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The Research Perspective on Teaching and Learning Science

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Title: The Research Perspective on Teaching and Learning Science


1
The Research Perspective on Teaching and Learning
Science
  • Claudine Kavanagh
  • Doctoral Candidate
  • Tufts University
  • Museum of Science, Boston

2
Goals of this talk
  • General overview of science education findings
    related to space science.
  • Multidisciplinary synthesis.
  • No methodological details.
  • Teach through examples.

3
Four questions
  • What does the research say about understanding
    science?
  • What does research say about the most effective
    ways to share science information?
  • How do we deal with misconceptions in a gentle
    way that moves the public forward?
  •  How can scientists help to address some of the
    misconceptions?

4
  • An analysis of students misconceptions reveals
    that intuitive knowledge consists of a number of
    fundamental experiential beliefs and that
    understanding a scientific theory requires
    replacing those beliefs with a different
    explanatory framework. For instruction to be
    effective, in bringing about conceptual change,
    we need to identify those experiential beliefs,
    to provide students with enough reasons to
    question them, and to offer a different
    explanatory framework to replace the one they
    already have (Vosniadou, 1991).

5
Learning trajectory
  • Initial knowledge based solely on experience
  • Misconceptions are based on attempting to
    accommodate new information into existing
    knowledge. Students may transition through many
    hybrid frameworks.
  • Finally, some (not nearly all) may internalize
    (own) scientifically accepted version of subject.

6
Sense-making activities
  • Are vitally important
  • Arent synonymous with ignorance.
  • Students use all analytical tools available to
    them
  • Culture
  • Religious
  • Parascientific
  • Observation . and Science

7
What about adult learners?
  • Most American adults do not believe in modern
    cosmology, biological evolutionary theory,
    geological timeframe, modern theories of
    planetary formation. Science is not internalized
    by most American adults. (Gallup)
  • Adults beliefs/understandings often dont differ
    greatly from childrens ideas. (Teacher data re
    gravity)
  • No overlap between belief in science and
    understanding of science. (Shtulman)

8
Childrens cosmology example
  • Initial knowledge flat, static earth
  • Intermediate hybrid models
  • Dual earth (one flat dirt earth and one globe
    earth in space)
  • Stationary globe earth or terrarium earth
  • Fully scientific models (not a universal belief,
    even among adults)

9
Tonights sky example
  • Consider three bright red objects
  • Mars, red star in Orion, red star in Taurus
  • same apparent magnitude, size and distance
  • Vastly different absolute magnitude, size and
    distance
  • How are these objects connected, according to
    your audience? 2D model? 3D model? Origin of the
    light?

10
More learning trajectory
  • Intuitive model only internalized,
    adult/scientific model only memorized by rote.
  • Transitional understanding when learner becomes
    aware of contradictions and seeks to resolve them
    using available tools, including observation and
    quasi-experimentation.
  • Finally, adult/scientific model internalized, but
    this does not necessarily mean the prior
    understanding are totally extinguished.
  • Consider the question Do heavier objects fall
    faster? Adults often hold to Aristotelian
    notions.
  • Lab experiences in school? Too confiirmatory!
    (Hanuscin, 2000).

11
Misconceptions retained through adulthood
  • What causes the phases of the moon? (more on
    this in a minute)
  • What do the phases of the moon look like from the
    Southern Hemisphere?
  • What do the phases of the moon look like from the
    equator?

12
Common misconceptions
  • Almost every idea in science has documented
    misconceptions associated with it (Phases of the
    Moon, Earth, Stars, Seasons, Energy, Gravity ).
  • These sets of common ideas have been catalogued
    across cultures, age ranges and educational
    levels (e.g. support theory in gravity).
  • Tend to fade with increased education, but not
    always so.

13
Fundamental cognition?
  • Fundamental cognitive structure as yet unknown
  • phenomenological primitives (diSessa)
  • naïve theories (Vosniadou among others)
  • One thing that is apparent from the literature
    is that despite the fact that conceptual routes
    and mechanisms are poorly understood, childrens
    (learners) ideas can and do change (Sharp,
    1996).

14
What does the research say about understanding
science?
  • Aristotle is alive and well and living among the
    undergraduates (McCloskey, Whitaker).
  • Many naïve theories survive intact after formal
    science instruction (widely reported in gravity
    research).

15
What does the research say about understanding
science?
  • Students apply scientific language to
    non-scientific understandings, and sometimes
    teachers do too! (gravity, evolution, energy)
  • Your audience is likely to create an original
    hybrid idea from your info and their own ideas.
  • Be careful about the assumptions you make, even
    with educated audiences.
  • Even undergraduate science students have a poor
    understanding of what a theory is, how to
    evaluate evidence and how to develop hypotheses.
    (Dagher Boujaoude)

16
What does the research say about sharing science
information?
  • Help your audience come to the correct conclusion
    on their own, whenever possible.
  • Direct teaching methods dont allow individuals
    in your audience to critically examine their own
    prior knowledge.
  • Your information is likely to lump on top of
    non-scientific ideas about your subject, or be
    improperly integrated.

