Invoking Thomas Kuhn: What Citation Analysis Reveals about Science Education

This paper analyzes how Thomas Kuhn's writings are used by others, especially science education researchers. Previous research in citation analysis is used to frame questions related to who cites Kuhn, in what manner and why. Research questions first focus on the variety of disciplines invoking Kuhn and to what extent Structure of Scientific Revolutions (SSR) is cited. The Web of Science database provides material from 1982 for this analysis. The science education literature is analyzed using back issues from 1985 of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching and Science Education. An article analysis reveals trends in terms of what Kuhnian ideas are most frequently invoked. Results indicate a wide array of disciplines from beekeeping to law cite Kuhn – especially generic citations to SSR. The science education journal analysis reveals pervasive use of the term paradigm, although use is quite varied. The two areas of research in science education most impacted by Kuhn appear to be conceptual change theory and constructivist epistemologies. Additional uses of Kuhn are discussed. The degree to which Kuhn is invoked in ways supporting the theoretical framework of citation analysis, whether his work is misappropriated, and the impact of Kuhn are discussed.     

Thomas Kuhn as a Historian of Science

Science &; Education - Thomas S. Kuhn (1922–1996) exerted a strong force on intellectual discourse in the last third of the 20th century, by the publication of a book only 200 pages long....     

Some Reflections on the Personal Impact of Thomas Kuhn

Science &; Education -     

"做中学"科学教育在静安

“做中学(Learning by Doing)”,由中国教育部和科学技术协会于2001年5月共同倡导发起,在部分幼儿园和小学进行的科学教育改革项目。它借鉴了美国“HANDS ON(动手做)”和法国“LMLAP(动手和面团吧)”科学教育改革的经验,采用中法合作研究的形式,旨在倡导一种全新的学习方式,探索一条实现素质敦育的具体途径。该项目目前已在北京、上海、南京和汕头的部分幼儿园、小学进行试点。     

"做中学"科学教育实验初探

“做中学”科学教育实验是由韦钰院士积极倡导、教育部和科学技术协会于2001年5月共同发起的一项幼儿科学教育改革计划。这项改革计划已经实施了5个年头,成为我国科学教育改革的一大亮点,产生了广泛影响。     

科学教育中“读”与“做”关系的历史考察

科学教育中存在＂读＂与＂做＂教育观念,早期的科学教育强调＂读＂,20世纪初针对＂读＂的科学教育,出现了重视＂做＂的科学教育思想,但我国当下的科学教育依然过分偏重读的一面,为此,科学教育的改革应强调做的一面,在读与做之间寻求动态的平衡。＂做＂不仅仅是＂玩＂,而是一种以问题为基点的探索性活动。学校与教师应为学生创造＂做＂科学的条件,研究引导学生＂做＂科学的方法。     

"做中学"科学教育的主要理念

“做中学”是一种强调培养学生学习方法、思维方法、学习态度等的科学教育模式,是面向全体学生、科学探宛、以人为本、以改变学生的学习方式为根本点的教育理念,对当前我国科学教育及其改革具有重要的理论意义与现实意义。     

科学教育的重要途径—非正规学习

非正规学习在培养学生科学素质方面具有正规学习不可替代的重要作用。了解非正规学习的特点、规律和怎样影响人的科学素质的形成和发展对当前我国政府倡导的大力普及科学教育,提高全民,特别是未成年人的科学素质具有重大意义。非正规科学学习不仅能为学生提供丰富的认知冲突和社会互动机会,使他们建立起更加完善的知识结构,而且还能提高他们的科学论证能力。非正规学习是发展学生科学素质的必经之路。     

“做中学”:作为儿童科学教育的一种形式

“做中学”既是一种教育理念,又是一种教育方法,同时也是一个教育过程。作为儿童科学教育的一种形式,它也体现着素质教育的目的和精神。“做中学”的教学流程有其鲜明的特色和基本模式。历经三年的“做中学”研究成果表明:“做中学”不仅能培养儿童的科学精神和动手能力,也能培养儿童的团队合作精神,是儿童科学启蒙教育的重要形式。     

Food Science Education and the Cognitive Science of Learning

In this essay, I argue that the traditional view of teaching, that the teacher's responsibility is to present information that students are solely responsible for learning, has been rendered untenable by cognitive science research in learning. The teacher can have a powerful effect on student learning by teaching not only content, but how to study and think about information. Student learning is a shared responsibility between teacher and students, and effective teaching is much more challenging than traditionally believed.     

