Constructivism in science education

Last updated

Constructivism has been considered as a dominant paradigm, or research programme, [1] in the field of science education since the 1980s. [2] [3] The term constructivism is widely used in many fields, and not always with quite the same intention. This entry offers an account of how constructivism is most commonly understood in science education.

Contents

Description

Science Education is now an established field within Education, and worldwide has its own journals, conferences, university departments and so forth. [4] Although a diverse field, a major influence on its development was research considered to be undertaken from a constructivist perspective on learning, and supporting approaches to teaching that themselves became labelled constructivist. Thus, this constructivism was largely of a psychological flavour, often drawing on the work of Jean Piaget, [5] [6] David Ausubel, [7] Robert M. Gagné [8] and Jerome Bruner. [9] One influential group of science education researchers were also heavily influenced by George Kelly's Personal Construct Theory. [10] The work of Lev Vygotsky [11] [12] (since being championed in the West by Jerome Bruner) has also been increasingly influential.

These workers from psychology informed the first generation of science education researchers. Active research groups developed in centres like the University of Waikato (New Zealand), University of Leeds (UK) and University of Surrey (UK), with a strong interest in students' ideas in science (formed before, or during instruction) as these were recognised as being highly influential on future learning, and so whether canonical scientific would be learnt. This work, sometimes labelled the 'alternative conceptions movement' was motivated by a series of influential publications on children's ideas in science and their implications for learning (and so for how teaching should be planned to take them into account). Whilst a range of influential papers could be cited it has been suggested that a number of seminar contributions [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] in effect set out the commitments, or 'hard core' of a constructivist research programme into the learning and teaching of science. [18] [19] The perspective was also the focus of a number of books aimed at the science education community - researchers and teachers. [20] [21] [22]

These papers presented learning as process of personal sense making, and an iterative matter such that what is learnt was channelled by existing knowledge and understanding (whether canonical or alternative), and teaching as needing to take learners' existing ideas into account in teaching. The research programme soon amounted to thousands of studies on aspects of students' (of different ages and educational levels, from different countries) thinking and learning in science topics. [23]

Criticisms

There have been a wide range of criticisms of constructivist work in science, including strong criticism from philosophical perspectives. [24] [25] Such criticisms have done little to stem the influence of the perspective, perhaps because they tend not to refer to the core tenets of constructivism as an approach based on learning theory and research from cognitive science. [19]

Alternative conceptions and conceptual frameworks in science education

Learners' ideas in science have been variously labelled as alternative conceptions, alternative conceptual frameworks, preconceptions, scientific misconceptions, naive theories etc. Although some scholars have attempted to distinguish between these terms, there is no consensual usage and often these terms are in effect synonymous. [19] It has been found that some alternative conceptions are very common, although others appear quite idiosyncratic. Some seem to be readily overcome in teaching, but others have proved to be tenacious and to offer a challenge to effective instruction. Sometimes it is considered important to distinguish fully developed conceptions (i.e., explicit ways of understanding aspects of the natural work that are readily verbalised) from more 'primitive' features of cognition acting at a tacit level, such as the so-called phenomenology primitives. [26] The 'knowledge-in-pieces' perspective suggests the latter act as resources for new learning which have potential to support the development of either alternative or canonical knowledge according to how teachers proceed, [27] whereas alternative conceptions (or misconceptions) tend to be seen as learning impediments to be overcome. What research has shown is the prevalence among learners at all levels of alternative ways to thinking about just about all science topics, and a key feature of guidance to teachers is to elicit students' ideas as part of the teaching process. The success of constructivism is that this is now largely taken-for-granted in science teaching and has become part of standard teaching guidance in many contexts. [28] Previously there was a strong focus on the abstract nature of concepts to be learnt, [29] but little awareness that often the teacher was not seeking to replace ignorance with knowledge, but rather to modify and develop learners existing thinking which was often at odds with the target knowledge set out in the curriculum.

Constructivist science teaching

Constructivism is seen as an educational theory, [30] and a key perspective to inform pedagogy. There are many books informing teachers and others about constructivist research findings and ideas, and giving guidance on how to teach science from a constructivist perspective. [31] [32] [33] [34]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Learning theory (education)</span> Theory that describes how students receive, process, and retain knowledge during learning

Learning theory describes how students receive, process, and retain knowledge during learning. Cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences, as well as prior experience, all play a part in how understanding, or a worldview, is acquired or changed and knowledge and skills retained.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Piaget</span> Swiss psychologist, biologist, logician, philosopher and academic

Jean William Fritz Piaget was a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. Piaget's theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called genetic epistemology.

Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process, some social science, and some teaching pedagogy. The standards for science education provide expectations for the development of understanding for students through the entire course of their K-12 education and beyond. The traditional subjects included in the standards are physical, life, earth, space, and human sciences.

