Development of the Efficacy Beliefs for Conceptual Change Learning Questionnaire

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to assess college students’ efficacy beliefs for conceptual change and to examine the psychometric properties of the instrument. Participants were 692 students. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized single factor structure of Efficacy Beliefs for Conceptual Change Learning Questionnaire providing evidence for the construct validity. Evidence for concurrent validity also is provided. On the basis of the evidence provided in this study, the questionnaire appears to produce valid and reliable scores for college students. With the use of the questionnaire, conceptual change researchers might be able to better assess the relationship between students’ efficacy beliefs and the change in their conceptual understandings of various science concepts.     

论学生学习观的结构

学生的学习观是学生个体对学习现象和经验的直观认识,对学习动机和行为具有重要作用。对于学生学习观的具体内涵和结构,研究者们分别侧重于学习观因素和层次两个角度加以阐述,但这些理论都是从对学生的调查结果中归纳出来的,而学生的学习观是一种内隐的直觉,学生未必能够明确而全面地描述出来。为了更好地揭示个体学习观的内涵,最好基于调查归纳研究的结果,参照学习理论家们对学习现象和经验的分析,同时从因素和层次两个方面来刻画学生个体的学习观。     

Student Epistemological Beliefs and Conceptual Change Activities: How Do Pair Members Affect Each Other?

This study examined the relationships in achievement between members of dyads who were paired according to epistemological maturity and engaged in a photosynthesis simulation exercise. This study also examined the relationship between individual students' epistemological maturity and their conceptual understanding of photosynthetic processes. The findings indicated that individuals' conceptual understanding posttest scores could be predicted, in part, by their partners' posttest scores. This relationship between posttest scores was negative. Observations of selected dyads revealed that the epistemologically mature pair members consistently articulated to their partners the relationships they perceived in the simulation environment and verbally hypothesized to their partners more often than the less epistemologically mature members. The less epistemologically mature members of the observed pairs were relatively passive recipients of their more verbal partners' reasonings. They did not appear less methodical, in fact, they tended to focus on the step-wise completion of tasks in the simulation's written guide albeit with few expressions about why or how phenomena took place. Concerning the second research question, posttest scores of individuals could be predicted by the epistemological maturity of the individual. This positive relationship would account for the higher performance on posttest scores by the more epistemologically sophisticated subjects, and, if the epistemologically mature members did play a more active intellectual role in the dyad relationships, it would explain the negatively associated posttest scores of paired subjects.     

Changing Epistemological Beliefs in Pre-service Teacher Education Students

A teaching programme designed to foster the reflection on and development of more sophisticated epistemological beliefs was implemented with 29 pre-service graduate teacher education students at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. As part of the year-long teaching programme, students were required to reflect in journal entries on the content of an educational psychology unit in relation to their epistemological beliefs. The students engaged in this teaching programme (the research group) were interviewed in relation to their beliefs at the beginning (Time 1) and conclusion (Time 2) of the teaching programme. Students in a comparison group were not encouraged to explicitly reflect on their epistemological beliefs. They were asked to complete written statements about their beliefs about knowing at the beginning (Time 1) and end (Time 2) of the year-long unit. Schommer's (1988, 1990) epistemological beliefs questionnaire was administered to both the comparison and research groups at Time 1 and Time 2. This questionnaire measured beliefs about knowing. The results of both the quantitative and qualitative data analysis indicated that the group of students engaged in the teaching programme experienced more growth in sophisticated epistemological beliefs. The success of the teaching programme has implications for how teacher educators develop learning environments.     

Epistemological Foundations of School Science

Based on a synthesis of contributions from differentauthors, we present a theoreticalframework that provides some foundations for schoolscience, and we define someresearch problems. We start from what is already knownabout students' models andcognition in order to construct proposals of didacticalintervention. The cognitive modelof science, developed in the philosophy of science throughstudying scientists' activity,has allowed us to propose an analogous model for schoolscience in which experimentationand language play the key roles. We emphasise the relativeindependence of school scienceand scientists' science.     

