Belief, Knowledge, and Science Education

Epistemological questions about the nature of knowledge and belief underlie many of the controversial issues fundamental to research and practice in science teaching and learning. In an effort to bring some clarity to questions of knowledge and belief embedded within science education research and teaching, we first describe the distinctions drawn between knowledge and belief in both philosophy and educational psychology, each of which have shaped the various definitions employed within science education. This discussion is followed by an examination of the distinctions drawn between knowledge and belief employed by three groups of science educators: the traditional distinctions of the foundationalists that are co-opted by researchers focusing on teacher thinking/cognition, the nonfoundational epistemology of the fallibilists and the evolution educators working from this framework, and the radical constructivists who react to and attempt to move past the limitations of these other positions. In this analysis, we explicate the different ways in which knowledge and belief are understood and operationalized in a broad spectrum of research, we describe the theoretical and philosophical assumptions underlying these approaches, and we explore the important areas of contention (both theoretical and empirical) surrounding each of these distinctions.     

科学教育中的知识、方法与信念——基于科学哲学的考察

科学教育强调学生理解科学的本质,而不仅仅是知识,这是因为科学与社会之间的联系越来越紧密,凸显了将科学看作了解世界的方式在认识论上的重要性。出于个体认识论的需要、科学研究的认识论特征以及科学外行与科学家在认知劳力上的区分,科学教育的目标转向受教育个体未来的社会行动,应培育学生建立对科学的信任和维护科学的认识论权威。为实现这种目标,科学教育应从理解科学的本质转向理解真实的科学实践的本质,在科学教育中呈现真实的而非理想化的科学实践,采纳基于科学哲学模型和理论的实用主义进路。科学哲学对科学实践的新近研究,虽然可以提供理论基础,但应该与科学教育进行建设性对话,更加关注非科学家理解科学的模式,将哲学模型转化为适合学生认知水平和需要、符合教学情境的教学资源。     

Lucky Belief in Science Education

The conceptualisation of knowledge as justified true belief has been shown to be, at the very least, an incomplete account. One challenge to the justified true belief model arises from the proposition of situations in which a person possesses a belief that is both justified and true which some philosophers intuit should not be classified as knowledge. Though situations of this type have been imagined by a number of writers, they have come to be labelled Gettier cases. Gettier cases arise when a fallible justification happens to lead to a true belief in one context, a case of ‘lucky belief’. In this article, it is argued that students studying science may make claims that resemble Gettier cases. In some contexts, a student may make a claim that is both justified and true but which arises from an alternative conception of a scientific concept. A number of instances of lucky belief in topics in science education are considered leading to an examination of the criteria teachers use to assess students’ claims in different contexts. The possibility of lucky belief leads to the proposal that, in addition to the acquisition of justified true beliefs, the development of reliable belief-forming processes is a significant goal of science education. The pedagogic value of various kinds of claims is considered and, it is argued, the criteria used to judge claims may be adjusted to suit the context of assessment. It is suggested that teachers should be alert to instances of lucky belief that mask alternative conceptions.     

Belief,Knowledge and Understanding

This article discusses how to deal with the relations between different cultural perspectives in classrooms, based on a proposal for considering understanding and knowledge as goals of science education, inspired by Dewey’s naturalistic humanism. It thus combines educational and philosophical interests. In educational terms, our concerns relate to how science teachers position themselves in multicultural classrooms. In philosophical terms, we are interested in discussing the relations between belief, understanding, and knowledge under the light of Dewey’s philosophy. We present a synthesis of Dewey’s theory of inquiry through his naturalistic humanism and discuss its implications for the concepts of belief, understanding, and knowledge, as well as for the goals of science teaching. In particular, we highlight problems arising in the context of possible conflicts between scientific and religious claims in the school environment that result from totalitarian positions. We characterize an individual’s position as totalitarian if he or she takes some way of thinking as the only one capable of expressing the truth about all that exists in the world, lacks open-mindedness to understand different interpretative perspectives, and attempts to impose her or his interpretation about the facts to others by violent means or not. From this stance, any other perspective is taken to be false a priori and, accordingly, as a putative target to be suppressed or adapted to the privileged way of thinking. We argue, instead, for a more fallibilist evaluation of our own beliefs and a more respectful appraisal of the diversity of students’ beliefs by both students and teachers.     

The Nature of Science and the Role of Knowledge and Belief

In everyday language we tend to think of knowledge as reasoned belief that a proposition is true and the natural sciences provide the archetypal example of what it means to know. Religious and ideological propositions are the typical examples of believed propositions. Moreover, the radical empiricist worldview so often associated with modern science has eroded society's meaningful sense of life. Western history, however, shows that knowledge and belief have not always been constructed separately. In addition, modern developments in the philosophy and history of science have seriously undermined the radical empiricist's excessive confidence in scientific methods. Acknowledging in the science classroom the parallel structure of knowledge and belief, and recognizing that science requires a presuppositional foundation that is itself not empirically verifiable would re introduce a valuable discussion on the meaning of science and its impact on life. Science would less likely be taught as a `rhetoric of conclusions'. The discussion would also help students to gain a firmer integration of science with other important knowledge and beliefs that they hold.     

