Scientific ‘Laws’, ‘Hypotheses’ and ‘Theories’

Some commonly held erroneous notions about the terms laws, hypotheses and theories are pointed out with specific examples from different branches of science.     

The Role of Alternative Theories and Anomalous Evidence in Children’s Scientific Belief Revision

Children’s naive theories include misconceptions which can interfere with science learning. This research examined the effect of pairing anomalies with alternative theories, and their order of presentation, on children’s belief revision. Children believe that heavy objects sink and light ones float. In a pre-, mid-, and post-test design, 5-year-olds (N = 96) were assigned to one of two conditions, where they were either exposed to an alternative theory about buoyancy and then observed anomalies (Explanation-First), or the reverse (Anomalies-First). At mid-test, children were more likely to revise their beliefs after exposure to an alternative theory than anomalies alone. At post-test, children revised their naïve belief when they had access to an alternative theory before the anomalous evidence than in the opposite order.     

“The Scientific Method” as Myth and Ideal

“The Scientific Method” as it has been portrayed in popular and introductory contexts has been declared a myth. The variation that one finds in introductory presentations of “The Scientific Method” is explained by the fact that there is no canonical account among historians and philosophers of science. What, in particular, is wrong with “The Scientific Method”? This essay provides a fairly comprehensive survey of shortcomings of “The Scientific Method”. Included are corrections to several misconceptions that often accompany such presentations. Rather than treating “The Scientific Method” as a useful approximation or an ideal, the myth should be discarded. Lessons can be learned for introductory pedagogical contexts from considering the shortcomings of the myth.     

Motivation ——Theories and Beyond

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On “Scientific Imperialism”

Abstract

The article discusses the use of various institutions of scientific imperialism, including the institution of publishing academic articles in English, the institution of standardizing how research should be reported, and the institution of indexing of articles in two global databases. We show that the establishment of institutions of scientific imperialism entails a number of negative trends: slowing down the publication of articles, the loss of a national research culture, and formulating and presenting research results to fit the requirements of indexing databases. We identify possible approaches to mitigate the negative effects associated with the expansion of the institutions of scientific imperialism.     

Units and Scientific Notation

1.Units The metric system of measurement is the standard in the world.The fundamentalunits include the second(s)for time,the meter(m)for length,and the kilogram(kg)for mass.     

Perfectionism,Implicit Theories of Intelligence,and Taiwanese Eighth-Grade Students’ Academic Engagement

ABSTRACT

The authors attempted to examine how Taiwanese junior high school students’ perfectionistic tendencies and implicit theories of intelligence were related to their academic emotions and approach versus avoidance self-regulation, and to determine differences in contingent self-worth, emotions, and self-regulation among students with different subtypes of perfectionism. A total of 481 8th-grade Taiwanese students completed a self-reported survey assessing their perfectionistic tendencies, implicit theories of intelligence, academic emotions, behavioral self-regulation, and use of self-handicapping strategies. Results suggested that adaptive perfectionism enabled adolescents to experience positive emotions and to engage in behavioral self-regulation, whereas maladaptive perfectionism was positively associated with negative emotions and self-handicapping. In addition, the incremental theory of intelligence predicted positive affect and constructive coping. By contrast, the entity theory was positively correlated with negative emotions and self-handicapping. The authors also documented profiles of students with different perfectionistic tendencies. Findings showed that in general adaptive perfectionists displayed the healthiest emotions and self-regulatory styles. Implications for education and further research are discussed.     

Academic Self‐concept,Implicit Theories of Ability,and Self‐regulation Strategies

The purpose of the present study is to explore how academic self‐concept and implicit theories of ability are related to four self‐regulation strategies—motivation/diligence, concentration, information processing, and self‐handicapping. The hypothesis is that academic self‐concept and an incremental theory of ability are (1) positively related to motivation/diligence, concentration, and information processing strategies, and (2) negatively related to self‐handicapping strategies. On the basis of inventories 168 teacher students and 60 sport students (a total of 178 females and 50 males) were scored on academic self‐concept, incremental and fixed theories of ability and the four self‐regulation strategies. Multiple regression analysis was used for each self‐regulation strategy as dependent variable, and with academic self‐concept and the ability theories as independent variables. Results revealed that an incremental theory had, as predicted, a positive relation with motivation/diligence and concentration, but had only trivial relations with information processing and self‐handicapping, whereas a fixed theory had only the predicted relation with self‐handicapping. As hypothesised, a high academic self‐concept was positively related to motivation/diligence, conception, and information processing and negatively to self‐handicapping. The findings may indicate that, in order to promote meta‐theoretical processing and prevent student from self‐handicapping, it is important to strengthen academic self‐concept, and to foster an incremental conception of ability among students.     

