The Place of Values in Science Education: Critical Constructivism and NeoRelativism

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The Place of Values in Science Education
Critical Constructivism and Neo-Relativism

• Gary Simpson
• Woodleigh School

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Giroux - Whose Values?

• Pedagogy of Critical Citizenship
• 1. Curriculum that Challenges Issues
• 2. Classroom that recognises student voices
• 3. A diversity of material from a diversity of
  sources
• 4. Teaching of Values

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Habermas - Emancipation

• Habermas is concerned with three human
  interests, as he sees knowledge as diverse not
  unitary with many ways of knowing
• Technical based on empirical knowledge
• Practical based on human relationships and
  communication
• Emancipatory based on self knowledge and
  reflection on the effects of ones own life.

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Taylor - Critical Constructivism

• Critical Constructivism seeks to achieve Giroux
  pedagogy of critical citizenship
• Ontology no certain knowledge of the world
• Epistemology - fallibilist
• Methodology eclectic, knowing as problematic
• Pedagogy eclectic
• Values regulating the discursive practices of
  knowledge construction.

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Simpson - Neo-Relativism

• Constructivism is based in a relativist
  philosophical framework in which all knowledge is
  viewed as equal. As teachers we need to assist
  our students to accept a Western tradition of
  science, which means to privilege that tradition.
  I offer the term neo-relativism as a pragmatic
  solution for teachers working with critical
  constructivism in the teaching of children.

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Whitehead - Living Educational Theory

• Product of a systematic reflective process
• 1. One identifies a problem because some of ones
  educational values are negated
• 2. One imagines a solution to the problem
• 3. One acts in the direction of the solution
• 4. One evaluates the outcomes of the solution
• 5. One modifies ones actions and ideas in the
  light of ones evaluations.

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Geelan - The Empty Centre

• David Geelan advises that one be careful to
  ensure that when one vacates the centre (as in
  teacher-centred) to attempt student-centred
  pedagogy that one does not leave an empty
  centre because the students are not yet ready or
  able to assume the role.

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Stoll Enhanced Student Engagement

• Enhancing student motivation
• Use cooperative learning rather than competitive
  learning
• Stimulate cognitive conflict
• Encourage moderate risk taking
• Praise good work
• Make academic tasks interesting
• Provide feedback that is connected to learning
  and effort
• Identify many intelligences and showing that they
  are not fixed but incremental
• Encourage self-images as learners
• Increase student self-efficacy
• Encourage volition

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References

• Geelan D.R. (2000) The Empty Centre, Retrieved 7
  November 2004 from, http//bravus.port5.com/empty.
  htm
• Giroux, H.A. (1987) Citizenship, public
  philosophy, and the struggle for democracy,
  Education Theory, V37 n2 pp103-120.
• Habermas, J. (1972) Knowledge and human
  interests, (tr.) Shapiro, J.J., Boston, Beacon
  Press
• Lewin, P., (2000) Constructivism and Paideia, in
  Steffe, L.P. Thompson, P.W., (Eds.) Radical
  Constructivism in Action Building on the
  Pioneering Work of Ernst von Glasersfeld, New
  York, Routledge/Falmer
• Simpson, G.B. (2004) Critical Constructivism,
  Neo-relativism and the place of values in Science
  Education, Science Education Review, V3 n1
  pp23-28
• Stoll, L, Fink, D. Earl, L. (2004) Its About
  Learning (and Its About Time) Whats in it for
  schools? London, Routledge Falmer
• Taylor, P.C. (1998) Constructivism Value Added,
  in Fraser, B. Tobin, K. (Eds.) The
  International Handbook of Science Education,
  Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic
• von Glasersfeld, E. (1995) Radical
  Constructivism A way of Knowing and Learning,
  London, The Falmer Press
• Whitehead, J. (1989) Creating a Living
  Educational Theory from Questions of the Kind,
  How do I improve my Practice? Cambridge Journal
  of Education, V19, n1, pp41 52.

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contact details

• Gary Simpson MEd MA MAIBiol MACE
• Coordinator of Independent Learning
• Woodleigh School
• Golf Links Road
• Baxter, Victoria, 3911
• Phone [phone] FAX [phone]
• E-mail simpg_at_woodleigh.vic.edu.au