Examining the influences of epistemic beliefs and knowledge representations on cognitive processing and conceptual change when learning physics

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of epistemic beliefs and knowledge representations in cognitive and metacognitive processing when learning about physics concepts through text. Specifically, we manipulated the representation of physics concepts in texts about Newtonian mechanics and explored how these texts interacted with individuals’ epistemic beliefs to facilitate or constrain learning. Results revealed that when individuals’ epistemic beliefs were consistent with the knowledge representations in their assigned texts, they performed better on various measures of learning (use of processing strategies, text recall, and changes in misconceptions) than when their epistemic beliefs were inconsistent with the knowledge representations. These results have implications for how researchers conceptualize epistemic beliefs and support contemporary views regarding the context sensitivity of individuals’ epistemic beliefs.     

Exploring the relations between epistemic beliefs,emotions, and learning from texts

Conflicting claims about important socio-scientific debates are proliferating in contemporary society. It is therefore important to understand the individual characteristics that predict learning from conflicting claims. We explored individuals’ beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing (i.e., epistemic beliefs) and their emotions as potentially interrelated sets of learner characteristics that predict learning in such contexts. Undergraduate university students (N = 282) self-reported their topic-specific epistemic beliefs and were given three conflicting texts about climate change to read. Immediately after each of the three texts, participants self-reported the emotions they experienced. Following reading and self-report, participants wrote summaries of the conflicting texts. Text-mining and human coding were applied to summaries to construct two indices of learning from conflicting texts that reflected which source’s information is privileged in memory. Results from structural equation modeling revealed that epistemic beliefs were consistent in their predictions of emotions, which in turn variously predicted different learning outcomes. In particular, a belief that knowledge is justified by inquiry predicted surprise and curiosity, which at times facilitated learning. In contrast, confusion, predicted by passive reliance on external sources, related to impaired memory of conflicting content. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed for research on the relations between epistemic beliefs, emotions, and learning about controversial topics.     

Incremental beliefs of ability,achievement emotions and learning of Singapore students

This study investigated the relationships of students’ incremental beliefs of math ability to their achievement emotions, classroom engagement and math achievement. A sample of 273 secondary students in Singapore were administered measures of incremental beliefs of math ability, math enjoyment, pride, boredom and anxiety, as well as math classroom attention and disruption. In addition, students’ end-of-year math achievement scores were collected from school records. The hypothesised mediation model was supported in structural equation modelling analysis. Incremental beliefs of math ability were associated positively with math enjoyment and pride, and negatively with math boredom and anxiety. Achievement emotions fully mediated the relationships of incremental beliefs of math ability to classroom engagement and math achievement. Incremental beliefs of math ability were associated positively with classroom attention through math enjoyment and pride, negatively with classroom disruption through math anxiety and positively with math achievement through the two outcome-related emotions, math pride and anxiety. The findings and implications are discussed in the academic context of Singapore.     

Scientific epistemic beliefs, conceptions of learning science and self-efficacy of learning science among high school students

This study examined the relationships among Taiwanese high school students’ scientific epistemic beliefs, conceptions of learning science, and self-efficacy of learning science. The questionnaire responses gathered from 377 high school students in Taiwan were utilized to elicit such relationships. The analysis of the structural equation model revealed that students’ absolutist scientific epistemic beliefs led to lower-level conceptions of learning science (i.e. learning science as memorizing, preparing for tests, calculating, and practicing) while sophisticated scientific epistemic beliefs might trigger higher-level conceptions of learning science (i.e. learning science as increase of knowledge, applying, and attaining understanding). The students’ lower-level conceptions of learning science were also found to negatively associate with their self-efficacy of learning science, while the higher-level conceptions of learning science fostered students’ self-efficacy. However, this study found that students who viewed scientific knowledge as uncertain (advanced epistemic belief) tended to possess lower self-efficacy toward learning science.     

The timing and critical incident of epistemic beliefs change in Hong Kong college students: an exploratory study

Research on epistemic beliefs (beliefs about what knowledge is and what knowing is) has advanced and there is now a burgeoning interest in examining this construct in the Chinese cultural context. However, issues related to understanding epistemic beliefs change remain under-explored. The present study used a qualitative approach to explore Chinese college students’ timing and critical incidents of epistemic beliefs change. Eight college students from Hong Kong participated in interviews and three key themes emerged from their responses. First, students identified college transition as a major source of epistemic perturbation. Second, they attributed epistemic beliefs change mostly to educational encounters. These encounters were characterized by a curriculum with multiple perspectives, being taught by teachers who could provide cognitive scaffolding for epistemic belief resolution, and assessment processes that allowed the latitude to demonstrate multiple perspectives. Furthermore, these characteristics of assessment (mainly regarding examinations) also emerged as a strand of culturally nuanced findings. Students explicitly regarded assessment influencing their epistemic beliefs and described how they differentiated their incongruent “professed” and “practised” epistemic beliefs so as to fit the rules of the public examination. The findings have yielded cultural implications and suggest the need to understand epistemic beliefs transcending the naive-sophisticated dichotomy.     

