Metalearning and conceptual change

Conceptual change means the commitment to a new belief about a principle or a phenomenon, and the abandoning of an old one. Promotion of a new belief is relatively easy, but it is difficult to get students to abandon their former beliefs. Conflicting beliefs can be held by a learner. This article argues that the resolution of conflicting beliefs requires elements of metalearning (conscious control over one's learning).

The work of the Project to Enhance Effective Learning (the peel project), which attempts to promote metalearning in a secondary school is described and some general principles derived from the experience of the project are outlined. It is suggested that the key to the acceptance of metalearning strategies by students parallels the conditions for promoting conceptual change specified by Posner et al. (1982) and in particular in the acceptance of the fruitfulness of the new approaches. It is argued that this requires changes in the organization of schooling, particularly adoption of methods of assessment that reward understanding.     

Tracing conceptual change in preservice teachers

This article reports on a study examining changes in preservice teachers' conceptions of teacher planning associated with a year-long course on Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. Changes were measured by pre and post concept maps. Conceptions of planning on pre-maps differed significantly by certification level (elementary or secondary). Conceptions on post maps differed significantly by course instructor (three sections). Qualitative shifts in responses on pre and post maps are also noted. A new method is described for determining group patterns of response, and depicting them graphically. This method makes analysis of concept maps more practical for educators (less time consuming), and thus may contribute to further program evaluation studies.     

Model building for conceptual change

Conceptual change is a popular, contemporary conception of meaningful learning. Conceptual change describes changes in conceptual frameworks (mental models or personal theories) that learners construct to comprehend phenomena. Different theories of conceptual change describe the reorganization of conceptual frameworks that results from different forms of activity. We argue that learners' conceptual frameworks (mental models or personal theories) resulting from conceptual change are most acutely affected by model-based reasoning. Model-based reasoning is engaged and fostered by learner construction of qualitative and quantitative models of the content or phenomena they are studying using technology-based modelling tools. Model building is a powerful strategy for engaging, supporting, and assessing conceptual change in learners because these models scaffold and externalize internal, mental models by providing multiple formalisms for representing conceptual understanding and change. We demonstrate the processes and products of building models of domain content, problems, systems, experiences, and thinking processes using different technology-based modelling tools. Each tool provides alternative representational formalisms that enable learners to qualitatively and quantitatively model their conceptual frameworks.     

Theory of mind and conceptual change

We agree with the commentaries by Scholl and Leslie, and also by Moses, that the meta-analytic findings do not definitively rule out early competence accounts. But they do make extant versions of such accounts increasingly unlikely. In particular, the meta-analytic findings argue against executive function expression accounts, including the Theory-of-Mind Mechanism/Selection Processor account advocated by Scholl and Leslie. Specifically, Scholl and Leslie articulate two explicit predictions of their account: that task manipulations that attenuate inhibitory demands should differentially advantage older children, and that theory-of-mind developments should occur with consistent timetables. Both of these specific predictions are clearly contradicted, not supported, by the meta-analytic findings.     

Toward an explanation of conceptual change

In this paper, an alternative ‘explanation’ of conceptual change is offered. It is argued that the problem of explaining conceptual stability and change can be divided into three parts; accounting for conceptual change entails specifying some factors affecting each of the following: old conceptions’ persistence, new conceptions’ acquisition, and cognitive restructuring. Some factors affecting each sub‐problem are discussed, and the literature is reviewed to support the significance of these factors.     

The role of conceptual conflict in conceptual change and the design of science instruction

Conceptual conflict has long been recognized as a factor that could facilitate student learning. Due, however, to the lack of a convincing explanation of why it occurs, and how it can be resolved, it has seldom been used in instructional design. Its potential use in instruction is particularly relevant in the light of the recent, well-documented finding that students' existing conceptions frequently constitute a barrier to effective learning. This article examines conceptual conflict in the light of an epistemological model of learning as conceptual change. This analysis shows that the conceptual change model provides an explanation of conceptual conflict which is sufficiently detailed to allow it to be used in the design of instruction. The results of two studies, the first of which addressed the concepts of mass, volume, and density, and the second, the concept of speed, show that instruction, designed in this way, is effective in changing students' existing conceptions.     

Classroom conceptual change: philosophical perspectives

Researchers of students’ concepts and conceptual change frequently draw analogies to the history of science. The analogy is generally presented when comparing students’ scientific concepts to similar ones in the history of science. We have tried to show the importance of this analogy on a higher level ‐‐ that of understanding the process of conceptual change in general among students.

This article outlines a number of lines in the philosophy of science and analyses differences between the perspectives of a number of broadly constructivist positions which have developed during this century.

The analysis is used to clarify the theoretical basis on which research into student conceptual change is conducted and interpreted.     

A conceptual framework for job change

Change related to the job is identified as an exigent issue in the field of career development. This paper presents an effort to conceptualize a job change framework. The intent is increase awareness, generate discussion, and stimulate empirical research in this area.The conceptual framework for job change has been predicated on client concerns. The framework involves the unique relationship of several life factors which influence individual job change, and provides a means for systematic personal decision-making. A schematic diagram is also included as a tool that can be used for counseling and research applications.     

The conceptual evolution of actual mathematical infinity

The different stages in the conceptual evolution of actual infinity are analyzed. We show how this concept occurs in high-school students at a prior, or at best, at the same level, as in Bernard Bolzano's conceptualization (as defined in his work The Paradoxes of Infinity). Furthermore, in terms of the historical development of the concept, the students' conceptualization has intra-objectal stage characteristics. Within the same framework, we show how Cantor's work fits into the inter-objectal stage, as well as presenting the difficulties encountered by students in order to reach this stage, given the current curricular structure. We conclude that such evidence should bring about a reconsideration of Piagetian ideas in education.     