17
What does the research say about sharing science
information?
  • Find more than one way to convey what you want to
    address to your audience.
  • The audience can listen with their hands
  • Teachers who use hand gestures to convey
    information were rated as more successful in
    teaching new concepts to students.

18
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19
What does the research say about sharing science
information?
  • Teach the nature of science explicitly as you
    also relate the findings of science (Brickhouse).
  • What makes science different from other forms of
    knowledge? (Induction/Deduction)
  • Why is the nature of scientific knowledge
    tentative?
  • What is there to gain from using scientific tools
    of analysis to answer a question?
  • Why does science embrace skepticism?
  • What are scientific theories?
  • What questions can scientific methods NOT answer?

20
How do we deal with misconceptions in a gentle
way?
  • Whenever possible, ask questions that will elicit
    your audiences ideas about the subject at hand.
  • Ask questions to dig into their deeper
    understanding of fundamental mechanisms (solar
    system planets, but not gravity).

21
How do we deal with misconceptions in a gentle
way?
  • Find teaching methods that promote conceptual
    change, while acknowledging your audiences
    developmental perspective.
  • Moon phases example

22
Teaching moon phases
23
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24
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25
  • Credit where due
  • Thanks to Dr. William Waller

26
How can scientists help to address some of the
misconceptions?
  • Research the common misconceptions in your field
    (Bird Guide model).
  • Recognize the relationship between common
    misconceptions and fundamental misunderstandings
    (planets, gravity).
  • Make yourself available at community education
    events, schools, libraries, star parties, church
    events.
  • Make science real. (Feynman ice water and Car
    Talk)

27
How can scientists help to address some of the
misconceptions?
  • Engage learners concept of reality and
    causality.
  • Caution with language Earth is round (like a
    globe or a pizza?)
  • Experts problem solving skills are strikingly
    different from novices problem solving skills
    (Chi, Slotta)
  • Experts see underlying, abstract issues.
  • Novices report on only the surface features of
    the problem.
  • Example gravity versus memorizing the order of
    the planets.

28
How can scientists help to address some of the
misconceptions?
  • Even adult learners with a great deal of
    education can struggle with basic concepts
    related to science (physics, astronomy).
  • Can technology help? Hansen (2004) found gains in
    spatial reasoning and visualization by using 3D
    computer modeling.
  • On the other hand planetariums may reinforce
    Aristotelian concepts.

29
How can scientists help to address some of the
misconceptions?
  • Your audiences existing framework must be made
    to seem inadequate.
  • This allows your audience to create analytical
    leverage to hoist old understanding out.
  • All misconceptions are sense-making activities
    and are not just crude ignorance.
  • Historical understandings.
  • Ideas themselves are only alive when people
    hold them as valid. (my Fahrenheit 451 theory)

30
Why focus on scientific understanding among the
general public?
  • Audience?

31
Why focus on scientific understanding among the
general public?
  • Three distinct cultural movements exist currently
    in America currently
  • science / nonscience / antiscience (examples?)
  • positive / neutral / negative
  • Public funding of scientific research requires
    public understanding of scientific findings and
    rationales. (SCSC / Hubble space telescope/
    Beyond Einstein project)

32
Final questions
  • How does anybody ever learn anything?
  • Nothing happens immediately
  • What is the cost of doing this?
  • Conceptual selectivity
  • Isnt this awfully time consuming?
  • Yes

33
QA
  • Recommended
  • Franknoi, Astronomy Education A Selective
    Bibliography (1998). (www.astrosociety.org/educat
    ion/resources/educ_bib.html).
  • Sadler, Astronomys Conceptual Hierarchy (via
    ASP)
  • Neil Comins, Heavenly Errors

34
Claudine Kavanagh
  • Claudine.kavanagh_at_tufts.edu
  • (Kavanagh, Agan, Sneider) Learning about Phases
    of the Moon and Eclipses A Guide for Teachers
    and Curriculum Developers. Astronomy Education
    Review
  • (Kavanagh, Sneider) Learning about Gravity A
    Guide for Teachers and Curriculum Developers.
    (coming soon)

35
Groups
  • Moon (phases, etc.) Claudine (Phil 3) / Cass
  • Solar System Scale Marilyn / Jackie
  • Seasons Christine
  • Lunar Exploration Phil Plait (1)
  • Mars Sheri
  • Solar System / Galaxies / the Universe Phil
    Sadler (2)
  • Other will divide into other groups
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