The differential development of epistemic beliefs in psychology and computer science students: A four-wave longitudinal study

This article analyses the differential development of discipline-specific epistemic beliefs (i.e., beliefs about the nature of knowledge) in computer science and psychology. With regard to computer science, a “hard” discipline, we expected absolute beliefs (knowledge as objective “truths”) to increase over time. In contrast, in the more “soft” discipline of psychology, we expected absolute beliefs to be low and stable, and multiplistic beliefs (knowledge as subjective “opinions”) to follow an inversely U-shaped trajectory. Hypotheses were tested in a three-semester long four-wave study with 226 undergraduates. Data were analysed by multi-group growth modelling for parallel processes. In computer science, absolute beliefs indeed increased over the study period. In psychology, an initial increase in multiplistic beliefs was followed by a steep decrease. We therefore suggest that epistemic “sophistication” should be conceived of as a flexible adaptation of epistemic judgments to the characteristics of specific contexts, and not as a generalized developmental sequence.     

Development and validation of the IMEB-M,a German questionnaire for assessing topic-specific epistemic beliefs

Epistemic beliefs are individual beliefs about knowledge and knowledge acquisition. Empirical studies indicate that learners’ epistemic beliefs influence their learning processes and success (e.g. motivation, text comprehension, learning strategy selection, grades). Teachers and trainers can support their apprentices in developing preferable epistemic beliefs to facilitate learning. To do this, instructors need information on learners’ current beliefs for lesson planning and monitoring epistemic beliefs development. The following paper reports the validation of a tool for generating this kind of information: the Instrument for Measuring Epistemic Beliefs in Marketing. The instrument validation is based on three studies (Study I: 225 university trained business administration students; Study II: 531 vocationally trained retailers/wholesalers; Study III: 179 vocationally trained bank assistants). It reveals high reliabilities (α values about .700), stable factor structures, and incremental validity in comparison to general epistemic beliefs. The new questionnaire is able to predict grades in marketing and can be used to diagnose apprentices’ epistemic beliefs for adjusting instruction to learners’ preconditions. Findings based on the new instrument indicate that apprentices show partly unfavourable epistemic beliefs. As a result, supporting learners in developing preferable beliefs provides an opportunity to increase their learning success.     

Students’ emotions during homework in mathematics: Testing a theoretical model of antecedents and achievement outcomes

The experience of pleasant and unpleasant emotions in academic situations is known to affect students’ learning. The aim of the present study was to extend previous research by examining the antecedents and consequences of student emotions in the homework context. Multilevel analyses of a longitudinal dataset containing 3483 grade 9 and grade 10 students in 155 classes showed that the perceived quality of the homework tasks assigned by the teacher affected students’ experience of unpleasant homework-related emotions. Moreover, the experience of unpleasant emotions during homework sessions was negatively related to homework effort and negatively predicted later achievement in mathematics.     

The change in epistemological beliefs and beliefs about teaching and learning: a study among pre-service teachers

This study investigated the change in Singaporean pre-service teachers' epistemological beliefs and beliefs about learning and teaching over the course of a teacher preparation program. An online survey was administered during the first week of a nine-month program and the same survey was administered after the 413 participants had completed all their course work and teaching practice. Participants exhibited significant changes in epistemological beliefs and beliefs about learning and teaching – participants indicated more relativistic epistemological outlooks and less constructivism in beliefs about teaching. At the end of the teacher preparation program, they seemed to less value effort in learning and believed more in innate ability.     

Informing about climate change and invasive species: how the presentation of information affects perception of risk,emotions, and learning

Environmental issues such as climate change are becoming ever more important in today’s societies and politics. Information is spread by the media, for example, via the Internet or information brochures, employing different representational styles (e.g. sensational vs. neutral styles, emphasis of human vs. natural causes). We investigated the effects of such differences in presentation when informing about local impacts of climate change – more specifically about invasive species – on perceived risk, emotions, and learning. Seventy-two students at a German university read five brochures about the local effects of climate change and invasive species. They rated their perceived risk and emotions and worked on learning outcome tests. As expected, the sensational style led to higher perceived risk and stronger negative emotions than the neutral style. In addition, our results reveal a potential dilemma for environmental education: while a sensational style enhanced general learning outcomes, it seemed to lead to quite a negative and one-sided view about climate change and invasive species.     