Social constructivism is a sociological theory of knowledge according to which human development is socially situated, and knowledge is constructed through interaction with others. Like social constructionism, social constructivism states that people work together to actively construct artifacts. But while social constructivism focuses on cognition, social constructionism focuses on the making of social reality.

Instructional scaffolding is the support given to a student by an instructor throughout the learning process. This support is specifically tailored to each student; this instructional approach allows students to experience student-centered learning, which tends to facilitate more efficient learning than teacher-centered learning. This learning process promotes a deeper level of learning than many other common teaching strategies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constructivism (philosophy of science)</span> Branch in philosophy of science

Constructivism is a view in the philosophy of science that maintains that scientific knowledge is constructed by the scientific community, which seeks to measure and construct models of the natural world. According to constructivists, natural science consists of mental constructs that aim to explain sensory experiences and measurements, and that there is no single valid methodology in science but rather a diversity of useful methods. They also hold that the world is independent of human minds, but knowledge of the world is always a human and social construction. Constructivism opposes the philosophy of objectivism, embracing the belief that human beings can come to know the truth about the natural world not mediated by scientific approximations with different degrees of validity and accuracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Active learning</span> Educational technique

Active learning is "a method of learning in which students are actively or experientially involved in the learning process and where there are different levels of active learning, depending on student involvement." Bonwell & Eison (1991) states that "students participate [in active learning] when they are doing something besides passively listening." According to Hanson and Moser (2003) using active teaching techniques in the classroom can create better academic outcomes for students. Scheyvens, Griffin, Jocoy, Liu, & Bradford (2008) further noted that "by utilizing learning strategies that can include small-group work, role-play and simulations, data collection and analysis, active learning is purported to increase student interest and motivation and to build students ‘critical thinking, problem-solving and social skills". In a report from the Association for the Study of Higher Education, authors discuss a variety of methodologies for promoting active learning. They cite literature that indicates students must do more than just listen in order to learn. They must read, write, discuss, and be engaged in solving problems. This process relates to the three learning domains referred to as knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA). This taxonomy of learning behaviors can be thought of as "the goals of the learning process." In particular, students must engage in such higher-order thinking tasks as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

The psychology of learning refers to theories and research on how individuals learn. There are many theories of learning. Some take on a more behaviorist approach which focuses on inputs and reinforcements. Other approaches, such as neuroscience and social cognition, focus more on how the brain's organization and structure influence learning. Some psychological approaches, such as social constructivism, focus more on one's interaction with the environment and with others. Other theories, such as those related to motivation, like the growth mindset, focus more on individuals' perceptions of ability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constructivism (philosophy of education)</span> Philosophical viewpoint about the nature of knowledge; theory of knowledge

Constructivism in education is a theory that suggests that learners do not passively acquire knowledge through direct instruction. Instead, they construct their understanding through experiences and social interaction, integrating new information with their existing knowledge. This theory originates from Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

Radical constructivism is an approach to epistemology that situates knowledge in terms of knowers' experience. It looks to break with the conception of knowledge as a correspondence between a knower's understanding of their experience and the world beyond that experience. Adopting a skeptical position towards correspondence as in principle impossible to verify because one cannot access the world beyond one's experience in order to test the relation, radical constructivists look to redefine epistemology in terms of the viability of knowledge within knowers' experience. This break from the traditional framing of epistemology differentiates it from "trivial" forms of constructivism that emphasise the role of the knower in constructing knowledge while maintaining the traditional perspective of knowledge in terms of correspondence. Radical constructivism has been described as a "post-epistemological" position.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constructionism (learning theory)</span> Learning theory involving the construction of mental models

Constructionist learning is the creation by learners of mental models to understand the world around them. Constructionism advocates student-centered, discovery learning where students use what they already know to acquire more knowledge. Students learn through participation in project-based learning where they make connections between different ideas and areas of knowledge facilitated by the teacher through coaching rather than using lectures or step-by-step guidance. Further, constructionism holds that learning can happen most effectively when people are active in making tangible objects in the real world. In this sense, constructionism is connected with experiential learning and builds on Jean Piaget's epistemological theory of constructivism.

Rheta Goolsby DeVries was a professor at University of Northern Iowa's Regent's Center For Early Developmental Education, where she also served as director. She co-wrote many books along with Constance Kamii, concerning early childhood education curriculum that both influenced the field of early childhood mathematical instruction and accelerated the proliferation of constructivist-based teaching in the classroom.