Personality and Performance Research—New Theories and Directions Required

One purpose of teacher education is to help future teachers develop the necessary knowledge, abilities, and skill for good teaching. A second purpose is to develop the commitment to use this knowledge, ability, and skill when trainees graduate from the training program and begin their teaching careers. There is evidence to suggest that teacher education programs can successfully achieve the first purpose, but success in the development of commitment to good teaching has not yet been demonstrated. By applying Becker's conception of commitment, a two-step plan for developing commitment in teacher education is proposed. The first step is to identify and assess commitment, the second step is to record behavioral indicators of commitment and to use these records to help future teachers develop commitment. In physical education, the improvement of teaching is vital to the future of the field; thus it is critical that teacher education programs help their students develop commitment to good teaching as well as develop effective teaching skills     

Theories,Concepts, and Techniques: Too Much of a Number of Good Things?

The field of information technology in education is nearly 30 years old. There have been many impressive achievements during that time. However, the field seems to have developed a number of theories, concepts, and activities that are often taken for granted and are regarded as sacrosanct. A case is made for the notion that theories should be practical and that it is possible to have too much of a good thing.     

Critical View on Machiavelli and His Political Theories

Machiavelli was a controversial political thinker. His ideas of morality and politics created a new chapter of western ideal and also created a great stir in history. His Prince presented all his ideas and hopes, all had its present meaning in modern time.     

Re‐visioning Science “Love and Passion in the Scientific Imagination”: Art and science

The often portrayed media image of the scientist is a rather strange one, grim‐looking scientists, usually male, poised beside incomprehensible instruments. It is little wonder that we encounter the stereotype of the bespectacled scientist; thick black rims, coke bottle lenses, roman sandals, dressed in lab coats, trousers up to their necks. A qualitative study designed to produce a series of visual and oral narratives based on the everyday lived realities of “the contemporary scientist” was undertaken. The study was a participative project in which a research team, including the project leaders Anne Noble and Michelle Lunn, together with research assistants and documentary photography students, worked alongside scientists to produce contemporary and deliberately challenging stories of “the scientist” ¹ 1. Please see acknowledgements for details of the research team and the scientists involved in the project. . In this paper, the most pervasive theme to emerge from the research, the link between art and science, is discussed.     

The Nature of Scientific Explanation: Examining the perceptions of the nature,quality, and “goodness” of explanation among college students,science teachers,and scientists

Issues regarding scientific explanation have been of interest to philosophers from Pre-Socratic times. The notion of scientific explanation is of interest not only to philosophers, but also to science educators as is clearly evident in the emphasis given to K-12 students' construction of explanations in current national science education reform efforts. Nonetheless, there is a dearth of research on conceptualizing explanation in science education. Using a philosophically guided framework—the Nature of Scientific Explanation (NOSE) framework—the study aims to elucidate and compare college freshmen science students', secondary science teachers', and practicing scientists' scientific explanations and their views of scientific explanations. In particular, this study aims to: (1) analyze students', teachers', and scientists' scientific explanations; (2) explore the nuances about how freshman students, science teachers, and practicing scientists construct explanations; and (3) elucidate the criteria that participants use in analyzing scientific explanations. In two separate interviews, participants first constructed explanations of everyday scientific phenomena and then provided feedback on the explanations constructed by other participants. Major findings showed that, when analyzed using NOSE framework, participant scientists did significantly “better” than teachers and students. Our analysis revealed that scientists, teachers, and students share a lot of similarities in how they construct their explanations in science. However, they differ in some key dimensions. The present study highlighted the need articulated by many researchers in science education to understand additional aspects specific to scientific explanation. The present findings provide an initial analytical framework for examining students' and science teachers' scientific explanations.     

The Scientific World View,Information Technology,and Science Education: Closing the Gap Between Knowledge-Generation and Knowledge–Consumption

Scholars of science and society have documented a rising public discontent with the scientific enterprise. Low scientific literacy, and an almost instinctive mistrust of scientists and the scientific enterprise, dominate current public discourse about science-intensive matters. Ironically, this disillusionment has come at a time when the ability of scientific discoveries to inform the human condition has perhaps never been greater. New information technologies, including those for accessing data, interacting with data, and communicating with other people through space and time, may offer new pathways for bridging the large gaps that lie between the frontiers of science, students and laypeople. Examples of recent scientific discoveries that exemplify aspects of the scientific world view are reviewed, and traditional classroom pedagogy is examined in light of the habits of mind these discoveries embody. Finally, specific information technologies and model projects are reviewed. This review reveals both promise and challenges: while information technologies may foster new modes of teaching and learning, they also demand new forms of interaction among scientists, teachers, and technology/software developers, for which there are both few systemic incentives and a largely incomplete theoretical foundation.