Chapter 4: Learning Science
Objectives:
1. Understand cognitive psychology and constructivist
teaching and learning
2. Become aware of student attitudes, motivation, and
alternative conceptions in learning science
3. Discuss using student’s prior knowledge, contradictions
of belief, analogies, models, and concept mapping to
engage and enhance learning
I.
Introduction
A.
Good science teaching is more than knowing your content
1.
2.
B.
Cognitive psychology knowledge can improve student learning
1.
2.
3.
C.
Most science teachers do well at selecting what to teach
They don’t always consider misconceptions and prior knowledge of
students
Learning should be active not passive
Learning begins with what students already know
Learning must be meaningful
Constructivism = modification of what students know towards
correct scientific views of reality
1.
2.
3.
Cause students to re-examine ideas with puzzling situations
Concept maps, images, analogies, and models are useful
Modifying ideas is a slow process
II.
Cognitive Strategies for Teaching Science
A.
Constructivism
1.
2.
Humans construct knowledge; it is not transmitted to their minds
Construction involves modification of current concepts of reality
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
3.
Students need opportunities to process, organize, and reflect
Learning is an active process carried out by the student
Teacher-Student negotiations moves student to greater understanding
Many small steps over periods of time are required
Contradictions and discrepant events cause modifications
Sources of constructing knowledge
a.
b.
Personal experience with the physical world
a. Reinforced by Piaget’s cognitive development theories
b. Points out deficiencies of passive learning
c. Promote activities with concrete objects
Interaction with others
a. Ideas can be organized by others in a way to help us learnd
b. Vygotsky’s “Zone of proximal development” = getting help from
another person to advance your knowledge
c. Knowledge is a product of culture, not just cold, hard facts
d. Constructing knowledge can be a social activity
B. Affective Learning
1. Student attitudes and values are critical to science learning
a.
b.
c.
d.
We can’t discount or attempt to override them during instruction
Indicate the worth students place on science
Should be regarded as outcomes of science instruction
Teachers can influence how student feel about science
2. Affective Concepts
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Attitude = favorable or unfavorable feeling towards something
Beliefs = informational or factual bases for attitudes (specific)
Values = moral or ethical issues of right or wrong (broader)
Interest = someone’s willingness to respond
Opinion = individuals outlook or conclusion; may have no factual basis
3. Affect and Action
a. Affective variables are linked to behavior
b. Understanding them can help us understand science learning behavior
c. Systematically targeting the affective domain leads to actions that are
favorable to science learning
4. Three questions to keep in mind for student affect and action
a. What’s in it for me?
b. Who wants me to do it?
c. What factors make it easy or hard for me to do it?
5. Motivation
a.
b.
c.
d.
Central element of affective and cognitive instruction (Brophy, 1988)
Intrinsic: personal satisfaction
Extrinsic: for rewards or to avoid punishment
Learning is much more meaningful if intrinsically motivated
i. Engage student interest in the subject
ii. Gradually increase difficulty to insure success
iii. Use reward/punishment sparingly
e. Other contributors to student motivation to learn (Woolfork, 1995)
i. Learning goals
ii. Involvement in the learning task
iii. Achievement based on mastery learning
iv. Feeling control over effort and ability
C. Equilibration and Contradictions
1. Equilibration = dynamic, continuous process controlling learning
a. Assimilation = fitting information into existing knowledge
i. Presence of related knowledge crucial to fitting in new concepts
ii. Can’t teach molecules without students understanding atoms
b. Accommodation = modification of existing knowledge
i. New concepts sometimes require that related old ones change
ii. Teaching molecules requires modification of the concept of an
atom (atoms are allowed to combine with others)
2. Using equilibration to teach science
a. Contradiction = examples or events contrary to current student concept
i. Causes assimilation and accommodation of pre-existing ideas
ii. This is a method for moving students toward realistic concepts
b. Discrepant events = demonstrations differing from the expected
i. Bernoulli’s principle and a piece of paper
ii. Asbestos and heat capacity
D. Alternative Conceptions and Conceptual Change
1. Part of science literacy is explaining core science concepts
a. Not as simple for us to achieve as it sounds
b. Must change what students believe to what we want them to believe
2. What students know
a. Students’ minds are not “empty” when it comes to science concepts
b. Students’ ideas can be viewed as primitive or misconceptions
c. A better attitude is to think of them as Alternative Conceptions
i. Different from accepted beliefs
ii. Still important to the student and to learning
3. Things to know about Alternative Conceptions
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
They are diverse before, during, and after science instruction
They are not age, gender, culture, or even ability specific
They are resistant to change
They often parallel to earlier scientist’s explanations
They interact with formal instruction to produce unintended outcomes
There are instructional approaches that facilitate conceptual change
4. A learning cycle aimed at conceptual change (Driver, 1988)
Engagement
Exploration
Explanation
Elaboration
Evaluation
a. Orientation: introduces students to the topic to be studied
b. Elicitation: students present their ideas in small groups; share ideas
c. Restructuring: variety of learning activities to test, compare, contrast
i. Clarification and exchange of ideas with other students
ii. Exposure to contradictions/discrepant events
iii. Construction of new ideas based on activities
iv. Evaluation of student concepts
v. Explanation of accepted scientific knowledge
d. Application of the idea to new situations
e. Review of ideas and how they have changed
5. Conditions for conceptual change (Posner, 1982)
a.
b.
c.
d.
Students must be dissatisfied with their ideas to change them
Student must believe that they can comprehend correct concept
Students must perceive concept as plausible
Student must feel that they can find out about the concept
E. Conclusion: there is a psychology knowledge base to refer to in
planning good science instruction
III. Tools to improve student learning
A.
Concept Maps
1.
2.
Visual representation of relationships between science concepts
Recommendations for classroom use
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
3.
Begin with concepts familiar to students
Identify key concepts under study
Rank order ideas from general to specific
Construct preliminary map using boxes or ovals
Identify and label links between concepts
Make cross-links between different domains of knowledge
Don’t write complete sentences
Continually revise; consider concept maps never finished
Benefits of concept mapping
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Constructivist method of learning
Organizes knowledge
Points out misconceptions, alternative conceptions
Promotes higher level thinking
Encourages social thinking
B. Images
1. Thinking aids that transfer knowledge to reality
2. Method for making abstract ideas concrete
3. Picture is worth a thousand words
C. Analogies
1. Reasoning tool to make connections between what we know and
what we want to know
a. Familiar = analog
b. Unfamiliar = target
2. Examples:
a. Electricity is like water flowing through a pipe
b. Cell is like a car (p. 81) (alternatives: like a house, like a factory)
c. Atom is like a solar system
3. Must point out where analogy breaks down or risk misconceptions
D. Models
1. Diagram or manipulative representing the natural phenomena
2. Appear simple, but require time and mental conceptualization
3. Are not reality, only simplified representations