Constructivist teaching is based on constructivism. Constructivist teaching is based on the belief that learning occurs as learners are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge construction as opposed to passively receiving information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discovery learning</span> Technique of inquiry-based learning and is considered a constructivist based approach to education

Discovery learning is a technique of inquiry-based learning and is considered a constructivist based approach to education. It is also referred to as problem-based learning, experiential learning and 21st century learning. It is supported by the work of learning theorists and psychologists Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, and Seymour Papert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientific misconceptions</span> False beliefs about science

Scientific misconceptions are commonly held beliefs about science that have no basis in actual scientific fact. Scientific misconceptions can also refer to preconceived notions based on religious and/or cultural influences. Many scientific misconceptions occur because of faulty teaching styles and the sometimes distancing nature of true scientific texts. Because students' prior knowledge and misconceptions are important factors for learning science, science teachers should be able to identify and address these conceptions.

Inquiry-based learning is a form of active learning that starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios. It contrasts with traditional education, which generally relies on the teacher presenting facts and their knowledge about the subject. Inquiry-based learning is often assisted by a facilitator rather than a lecturer. Inquirers will identify and research issues and questions to develop knowledge or solutions. Inquiry-based learning includes problem-based learning, and is generally used in small-scale investigations and projects, as well as research. The inquiry-based instruction is principally very closely related to the development and practice of thinking and problem-solving skills.

In psychology, constructivism refers to many schools of thought that, though extraordinarily different in their techniques, are all connected by a common critique of previous standard approaches, and by shared assumptions about the active constructive nature of human knowledge. In particular, the critique is aimed at the "associationist" postulate of empiricism, "by which the mind is conceived as a passive system that gathers its contents from its environment and, through the act of knowing, produces a copy of the order of reality".

Eleanor Ruth Duckworth is a teacher, teacher educator, and psychologist.

Conceptual change is the process whereby concepts and relationships between them change over the course of an individual person's lifetime or over the course of history. Research in four different fields – cognitive psychology, cognitive developmental psychology, science education, and history and philosophy of science - has sought to understand this process. Indeed, the convergence of these four fields, in their effort to understand how concepts change in content and organization, has led to the emergence of an interdisciplinary sub-field in its own right. This sub-field is referred to as "conceptual change" research.

One of the most visible approaches to peer learning comes out of cognitive psychology, and is applied within a "mainstream" educational framework: "Peer learning is an educational practice in which students interact with other students to attain educational goals." Other authors including David Boud describe peer learning as a way of moving beyond independent to interdependent or mutual learning among peers. In this context, it can be compared to the practices that go by the name cooperative learning. However, other contemporary views on peer learning relax the constraints, and position "peer-to-peer learning" as a mode of "learning for everyone, by everyone, about almost anything." Whether it takes place in a formal or informal learning context, in small groups or online, peer learning manifests aspects of self-organization that are mostly absent from pedagogical models of teaching and learning.

