Disentangling Robust Developmental Constraints From the Instructionally Mutable: Young Children's Epistemic Reasoning About a Study of Their Own Design

This study examines first graders' epistemic reasoning, in tacit “practical epistemologies” reflected in thinking about an investigation of their own design. I analyzed children's epistemic reasoning, following a design experiment scaffolding increasing regulation of scientific inquiry in a domain they studied in depth. Participants consisted of children in two first grade classes (n = 35). The study capitalizes on the final phase of the design experiment, wherein pairs assumed substantial responsibility for design and implementation of an investigation pursuing their own question. I conducted structured interviews with each pair, eliciting their thinking about their investigation. Forty-three percent of the children attributed uncertainty to their findings. Forty-nine percent transcended phenomenon-based reasoning in thinking about how to improve their study, reasoning instead in terms of relation between variables. Forty percent posited additional potentially influential variables, reflecting a tacit understanding of the lack of any straightforward one-to-one correspondence between cause and effect. These findings suggest that epistemic reasoning is plastic, sensitive to instructional opportunities. I argue that the children's relatively deep familiarity with the domain, experience in assuming increasing responsibility for structuring scientific inquiry, and investment they had in their own investigations contributed to the surprisingly robust epistemic reasoning they revealed in this context.     

Effect of cooperative learning strategies on student verbal interactions and achievement during conceptual change instruction in 10th grade general science

This study evaluated the effects of cooperative learning on students' verbal interaction patterns and achievement in a conceptual change instructional model in secondary science. Current conceptual change instructional models recognize the importance of student–student verbal interactions, but lack specific strategies to encourage these interactions. Cooperative learning may provide the necessary strategies. Two sections of low-ability 10th-grade students were designated the experimental and control groups. Students in both sections received identical content instruction on the particle model of matter using conceptual change teaching strategies. Students worked in teacher-assigned small groups on in-class assignments. The experimental section used cooperative learning strategies involving instruction in collaborative skills and group evaluation of assignments. The control section received no collaborative skills training and students were evaluated individually on group work. Gains on achievement were assessed using pre- and posttreatment administrations of an investigator-designed short-answer essay test. The assessment strategies used in this study represent an attempt to measure conceptual change. Achievement was related to students' ability to correctly use appropriate scientific explanations of events and phenomena and to discard use of naive conceptions. Verbal interaction patterns of students working in groups were recorded on videotape and analyzed using an investigator-designed verbal interaction scheme. The targeted verbalizations used in the interaction scheme were derived from the social learning theories of Piaget and Vygotsky. It was found that students using cooperative learning strategies showed greater achievement gains as defined above and made greater use of specific verbal patterns believed to be related to increased learning. The results of the study demonstrated that cooperative learning strategies enhance conceptual change instruction. More research is needed to identify the specific variables mediating the effects of cooperative learning strategies on conceptual change learning. The methods employed in this study may provide some of the tools for this research.     

The concept of development and the development of concepts. Education and development in Vygotsky’s thinking

A major theme of Vygotsky’s research in the latter part of his life was the theme of concept formation or conceptual development in child development. He argued that the acquisition of mature scientific (academic) concepts forms the crowning achievement of adolescsence. Mature conceptual thinking positively influences the cognitive domain but also the aesthetic reactions and emotions. Conversely, the breakdown of conceptual thinking in pathology will lead to severe intellectual impairment but also to emotional dullness etc. In this paper it is claimed that this view is highly interesting but a number of criticisms are raised. Specifically, it is argued that (1) the resulting view is overly rationalistic; (2) the notion of scientific concepts seems to imply a somewhat static view of science; and (3) Vygotsky was perhaps too optimistic about the possibility of transfer of scientific (conceptual) thinking to other domains.     

论科学与宗教的共时态关系

研究科学与宗教的共时态关系基于“文化是人的存在方式”这一前提。科学与宗教,就是人类以两种不同的方式——“科学的”或“宗教的”——来把握世界、反映思维与存在的关系;是人类理解人与世界相互关系的两种不同文化样式,表现为两种不同的文化现象。理解这种关系,既需要以主流文化样式的世界图景、思维方式、价值规范来衡量,也需要各种文化样式之间的世界图景、思维方式、价值规范的相互渗透和评价。一定时期科学的世界图号与宗教的世界图景相互作用的结果,反映出科学与宗教在特定时期的相互关系;科学的思维方式与宗教的思维方式的对立统一,反映出科学与宗教的相互作用;科学的价值规范与宗教的价值规范相互评价,反映出科学与宗教的相互影响。     