推动知识教育向信仰教育的正向转化——关于高校马克思主义信仰教育的思考

实现高校思想政治理论教育的目标,需要理论知识教育和理想信仰教育有机结合,最终达到大学生坚定马克思主义信仰的目的。推动知识教育向信仰教育转化是深化高校思想政治理论教育改革的中心环节。当前的主要问题是,思想政治教育过程存在信仰教育的应然与实然的矛盾,存在对思想政治理论教育的知识性与信仰性的模糊认识。深化教育教学改革必须明确思想政治理论教育是信仰教育的性质,从教学内容和教育方法入手,准确把握知识教育与信仰教育之间的关系,优化目标体系,转换教学逻辑,整合方式方法,推动知识教育向信仰教育的转化与升华。     

Connected Knowledge in Science and Mathematics Education

While the traditional meaning of connected knowledge is valuable in some school subjects, it does not address the main activities of knowledge acquisition in subjects such as physics and mathematics. The goal of this article is to analyze the relationships between the concepts “learning for understanding” and “connected knowledge”, a central theme in feminist epistemology. In learning for understanding, the learner forms multiple, intricate connections among the concepts she is studying in school, between school concepts and her everyday concepts, and between school concepts and their wider context. Viewing connected knowledge as tightly related to understanding has several important implications. It brings connected knowledge into the central learning activities that take place in school science and mathematics, and gives it a high status. It contributes to our understanding of gender‐related patterns in thinking; and it may form a unifying theoretical framework for many studies and projects in the field of gender fair education.     

信仰的知识和知识的信仰--对哈贝马斯《信仰和知识》的另种解读

哈贝马斯无法解构“信仰和知识”的矛盾，他所面临的问题其实与其他人没有什么两样。只是他在人们无望的挣扎中试图找到一条出路。这就是缓和、而不是认同这种冲突。这个原则不仅适用于欧洲的后世俗社会。而且适用于不同宗教信仰之间的差异。在这点上本文与之共鸣。文章的一个新观点是。对科学的新的迷信具有宗教化倾向，这不仅是“信仰和知识”这个古老话题的继续，而且为之增加了新的麻烦。     

Rural Science Education: Valuing Local Knowledge

Whether playing outdoors or working on the farm, rural children acquire science and engineering skills throughout their daily lives. Although 11.4 million children in the United States grow up in rural areas, compared to 14.6 million in urban areas, relatively little attention is given to rural science education. This article demonstrates that rural contexts can be rich environments for learning science. Issues facing rural schools, the unique knowledge base and learning needs of rural children, and effective strategies focused on valuing and using local knowledge in science education are discussed. Implementing these strategies across students, teachers, and communities can increase rural students' access to, engagement in, and achievement in science. These can open doors to more science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers for rural students and enhance diversity across the STEM spectrum.     

雅可比的信仰知识学

在知识的来源问题上,门德尔松和雅可比各抒己见,各执一端,通过对斯宾诺莎知识学的诠释,把知识的来源之争推向新的高潮。康德坚持调和的立场,既维护着理性的权威,又为信仰留下空间。为了弥合康德知识学的巨大鸿沟,雅可比确立了信仰知识学。信仰就是知识,就是一种直接知识。这种知识不能依靠理性的反思和推演,只能通过个体的信仰、良知、情感方能通达。这种直接知识和间接知识也是统一的,是教育、文化的结果。     

论信仰教育

在德育过程中影响人的德育行为的决定性因素是道德意志 ,而对道德意志起直接推动作用的精神因素是信仰。信仰主要有促进情感的激化、意志的推动和知行的统一三种功能 ,在学校德育过程中必须开展信仰教育     

Dancing with Maggots and Saints: Visions for Subject Matter Knowledge,Pedagogical Knowledge,and Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Science Teacher Education Reform

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

对教师信念的概念性认识

在对当前就教师信念所做的研究基础之上,结合教学观念详细阐述教师信念这一概念。并在探讨研究教师信念的重要意义的同时,提出教师信念的相关研究应帮助促进当前教师教育和教师评估的建议。     

浅谈地理科学知识在幼儿园科学教育活动中的运用

地理科学知识是幼儿科学教育探究活动的一个重要内容,是幼儿科学启蒙教育的关键,因此文章探讨分析幼儿科学教育活动中地理科学知识"教什么"、"目标是什么"、"怎么教"三个问题,以期通过科学性、探究性和趣味性的幼儿地理科学探究活动激发幼儿的探究兴趣,帮助幼儿不断积累经验知识,培养幼儿尊重事实的科学精神以及热爱自然、保护环境的情感和态度。     

Intelligence,Belief in the Paranormal,Knowledge of Probability and Aging

Older adults are less likely to be using computers and less knowledgeable about Internet security than are younger users. The two groups do not differ on trust of Internet information. The younger group shows no age or gender differences. Within the older group, computer users are more trusting of Internet information, and along with those with more education, are more knowledgeable about security hazards. The oldest women are less knowledgeable about security hazards. Older adults' greater risk when using computers and the Internet may be primarily due to cohort differences in education and computer use.     

AIR Between Forums: Knowledge and Belief

Research in Higher Education -     

知识与信仰中的生态文明

生态文明是对现代危机的歧路反思后以发展共识为核心的新型文明,是人类在特定时空中应对世界的一种积极的存在方式。生态文明从知识的视角而言,即是以科学技术为主体手段,将整个社会纳入到可计算、可分析的量化统计中,形成数字化生存方式。从信仰的角度来看,即是把生态文明作为世界观和价值观的要素,将公共利益的诉求放在核心地位,让自己有了一份超越世俗利益冲突的内在神圣性。在发展的共识下,党和政府提出了建设生态文明的战略思想,意味着发展方式的变化。     

德育教育中的信仰教育

通过明确信仰与道德的关系,充分认识信仰教育对德育的意义和必要性。要采取相应措施,使信仰教育与高校德育得到更好整合。