Self-regulated learning processes vary as a function of epistemic beliefs and contexts: Mixed method evidence from eye tracking and concurrent and retrospective reports

The objective of the current studies was to investigate how epistemic cognition related to specific phases and components of self-regulated learning and its adaptation to learning conditions of varying quality. In a multi-study, mixed method design, we presented university students with science content that relayed conceptual discrepancies and collected quantitative and qualitative data to study how students responded to discrepancies. In Study 1 (n = 42), we collected eye tracking patterns, study times, and metacognitive ratings and found that participants adapted their behavioral processing as a function of their epistemic cognition and discrepancy type. In Study 2 (n = 20), we collected concurrent think-aloud protocols and retrospective interviews to further explore why discrepancies were noticed (or not) and how they were resolved. Results revealed that prior knowledge and epistemic self-efficacy in oneself as an evaluator of knowledge emerged as important themes to detecting and efficiently resolving discrepancies. We conclude with a discussion of theoretical and methodological implications.     

Cognitive ability,exam-related emotions and exam performance: A field study in a college setting

Using lab and field data, this paper investigates (a) the degree to which pre- and post-exam positive and negative achievement emotions and cognitive ability are uniquely and jointly associated with exam performance and (b) the degree to which exam performance influences subsequent post-exam emotions. Based on a sample of 102 students, results show that ability influences exam performance both directly and indirectly via pre-exam emotions. Also, ability and distraction interact to influence performance such that ability has a buffering effect. Distraction has a significant deleterious effect on performance for low ability students, but does not disrupt performance for high ability students. Moreover, positive emotions facilitate performance by decreasing distraction whereas negative emotions hinder performance by increasing it. Finally, results show that the exam itself has a significant impact on post-exam positive and negative emotions, even when controlling for pre-exam emotions. Results are discussed in terms of the emerging research on achievement emotions beyond test anxiety.     

The role of a professional learning community in teacher change: a perspective from beliefs and practices

This longitudinal study aimed to examine the role of a professional learning community (PLC) in changing teachers’ beliefs and practices. Teachers of a Chinese department in a Hong Kong secondary school were interviewed and observed. The findings indicate that the features of a PLC-facilitating teacher change are development of a coherent structure, a collaborative culture, and effective learning activities. These help teachers to overcome initial difficulties and induce their motivation for transformation. Teacher change in five dimensions (curriculum, teaching, learning, roles of teachers, and learning to teach) and three patterns (change in practice but not in belief, change in belief but not in practice, change in practice and belief) were detected. It is argued that cultivating an effective PLC is significant to teacher development.     

Metacognitive beliefs, self-confidence and primary learning environment of sixth grade students

Metacognition is an integral component of a self-regulated approach to learning. The present study examined the relationships between academic self-efficacy and perceptions of one's own competence in memory and reasoning abilities, and their role in predicting the Self-confidence trait. The study also aimed to determine the role of key classroom factors (goal orientation and self-efficacy with the teacher) in predicting self-beliefs, the Self-confidence trait and academic achievement in Year 6 students (N = 177). EFA and Path analysis were used to determine these relationships. The hypothesised path model was tested in a simultaneous fashion of the entire system of variables to determine whether or not hypothesised relationships were consistent with data. The results suggest that academic self-efficacy and metacognitive competency beliefs define a broad factor—Metacognitive Beliefs—which serves as a key predictor of Self-confidence. Mastery goal-orientation and self-efficacy with teacher predicted Metacognitive Beliefs and, indirectly, Self-confidence. Students with stronger Metacognitive Beliefs were less engaged in self-handicapping behaviours. Known common factors—intelligence, gender and a proxy for SES, school fees—were controlled for. The present study has important implications for both metacognitive theory and educational practice.     

Motivational beliefs and cognitive processes in mathematics achievement, analyzed in the context of cultural differences: a Korean elementary school example

The relations among students’ motivational beliefs, cognitive processes, and academic achievement were investigated. A 51-item questionnaire together with a mathematics achievement test was administered to 459 fifth graders in Korean elementary school mathematics classrooms. Results indicated that, in general, students’ cognitive processes related closely to competence beliefs, task values, and achievement goals, and more importantly their success or failure in mathematics achievement was closely linked to competence beliefs, performance-avoidance goals, and persistence strategies. Positive evidence of performance-approach goals was observed in math learning relative to task goals. As expected, performance-avoidance goals turned out to be detrimental to students’ math learning. These findings are generally congruent with the motivational theories and support the position that students should be encouraged to adopt task goals and actively involve themselves in math class activities. However, it also behooves us to recognize the potential benefits of performance-approach goals in different cultural contexts, such as the Korean elementary school math classrooms.     