Understanding the Dialectical Relations Between Everyday Concepts and Scientific Concepts Within Play-Based Programs

In recent times there has been an enormous interest in Vygotsky’s writing on conceptual development, particularly his insights on the differences between everyday and scientific thinking. In drawing upon cultural–historical theory, this paper seeks to examine the relations between everyday concepts and scientific concepts within playful contexts, such as preschools, with a view to better understanding how very young children develop conceptual understandings in science. This paper presents an overview of a study which sought to map the transformation and appropriation of scientific concepts within two early childhood settings. Approximately ten weeks of data gathering took place, with video recordings, field notes, photographic documentation, and child and teacher interviews for recording child concept formation within these naturalistic settings. The findings indicate that when teacher programs are more oriented towards concepts rather than materials, children’s play is focused on conceptual connections. Importantly, the study showed that: It was possible to map the multiple and dynamic levels or stratas of thinking that a child or group of children may exhibit within play-based contexts; An analysis of ‘unorganised heaps’ and ‘complexive thinking’ evident in conceptually or materially oriented play-based programs can be determined; the dialectical relations between everyday concepts and scientific concepts in play-based programs can be understood; and greater understanding about the nature of concept formation in situated playful contexts have been possible.     

Conflict within dyadic interactions as a stimulant for conceptual change in physics

Research suggests that conventional teaching techniques have proved largely ineffective for dealing with the problem of science students’ misconceptions or alternative frameworks. This paper reports an investigation whereby inter‐personal conflict within dyadic interactions is used as a strategy for promoting development towards correct scientific conceptions in specific areas of electrical circuits and mechanics amongst first‐year tertiary physics students. The data indicate that a large number of physics students at the tertiary level hold non‐scientific conceptions of these physical phenomena. The dyadic interaction strategy proved effective as a means of encouraging students to actively and closely consider their own thinking about basic physical concepts. Further, results highlight the importance of inter‐personal conflict in the process of conceptual change.     

A research method using microcomputers to assess conceptual understanding and problem solving

Important goals in science education include the elucidation of how students develop a world view, reason about new information, and solve problems. This paper focuses on a research strategy using microcomputers that is directed towards elucidating conceptual understanding and problem solving strategies used by subjects interacting with an open-ended genetics simulation. The field method employed in this study is termed “structured observations”. The use of this method facilitated the generation of data during problem solving sessions by subjects in a think aloud protocol. Three sets of synchronized information of subjects’ interactions with the software were obtained: a video image which provided the sequence and duration of computer screen displays, a video image of subjects, and an audio track of verbal commentaries. The verbal protocol data, complemented by synchronized visual data, were analyzed using software tools for qualitative analysis. The use of these kinds of software programs aided researchers in the analysis of complex, qualitative data. The data were subjected to codings as text files, searches for patterns, and retrievals of patterns among coded variables. Frequency tables of the codes and patterns were generated for further interpretation. By these means, patterns of operations can be identified and inferences made about problem solvers’ conceptual understanding. Specializations: computer-based problem solving secondary teacher education. Specializations: computer-based problem solving, software design and development.     

Dynamic Science Assessment: A New Approach for Investigating Conceptual Change

Starting from the premise that understanding conceptual change requires studying it while it occurs, this article describes a new research methodology in which students' knowledge is assessed in the context of mediated learning situations that attempt to foster conceptual change. The methodology builds on two ideas: that conceptual change in science is a matter of appropriation by individuals of culturally based knowledge (of the scientific community), and that understanding such change requires a mediated context in which the students' activity (actions and thinking) is shaped by a more experienced other who reflects the cultural norms or ideals of the scientific community that facilitate knowledge production. Specific assessments developed with these ideas in mind, which we call dynamic science assessments (DSAs), function to determine students' potential to change their understanding and as a result inform us about the process of conceptual change toward scientific knowledge. Results of a DSA about electricity that we conducted with upper elementary school children (n = 28) indicated that it was possible to foster conceptual change and to discriminate children with respect to their potential to develop scientifically accurate conceptions of current and resistance. These findings indicate the promise of using mediated learning situations, such as a DSA to study conceptual change in science, and we discuss the direction of future work given the conservative mediation in the assessments conducted in this particular instance.     