论学生学习观的结构

学生的学习观是学生个体对学习现象和经验的直观认识，对学习动机和行为具有重要作用。对于学生学习观的具体内涵和结构，研究者们分别侧重于学习观因素和层次两个角度加以阐述，但这些理论都是从对学生的调查结果中归纳出来的，而学生的学习观是一种内隐的直觉，学生未必能够明确而全面地描述得出来。为了更好地揭示个体学习观的内涵，最好基于调查归纳研究的结果，参照学习理论家们对学习现象和经验的分析，同时从因素的层次两个方面来刻画学生个体的学习观。     

Epistemological Beliefs and Valuing School: Considerations for College Admissions and Retention

We examine the relationship between high school students' beliefs about the nature of knowledge, or epistemological beliefs, and their attitudes toward education. High school students completed an epistemological questionnaire assessing their beliefs in fixed ability to learn, simple knowledge, quick learning, and certain knowledge. Then they answered open-ended questions on a hypothetical character named Billy. They were to advise Billy if he should go on to college even though his grades were poor and his parents had no money. Finally, they completed questions about their own feelings toward high school and their expectations of the demands of college. Attitudes toward school were then regressed on epistemological belief factor scores. The less students believed in fixed ability to learn and quick learning, the more likely they were to encourage Billy to go to college and to appreciate the role of school in furthering their education, gaining employment, and living everyday life.     

Epistemological Beliefs Across Domains Using Biglan's Classification of Academic Disciplines

The purpose of this study was to examine students' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning, epistemological beliefs, across domains that vary according to Biglan's classification of academic disciplines (hard vs. soft disciplines and pure vs. applied disciplines). One hundred and fifty-two university students completed three questionnaires that assessed their epistemological beliefs about mathematics (hard-pure), the social sciences (also pure), and business (neither hard nor pure). Correlations indicated that students' epistemological beliefs were similar for mathematics and social sciences, as well as for mathematics and business. When the amount of academic experience was taken into account, some evidence of domain specificity was found. These results support Sternberg's caveat that the dichotomy of domain generality/specificity is an assumption that should be questioned. We propose that future researchers should investigate the breadth of applicability of epistemological beliefs.     

Epistemological Issues Concerning Computer Simulations in Science and Their Implications for Science Education

Computers and simulations represent an undeniable aspect of daily scientific life, the use of simulations being comparable to the introduction of the microscope and the telescope, in the development of knowledge. In science education, simulations have been proposed for over three decades as useful tools to improve the conceptual understanding of students and the development of scientific capabilities. However, various epistemological aspects that relate to simulations have received little attention. Although the absence of this discussion is due to various factors, among which the relatively recent interest in the analysis of longstanding epistemological questions concerning the use of simulations, the inclusion of this discussion on the research agenda in science education appears relevant, if we wish to educate scientifically literate students in a vision of the nature of science closer to the work conducted by researchers today. In this paper we review some contemporary thoughts emerging from philosophy of science about simulations in science and set out questions that we consider of relevance for discussion in science education, in particular related with model-based learning and experimental work.     

Components of Conceptual Ecologies

The theory of conceptual change is criticized because it focuses only on supposed underlying logical structures and rational process processes, and lacks attention to affective aspects as well as motivational constructs in students’ learning science. This is a vast underestimation of the complexity and diversity of one’s change of conceptions. The notion of conceptual ecology provides a context for understanding individuals’ conceptual change learning, as it is the environment through which all information is interpreted. This research investigated how high school students’ statements, made in answering questions, reflect selected components of their conceptual ecologies. Data for this study was collected from six interviews in which seven students took part. The data also include the science teacher’s profiles of each student, the students’ personal journals, their assignments, and their examinations and answers in class. The analysis presented will here include only those components that were represented in the discourse of the seven high school students who were interviewed. When students were asked questions, there was evidence of the engagement of the various components of conceptual ecologies. These components include: epistemological commitments, metaphysical beliefs, the affective domain and emotional aspects, the nature of knowledge, the nature of learning, the nature of conceptions, and past experience. Evidence from this study suggests that these components might function as constraints to learning. This study contributes to the field by expanding our knowledge of the components of high school students’ conceptual ecologies through its definition of the categories and themes associated with those components. In examining across the range of components, the study illustrates the variety and sources of science conceptions within high school students’ conceptual ecologies.     