Saving Kuhn from the Sociologists of Science

For many in the science education community Kuhn is often closely identified with a sociological approach, as opposed to a philosophical approach, to matters raised in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. This paper is an attempt to liberate Kuhn from too close an association with the sociology of scientific knowledge. While Kuhn was interested in some sociological issues concerning science, e.g., how to individuate communities of scientists, many of his other interests were not sociological. In fact in later writings he was quite hostile to the claims of the Strong Programme. This difference in his post-Structure writings is explored, along with his model of weighted values as an account of theory choice. This model has little in common with the model of theory choice advocated by Strong Programmers and much more in common with traditional philosophical concerns about theory choice.     

Science Learning in Special Education: The Case for Constructed Versus Instructed Learning

Throughout the history of education, debate has existed between the relative merits of instructed versus constructed knowledge. In this article, we review our program of research in science education for students with disabilities in order to reveal some insights into this debate. We review research in science curriculum, mnemonic strategies, text-processing strategies, hands-on approaches, coached elaborations, “discovery” learning, correlates of effective inclusive science classrooms, and class-wide peer tutoring with differentiated curriculum enhancements. Overall, both instructed and constructed knowledge are important and can be facilitated with appropriate instructional strategies. Implications for practice and future research are provided.     

学习进程:美国科学教育改革新思路

学习进程是近几年美国科学教育改革中出现的新理念,描述学生在恰当的教学条件下,对科学概念以及相关科学实践的理解和应用能力,以及随着时间的推移逐渐生长,趋于复杂、深入的过程。学习进程具有以下三个特点:由起点、中间过程和目标构成;基于学生对核心概念理解过程的实证研究;需经过实证验证。学习进程有望将课程、教学、评价三者联系起来,实现科学教育的转变。     

Science Education and Students with Learning Disabilities

Students with learning disabilities (LD) are increasingly expected to master content in the general education curriculum, making the need for effective instructional supports more important than ever before. Science is a part of the curriculum that can be particularly challenging to students with LD because of the diverse demands it places on cognitive performance. In this summary we review a number of strategies that have been validated for learners with LD. The strategies include supports for (a) verbal learning of declarative information, (b) processing information in texts, (c) activities‐based instruction/experiential learning, (d) scientific thinking and reasoning, and (e) differentiated instruction. We also summarize the research regarding the impact of teacher behavior on achievement for students with LD in science education. The strategies reviewed yield tangible and positive effect sizes that suggest that their application to the target domain will substantially improve outcomes for students with LD in science education.     

论学习科学与素质教育

对素质教育的内涵的理解赋予了新意,从教育学的角度出发,对素质教育中的素质、知识、能力间的关系等几个问题提出了看法,并对素质教育与学习科学的关系进行了深入讨论。     

Autonomy in Science Education: A Practical Approach in Attitude Shifting Towards Science Learning

This work describes a 2-year study in teaching school science, based on the stimulation of higher thinking levels in learning science using a highly student-centred and constructivist learning approach. We sought to shift and strengthen students’ positive attitudes towards science learning, self-efficacy towards invention, and achievement. Focusing on an important aspect of student’s positive attitude towards learning, their preference (like/dislike) towards independent study with minimal or no teacher interference, which leads to increased learning autonomy, was investigated. The main research was conducted on elementary school students; 271 grade level one (G1; 6 years old) to grade level four (G4; 10 years old) participated in this study. As a result of this study, it was found that: (1) 73% of the students preferred minimal or no explanation at all, favoring to be left with the challenge of finding out what to do, compared to 20% of the control group, indicating a positive attitude shift in their learning approaches. (2) The experimental group achieved slightly more (9.5% difference) than the control group in knowledge-comprehension-level based exam; however, the experimental group scored much higher (63% difference) in challenging exams which required higher thinking levels. (3) The same trend was also observed in self-efficacy toward invention, where 82% of the experimental group saw themselves as possible inventors compared to 37% of the control group.