A structural equation model of conceptual change in physics

A model of conceptual change in physics was tested on introductory‐level, college physics students. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized relationships among variables linked to conceptual change in physics including an approach goal orientation, need for cognition, motivation, and course grade. Conceptual change in physics was determined using gains from pre‐ to post‐administration of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). Results indicated that need for cognition and approach goals had a significant influence on motivation. Motivation influenced change scores on the FCI both directly, and indirectly, through course grade. Finally, course grade directly influenced conceptual change. The implications of these findings for future research and developing students' conceptual change in physics are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 901–918, 2011     

Understanding conceptual change: connecting and questioning

We engage in a metalogue based on eight papers in this issue of Cultural Studies of Science Education that review the state of conceptual change research and its possible affect on the teaching and learning of science. Our discussion addresses three aspects of conceptual change research: theoretical, methodological, and practical, as we discuss conceptual change research in light of our experiences as science educators. Finally, we examine the implications of conceptual change research for the teachers and students with whom we work.

The role of analogies in promoting conceptual change in biology

Four analogies which were used to teach biology topics by four different teachers were analysed from different theoretical perspectives to determine the key role they had to play in the process of conceptual change. A supermarket analogy for the classification of living things was described using the Posner et al. (1982) view of conceptual change as having the role of a sense maker. A car cooling system analogy for human temperature homeostasis was found to play the role of a memory aid and was best explained by considering Vosniadou's (1994) framework theory and mental models perspective of conceptual change. A fluid mosaic analogy for cell membranes was used by the teacher as a transformer and was best explained by Chi et al.'s (1994) ontological category perspective of conceptual change. Finally, a bucket and pump analogy used to teach the stucture and function of the heart was described as a motivator and was viewed through the motivational perspective of conceptual change of Pintrich et al. (1993). The paper concludes that learning in different situations can best be explained by different perspectives of conceptual change and that these perspectives have much to tell us about the normal shifts in conceptual understanding as well as radical conceptual change.     

Cognitive and metacognitive aspects in conceptual change by analogy

This study is a qualitative investigation on the teaching-learning by analogy of complex curriculum concepts in natural and relevant environments, such as classrooms, to improve the ecological validity of the research itself. It aimed at exploring whether students' successful use of analogy in learning science was related a) to the level of their understanding of a specific analogy and b) to their metacognitive awareness of how the analogy was to be used and of the changes produced in their own conceptual structures. During the implementation of a biological curriculum unit, sixty 5th graders were engaged in understanding the ways in which the new concepts (concerning the human circulatory system) were similar to a familiar source (the mail delivery system) by detecting all the relations between the two systems and mapping the relevant information from the source to the target. Learners' preexisting mental models have been taken into account in order to examine their conceptual growth and change via the analogy. Qualitative data are presented for the analysis of elicited and spontaneous analogical inferences, based on structural and semantic similarities, as well as of the identification of where the analogy breaks down. Moreover, qualitative data also concern children's metacognitive awareness of the meaning and the purpose of the analogy, and their personal use of the analogy in changing initial conceptions. As hypothesized, results showed a high correlation between level of conceptual understanding of the new science topic, level of understanding of the analogy itself, and the effective use of the analogy in integrating the new information into the pre-existing conceptual structures. Some implications on the use of analogy for conceptual change are considered from an educational standpoint.     

Kuhn and conceptual change: on the analogy between conceptual changes in science and children

This article argues that the analogy between conceptual changes in the history of science and conceptual changes in the development of young children is problematic. We show that the notions of ‘conceptual change’ in Kuhn and Piaget’s projects, the two thinkers whose work is most commonly drawn upon to support this analogy, are not compatible in the sense usually claimed. We contend that Kuhn’s work pertains not so much to the psychology of individual scientists, but to the way philosophers and historians should describe developments in communities of scientists. Furthermore, we argue that the analogy is based on a misunderstanding of the nature of science and the relation between science and common sense. The distinctiveness of the two notions of conceptual change has implications for science education research, since it raises serious questions about the relevance of Kuhn’s remarks for the study of pedagogical issues.     

Problem-based learning as a facilitator of conceptual change

We investigated whether problem-based learning (PBL) can foster conceptual change. Students were randomly assigned to a PBL, lecture-based, or self-study group, all receiving instruction about the topic of Newtonian laws. Conceptual change was measured from pre- to immediate post-test (directly after instruction) and from immediate post-test to delayed post-test after one week. Results showed that the PBL-group outperformed both the lecture and the self-study group on the immediate post-test. This result supported the hypothesis that PBL can increase the likelihood of conceptual change. The PBL group also outperformed both other groups at the delayed post-test after one week; the decline in conceptual change from immediate to delayed post-test was similar for all three groups. Findings are discussed in terms of cognitive engagement.     

Patterns of resistance in managing assessment change

Achieving change in assessment practices in higher education is difficult. One of the reasons for this is resistance among those responsible for teaching and assessing. This paper seeks to explore this resistance through an analysis of staff dialogue during a major attempt to change the assessment practices at one institution. An institution-wide intervention to pilot new assessment practices was initiated, involving 35 academics across 12 departments. This paper reports on patterns emerging in dialogue about this among academics, and between academics and educational development personnel. Findings suggest that resistance is not a unitary concept, but that different stakeholders under varied circumstances express it differently; and that resistance to assessment change is particularly resilient. Implications are discussed in terms of relevance to current theories of higher education assessment and learning change management, as well as the practical considerations of attempts by institutions to engage in assessment change.