Questions and Answers
What is the common theme that runs through all accounts of successful learning?
Critical literacy
Critical research has had a significant influence on policy and practice.
False
What do critical researchers challenge science educators to think about?
Their own roles in maintaining injustice and inequality in their schools
Critical researchers point out that the competition for positions of power and influence in society has always been a _______________ game.
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What do critical researchers assume about improving science literacy of less successful students?
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The sociocultural tradition explicitly assumes that improving science literacy of less successful students can come at little or no cost to students who are currently successful.
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According to critical researchers, what is the purpose of the science education system?
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Critical researchers would respond to the two key questions posed in the introduction by challenging their _______________ premises.
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All three research traditions (critical, sociocultural, and conceptual change) explicitly assume that improving science literacy of less successful students can come at a significant cost to students who are currently successful.
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Study Notes
Conceptual Change Research
- Emerged in the early 1980s by linking Piaget's methods with ideas about the historical development of scientific knowledge from Kuhn (1970) and Toulmin (1961, 1972)
- Focuses on individual learners having "conceptual ecologies" similar to those used to describe scientific disciplines
- Learning in individuals resembles the complex process of theory change in science
Piaget's Influence
- Piaget's core interests were developmental and psychological
- His research did not lead directly to the conceptual change tradition
- Piaget's methods were used to investigate children's understanding of scientific topics
Conceptual Change Study Example
- "Linking Phenomena with Competing Underlying Models" by Snir et al. (2003)
- Investigated students' understanding of particulate models of matter
- Used software to introduce students to the particulate model of matter
- Argued that students need to understand macroscopic concepts (e.g., volume, weight, density) before understanding particulate models
Study Findings
- 30% of students in the experimental group had a perfect understanding of seven key points about particulate models of matter
- 47% of experimental students understood at least six of the seven points, compared to 22% of control group students
- 30% of experimental students wrote open-ended responses indicating that the particulate model is a good model because it explains a wide range of phenomena
- Students' macroscopic and microscopic understandings of matter mutually support each other
Research Methods
- Written tests, clinical interviews, and think-aloud protocols of problem-solving were used to analyze students' conceptions
- Methods typical of conceptual change research, but did not consider social or cultural contexts
Critical Research
- Challenges the premises on which policy is made, science teaching practice is based, and science achievement is measured
- Questions the roles of science educators in maintaining injustice and inequality in schools
- Assesses the impact of privilege and power on science education and literacy
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Description
Learn about Jean Piaget's investigations on children's understanding of scientific topics and how his research influenced the conceptual change tradition.