Exploring the factors related to acceptance of evolutionary theory among Turkish preservice biology teachers: Toward a more informative conceptual ecology for biological evolution

In this study, using multiple regression analysis, we aimed to explore the factors related to acceptance of evolutionary theory among preservice Turkish biology teachers using conceptual ecology for biological evolution as a theoretical lens. We aimed to determine the extent to which we can account for the variance in acceptance of evolutionary theory by using understanding of evolutionary theory, epistemological beliefs, thinking dispositions, and parents' educational level as independent variables. Preservice biology teachers' thinking dispositions, their understanding of evolutionary theory, and their parents' educational level are positively correlated with acceptance of evolutionary theory. We did not find any significant positive correlation between epistemological beliefs and acceptance of evolution because of low reliability coefficients of subscales of the epistemological beliefs instrument. Together they explained 10.5% of the variance. These results suggest that studying the relationship between acceptance of evolutionary theory and other related factors in a multivariate context is more informative than examining the relationship between acceptance of evolutionary theory and other factors in isolation. Our findings indicate that studying a controversial issue such as acceptance of evolutionary theory in a multivariate fashion, using conceptual ecology as a theoretical lens to interpret the findings, is informative. Our results suggest the inclusion of thinking dispositions in conceptual ecology for biological evolution. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 420–443, 2008     

All Other Things Being Equal: Acquisition and Transfer of the Control of Variables Strategy

The ability to design unconfounded experiments and make valid inferences from their outcomes is an essential skill in scientific reasoning. The present study addressed an important issue in scientific reasoning and cognitive development: how children acquire a domain-general processing strategy (Control of Variables Strategy or CVS) and generalize it across various contexts. Seven- to 10-year-olds (N = 87) designed and evaluated experiments and made inferences from the experimental outcomes. When provided with explicit training within domains, combined with probe questions, children were able to learn and transfer the basic strategy for designing unconfounded experiments. Providing probes without direct instruction, however, did not improve children's ability to design unconfounded experiments and make valid inferences. Direct instruction on CVS not only improved the use of CVS, but also facilitated conceptual change in the domain because the application of CVS led to unconfounded, informative tests of domain-specific concepts. With age, children increasingly improved their ability to transfer learned strategies to remote situations. A trial-by-trial assessment of children's strategy use also allowed the examination of the source, rate, path, and breadth of strategy change.     

教学为本 质量立校

实施质量立校战略必须树立正确的现代高等教育的质量观，认真处理好品牌特色与全面发展、内涵建设和外延扩张以及教学与科研的关系；要重点抓好专业、师资队伍、课程与教材以及实践教学环节等方面的建设与改革。对实施质量立校战略的制度保证和途径进行了初步讨论。     

Adapting instruction to individual difference among students

This article discusses some of the problems in research on aptitude treatment interactions (ATIs). Among these are the inconsistency and lack of generality in many ATI findings, especially in classroom based ATI investigations. It is suggested that such investigations may well be of limited generality due to the nature of the phenomena. Careful classification of aptitude and treatment variables between individual differences in prior achievement and instructional method avoids some of the problems of other approaches, including examining interactions between cognitive processes and instructional method. Suggestions for further ATI research are made.     

Questions asked by primary student teachers about observations of a science demonstration

Teacher questioning has a central role in guiding pupils to learn to make scientific observations and inferences. We asked 110 primary student teachers to write down what kind of questions they would ask their pupils about a demonstration. Almost half of the student teachers posed questions that were either inappropriate or presupposed that the pupils would know the answer. For example, they directly asked for an explanation of the phenomenon instead of asking what inferences the pupils could make on the basis of their observations. There was a lack of questions that would draw the pupils’ attention to the variables that may cause the phenomenon to happen. Only about 15% of the student teachers formed questions such as ‘What is happening?’ or ‘How is it happening?’. All in all, primary student teachers seem to need extra practice in forming questions based on scientific observation.     

Bit by bit or all at once? Splitting up the inquiry task to promote children's scientific reasoning

This study examined whether and why assigning children to a segmented inquiry task makes their investigations more productive. Sixty-one upper elementary-school pupils engaged in a simulation-based inquiry assignment either received a multivariable inquiry task (n = 21), a segmented version of this task that addressed the variables in successive order (n = 21), or could formulate a task themselves (n = 19). Results showed that children are naturally inclined to pose single-variable inquiry questions. Segmented tasks, in addition, invoked more systematic but equally comprehensive investigations than a single, unsegmented task. More systematic experimentation was associated with more valid inferences and beliefs. These findings demonstrate that dividing a multivariable inquiry task into a series of single-variable subtasks facilitates the control of variables rather than the control of the learning process, and promotes inference performance and conceptual understanding.     