在理科教学中探寻美——在物理课中渗透人文素质教育的尝试

本文针对目前理科生缺少基本的人文知识与人文素养的状况，提出了在物理课中倡扬人文精神，寓教于美、寓学于美的教学思路，从而培养学生的创新能力。     

Comprehensive Exploration of Digital Literacy: Embedded with Self-Regulation and Epistemological Beliefs

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Today, science educators accept that digital literacy has been one of the key concepts for science teachers in terms of creating meaningful science...     

Effectiveness of Case-Based Learning Instruction on Epistemological Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Chemistry

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of case-based learning instruction over traditionally designed chemistry instruction on eleventh grade students’ epistemological beliefs and their attitudes toward chemistry as a school subject. The subjects of this study consisted of 63 eleventh grade students from two intact classes of an urban high school instructed with same teacher. Each teaching method was randomly assigned to one class. The experimental group received case-based learning and the control group received traditional instruction. At the experimental group, life cases were presented with small group format; at the control group, lecturing and discussion was carried out. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control group with respect to their epistemological beliefs and attitudes toward chemistry as a school subject in favor of case-based learning method group. Thus, case base learning is helpful for development of students’ epistemological beliefs and attitudes toward chemistry.     

科学课程的认识内涵及实践论意义

科学课程是科学课程决定者以社会意识形态的媒介、个体看问题的特定视角来选择、组织科学知识而形成的。科学课程是与一定社会的意识形态、科学课程决定者看待科学知识的角度等密切相关的,是具有“价值性”、“社会性”和“选择性”的。这一新的阐释将使研究者、师生认识到科学课程是不可避免地要涉及到特定社会的价值因素以及个体看问题的“角度”的,科学课程知识并不完全代表人类探索自然的真实状况,而是具有局限性、境域性和片面性的,是需要不断完善、修正与发展的。只有放弃“客观”、“价值中立”、“普遍正确”的科学课程理念,不断反思和追问科学课程知识的真理性,才能真正深化科学教育研究、深入进行科学教育实验。对于师生而言,在科学课程面前是人人平等的,没有人掌握着永远正确、不容反驳的知识真理,由此促使教师在教学以及社会生活中以平等、宽容的态度对待学生,并在实践中尊重学生的个体差异,建立民主、平等的师生关系。     

试论“促进概念性理解”的科学课教学

"促进概念性理解"的科学课教学是以帮助学生获得对科学概念的真正理解、发展学生的思维和科学理解力为目标的课程设计理念与实施模式,它有助于激发学生积极的思维,真正实现学生对科学概念的建构。     

Ways of Knowing and Epistemological Beliefs: Combined effect on academic performance

To obtain a more complete understanding of personal epistemology this study examines two epistemic paradigms – ways of knowing (specifically connected knowing and separate knowing) and epistemological beliefs (specifically beliefs about knowledge structure, knowledge stability, learning speed, and learning ability). Participants were 107 college students who completed questionnaires that assessed ways of knowing and epistemological beliefs. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that men score significantly higher on separate knowing. Path analyses revealed that the effects of ways of knowing on academic performance are mediated by belief in the speed of learning.     

Teachers’ Beliefs That Matter in Secondary Mathematics Classrooms

This paper reports the findings of a study that sought to identify particular centrally held beliefs of secondary mathematics teachers that underpinned the establishment of classroom environments that were consistent with the principles of constructivism. The nine crucial beliefs identified were held by one or other of two teachers and emerged from teacher and student surveys, interviews with the teachers and classroom observations. As is the case with all beliefs, these beliefs were contextually bound but since the contexts in which they applied were broader than particular classrooms it is argued that they may be generalisable to other contexts and even predictive of teachers likely to create similar classroom environments.     

四大研究范式的内在结构

每种研究范武都有它所期望的内在规定.本研究建立了一个新的分析研究范式的内在结构的框架.它包括五个维度、十二个方面,本研究还对四大研究范式各在这十二个方面的具体规定进行了梳理和概括.这个讨论有助于我们更好地了解各类研究范式和研究设计,我们才能更清楚地设计自己的研究、确定应该使用的理论、研究方法和研究步骤.