Future time orientation and learning conceptions: effects on metacognitive strategies,self-efficacy beliefs,study effort and academic achievement

During the past decade, research on the constructive learning process has been conducted mainly from two perspectives: student approaches to learning (SAL) and self-regulated learning (SRL). The SAL perspective has highlighted the role of learning conceptions with respect to other topics involved in constructive learning processes, whereas recently the SAL perspective has emphasised the effects of the future time perspective (FTP) and self-efficacy beliefs about these topics. Based on these two lines of research (SRL and SAL), using path analysis, we explored the direct and indirect effects of FTP and learning conceptions on self-efficacy, metacognitive strategies, effort and academic performance. Likewise, we identified some patterns that combine specific factors related to these variables. Participants in the present study were 100 (84% females, 16% males) Spanish fourth year university students enrolled in the Social Sciences Degree Programme. The ages of the students ranged from 18 to 49 (M = 22.02; SD = 3.68) and their participation was voluntary and anonymous. Likert-scale inventories were used to obtain data from students: FTP; learning conceptions; metacognitive strategies scale; and self-efficacy beliefs for SAL. On the one hand, the path analysis showed interesting indirect and direct relationships between topics with regard to key constructs of each of these research perspectives (SRL/SAL). However, these results do not coincide with the body of knowledge about FTP. On the other hand, results obtained using cluster and discriminant analysis revealed three specific patterns: a meaning orientation to learning and the future, a reproductive orientation to learning and the present, and an unusual pattern explained by the influence of historical-cultural characteristics on learning practices in educational contexts. We consider that this last pattern presents relevant implications for educational practice.     

The role of emotions,motivation, and learning behavior in underachievement and results of an intervention

Research has shown that various individual factors play an important role in the underachievement of gifted students. Most often discussed as predictors of underachievement are motivation, learning behavior, and emotions. To examine which specific constructs from these fields simultaneously predict underachievement among gifted fourth graders, logistic regression was performed on data from eighty-five highly intelligent students out of thirty-four classrooms. Students reported on their self-efficacy, learning goal orientation, use of text-reduction strategies, anxiety, boredom, anger, and enjoyment. Emerging predictors of underachievement were self-efficacy, use of text-reduction strategies, and anxiety. As these constructs are all connected to self-regulated learning in different ways, an intervention was implemented which successfully encourages self-regulated learning among students of differing cognitive abilities. Assessing the intervention’s effectiveness for different ability levels was important as the intervention was not a pull-out program, but was integrated into regular classroom instruction in which all students in these classes participated. Results from multilevel longitudinal models showed positive intervention effects for learning behavior among gifted underachievers, but no intervention effects on self-efficacy and anxiety could be detected.     

The beliefs of teachers and daycare staff regarding children of divorce: A Q methodological study

This Q methodological study explores beliefs of daycare staff and teachers regarding young children’s reactions related to divorce. The Q factor analysis resulted in two viewpoints. Participants on the viewpoint “Child problems” believe that children show various emotional and behavioral problems related to divorce, while those on the “Structure is working” viewpoint believe structure in daycare centers and parental cooperation help children to overcome divorce-related difficulties. Selective perception based on subjective experiences may have influenced these views. Practical implications are discussed. Q methodology and cognitive interviewing techniques seem efficient in exploring daycare staff beliefs.     

The effects of a constructivist teaching approach on student academic achievement, self-concept, and learning strategies

The effects of a constructivist approach on academic achievement, self-concept and learning strategies, and student preference were investigated. The 76 six graders were divided into two groups. The experimental group was taught using the constructivist approach while the control group was taught using the traditional approach. A total of 40 hours over nine weeks was used to implement the experiment. The instruments used were as follows; mathematics tests administered by the teacher, self-concept inventory, learning strategies inventory, and a classroom environment survey. The results are 1) constructivist teaching is more effective than traditional teaching in terms of academic achievement; 2) constructivist teaching is not effective in relation to self-concept and learning strategy, but had some effect upon motivation, anxiety towards learning and self-monitoring; 3) a constructivist environment was preferred to a traditional classroom.