving. Twelve eighth graders were asked to find, frame, and resolve subproblems associated with structural failures resulting from earthquakes. Coded interviews, artifacts, and observations from the four-week study suggested students only partially derived accurate mental models about earthquake engineering problems. Recommendations for improving student problem understanding in open-ended environments include the explication of student hypotheses related to problems, and the continual testing of belief via analogical reasoning, research, communication, and tool use.