Unpacking students’ epistemic cognition in a physics problem-solving environment

It is a widely held view that students’ epistemic beliefs influence the way they think and learn in a given context, however, in the science learning context, the relationship between sophisticated epistemic beliefs and success in scientific practice is sometimes ambiguous. Taking this inconsistency as a point of departure, we examined the relationship between students’ scientific epistemic beliefs (SEB), their epistemic practices, and their epistemic cognition in a computer simulation in classical mechanics. Tenth grade students’ manipulations of the simulation, spoken comments, and behavior were screen and video-recorded and subsequently transcribed and coded. In addition, a stimulated recall interview was undertaken to access students’ thinking and reflections on their practice, in order to understand their practice and make inferences about their process of epistemic cognition. The paper reports on the detailed analysis of the data sets for three students of widely different SEB and performance levels. Comparing the SEB, problem solutions and epistemic practices of the three students has enabled us to examine the interplay between SEB, problem-solving strategies (PS), conceptual understanding (CU), and metacognitive reflection (MCR), to see how these operate together to facilitate problem solutions. From the analysis, we can better understand how different students’ epistemic cognition is adaptive to the context. The findings have implications for teaching science and further research into epistemic cognition.     

Exploring Conceptual Integration in Student Thinking: Evidence from a case study

Two reasons are suggested for studying the degree of conceptual integration in student thinking. The linking of new material to existing knowledge is an important aspect of meaningful learning. It is also argued that conceptual coherence is a characteristic of scientific knowledge and a criterion used in evaluating new theories. Appreciating this ‘scientific value’ should be one objective when students learn about the nature of science. These considerations imply that students should not only learn individual scientific models and principles, but should be taught to see how they are linked together. The present paper describes the use of an interview protocol designed to explore conceptual integration across two college‐level subjects (chemistry and physics). The novelty here is that a single interview is used to elicit explanations of a wide range of phenomena. The potential of this approach is demonstrated through an account of one student's scientific thinking, showing both how she applied fundamental ideas widely, and also where conceptual integration was lacking. The value and limitations of using this type of interview as one means for researching conceptual integration in students' thinking are discussed.     

Children's and adults' evaluation of the certainty of deductive inferences,inductive inferences,and guesses

Two experiments investigated kindergarten through fourth-grade children's and adults' (N = 128) ability to (1) evaluate the certainty of deductive inferences, inductive inferences, and guesses; and (2) explain the origins of inferential knowledge. When judging their own cognitive state, children in first grade and older rated deductive inferences as more certain than guesses; but when judging another person's knowledge, children did not distinguish valid inferences from invalid inferences and guesses until fourth grade. By third grade, children differentiated their own deductive inferences from inductive inferences and guesses, but only adults both differentiated deductive inferences from inductive inferences and differentiated inductive inferences from guesses. Children's recognition of their own inferences may contribute to the development of knowledge about cognitive processes, scientific reasoning, and a constructivist epistemology.     

Interaction,facilitation, and deep learning in cross-cultural chat: A case study

This case study evaluates the potential of synchronous chat for deep learning in the context of a distance education program between two universities in different cultural contexts, with a focus on interaction and facilitation. Three rubrics—functional moves, social construction of knowledge, and teaching presence—were applied in a longitudinal content analysis of chat sessions between four adult learners in Azerbaijan and their two facilitators in the U.S. The findings reveal that although the quality of the interaction was limited by the nature of the task, language difficulties, and differing cultural expectations about instruction, conceptual negotiative activity increased over time. In conjunction with previous research on constructivist learning, these results support the view that synchronous chat can facilitate deep learning, but also suggest that the cost may outweigh the benefits, especially when language and cultural barriers must be overcome.     

The diagnostic utility of Bannatyne's recategorized WISC-R scores with children referred to a developmental evaluation center

The diagnostic utility of Bannatyne's recategorized WISC-R scores in differentiating among children referred to a developmental evaluation center was evaluated. The results failed to provide support for the diagnostic utility of recategorized WISC-R scores in general and for the pattern spatial 〉conceptual〉sequential in particular. The findings are discussed in terms of the caution necessary regarding the empirical basis for diagnostic inferences and the need for replication and/or evaluation of other potential measures with well-defined clinical groups.