References

  1. ↑ Lakatos, Imre (2 September 1970). "Falsification and the methodology of scientific research programmes". In Lakatos, Imre; Musgrave, Alan (eds.). Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge. Proceedings of the International Colloquium in the Philosophy of Science, London, 1965. Vol. 4. Cambridge University Press. pp.  91–196. ISBN   978-0-521-09623-2.
  2. ↑ Tobin, K. G. (1993). The practice of constructivism in science education . Psychology Press, preface Constructivism: A Paradigm for the Practice of Science Education, p.ix
  3. ↑ Matthews, M. R. (1997). Introductory comments on philosophy and constructivism in science education . Science & Education, 6(1), 5-14.
  4. ↑ Fensham, Peter J. (2004). The Evolution of Science Education as a Field of Research: Defining an Identity. Springer. ISBN   978-1-4020-1468-0.
  5. ↑ Piaget, Jean (2007) [1929]. The Child's Conception Of the World (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   978-0-7425-5951-6.
  6. ↑ Piaget, Jean (1997) [1970]. The Principles of Genetic Epistemology. Routledge. ISBN   978-0-415-16890-8.
  7. ↑ Ausubel, D.P. (1968). Educational Psychology: A cognitive view. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. ISBN   978-0030696404.
  8. ↑ Gagné, R.M. (1970). The Conditions of Learning (2nd ed.). Holt, Rinehart & Winston. ISBN   978-0039100698.
  9. ↑ Bruner, Jerome S. (1977) [1960]. The Process of Education (2nd ed.). Harvard University Press. ISBN   978-0-674-71001-6.
  10. ↑ Kelly, George (1963). A Theory of Personality: The Psychology of Personality Constructs . W.W. Norton. ISBN   978-0-393-00152-5.
  11. ↑ Vygotskiĭ, L. Lev Semenovich (1986) [1934]. Thought and Language . MIT Press. ISBN   978-0-262-72010-6.
  12. ↑ Vygotskiĭ, L. Lev Semenovich (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes . Harvard University Press. ISBN   978-0-674-57629-2.
  13. ↑ Driver, R.; Easley, J. (1978). "Pupils and paradigms: a review of literature related to concept development in adolescent science students". Studies in Science Education. 5 (1): 61–84. Bibcode:1978SScEd...5...61D. doi:10.1080/03057267808559857.
  14. ↑ Driver, R.; Erickson, G. (1983). "Theories-in-action: some theoretical and empirical issues in the study of students' conceptual frameworks in science". Studies in Science Education. 10 (1): 37–60. Bibcode:1983SScEd..10...37D. doi:10.1080/03057268308559904.
  15. ↑ Gilbert, J.K.; Watts, D.M. (1983). "Concepts, misconceptions and alternative conceptions: changing perspectives in science education". Studies in Science Education. 10 (1): 61–98. Bibcode:1983SScEd..10...61G. doi:10.1080/03057268308559905.
  16. ↑ Gilbert, J.K.; Osborne, R.J.; Fensham, P.J. (1982). "Children's science and its consequences for teaching". Science Education. 66 (4): 623–633. Bibcode:1982SciEd..66..623G. doi:10.1002/sce.3730660412.
  17. ↑ Osborne, R.J.; Wittrock, M.C. (1983). "Learning Science: a generative process". Science Education. 67 (4): 489–508. Bibcode:1983SciEd..67..489O. doi:10.1002/sce.3730670406.
  18. ↑ Taber, K.S. (2006). "Beyond Constructivism: the Progressive Research Programme into Learning Science". Studies in Science Education. 42 (1): 125–184. Bibcode:2006SScEd..42..125T. doi:10.1080/03057260608560222. S2CID   144337389.
  19. 1 2 3 Taber, Keith S. (2009). Progressing Science Education: Constructing the Scientific Research Programme Into the Contingent Nature of Learning Science. Springer. ISBN   978-90-481-2431-2.
  20. ↑ Driver, R. (1983). The Pupil as Scientist? . Milton Keynes: Open University Press. ISBN   978-0335101788. OCLC   10585522.
  21. ↑ Driver, R.; Guesne, E.; Tiberghien, A. (1985). Children's Ideas in Science . Milton Keynes: Open University Press. ISBN   978-0335150403.
  22. ↑ Black, Paul J.; Lucas, Arthur M. (1993). Children's Informal Ideas in Science. Routledge. ISBN   978-0-415-00539-5.
  23. ↑ Duit, R. (2009). "Bibliography—STCSE (Students' and Teachers' Conceptions and Science Education)". Kiel:IPN—Leibniz Institute for Science Education.
  24. ↑ Matthews, M.R. (1994). "Discontent With Constructivism". Studies in Science Education. 24 (1): 165–172. Bibcode:1994SScEd..24..165M. doi:10.1080/03057269408560045.
  25. ↑ Scerri, E.R. (2003). "Philosophical confusion in chemical education research". Journal of Chemical Education. 80 (5): 468–474. Bibcode:2003JChEd..80..468S. doi: 10.1021/ed080p468 .
  26. ↑ diSessa, A.A. (1993). "Towards an epistemology of physics". Cognition and Instruction. 10 (2–3): 105–225. doi:10.1080/07370008.1985.9649008.
  27. ↑ Smith, J.P.; diSessa, A.A.; Roschelle, J. (1993). "Misconceptions reconceived: a constructivist analysis of knowledge in transition". The Journal of the Learning Sciences. 3 (2): 115–163. doi:10.1207/s15327809jls0302_1.
  28. ↑ Key Stage 3 National Strategy. (2002). Framework for teaching science: years 7, 8 and 9. London: Department for Education and Skills.
  29. ↑ Shayer, M.; Adey, P. (1981). Towards a Science of Science Teaching: Cognitive development and curriculum demand. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Books. ISBN   978-0435578251. OCLC   7759952.
  30. ↑ Taber, K.S. (2011). "Constructivism as educational theory: Contingency in learning, and optimally guided instruction". In J. Hassaskhah (ed.). Educational Theory. Nova. ISBN   9781613245804.
  31. ↑ Fensham, Peter J.; White, Richard T. (1994). The Content of Science: A Constructivist Approach to Its Teaching and Learning . Falmer Press. ISBN   978-0-7507-0221-8.
  32. ↑ Mintzes, Joel J.; Wandersee, James H.; Novak, Joseph D., eds. (2005). Teaching Science for Understanding: A Human Constructivist View. Academic Press. ISBN   978-0-08-087924-6.
  33. ↑ Tobin, Kenneth G. (12 November 2012) [1993]. The Practice of Constructivism in Science Education. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-136-48974-7.
  34. ↑ Taber, K.S. (2002). Chemical Misconceptions: Prevention, Diagnosis, and Cure : Classroom Resources. Royal Society of Chemistry. ISBN   978-0-85404-381-1.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.