Socialising Epistemic Cognition

We draw on recent accounts of social epistemology to present a novel account of epistemic cognition that is ‘socialised’. In developing this account we foreground the: normative and pragmatic nature of knowledge claims; functional role that ‘to know’ plays when agents say they ‘know x’; the social context in which such claims occur at a macro level, including disciplinary and cultural context; and the communicative context in which such claims occur, the ways in which individuals and small groups express and construct (or co-construct) their knowledge claims. We frame prior research in terms of this new approach to provide an exemplification of its application. Practical implications for research and learning contexts are highlighted, suggesting a re-focussing of analysis on the collective level, and the ways knowledge-standards emerge from group-activity, as a communicative property of that activity

Design-activity-sequence: A case study and polyphonic analysis of learning in a digital design thinking workshop

In this case study, we report on the outcomes of a one-day workshop on design thinking attended by participants from the Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning conference in Philadelphia in 2017. We highlight the interactions between the workshop design, structured as a design thinking process around the design of a digital environment for design thinking, and the diverse backgrounds and interests of its participants. Data from in-workshop reflections and post-workshop interviews were analyzed using a novel set of analytical approaches, a combination the facilitators made by possible by welcoming participants as coresearchers

SCIENCE TEACHERS’ EPISTEMOLOGICAL BELIEFS, PCK of ARGUMENTATION, and IMPLEMENTATION: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of argumentation, epistemological beliefs, and personal or external factors may influence how they integrated argumentation instruction. The present study had a qualitative multiple case study design and explored the influence of a one-year professional development program on four urban in-service science teachers’ PCK of argumentation and epistemological beliefs. The study also examined how science teachers translated their knowledge and beliefs into practice, and what other factors mediated the argumentation instruction. The data was collected through questionnaires, classroom observations, teacher created artifacts, field notes, informal conversations, and semi-structured interviews. The data was analyzed through constant comparative method to develop an in-depth profile of participants and to identify the shifts in science teachers’ epistemological beliefs and PCK of argumentation and the relationship between these constructs. The findings indicated that the positive change in the participating teachers’ PCK of argumentation was apparent during the informal conversations and final interview. The teachers held consistent and mixed epistemological beliefs throughout the study even though there were slight positive or negative shifts. These teachers’ implementation of argumentation was either aligned or modified with the expectations of argumentation instructional model in parallel to their PCK of argumentation and epistemological beliefs. Moreover, participating teachers referred to the factors mediating the argumentation instruction as their beliefs about student ability, district and standards, curriculum and testing, and school context. These results made recommendations for the design of professional development efforts targeting teachers’ PCK of argumentation and epistemological beliefs to result in significant changes

Argumentation as a pathway to critical thinking

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Argumentation in school science : Breaking the tradition of authoritative exposition through a pedagogy that promotes discussion and reasoning

The value of argumentation in science education has become internationally recognised and has been the subject of many research studies in recent years. Successful introduction of argumentation activities in learning contexts involves extending teaching goals beyond the understanding of facts and concepts, to include an emphasis on cognitive and metacognitive processes, epistemic criteria and reasoning. The authors focus on the difficulties inherent in shifting a tradition of teaching from one dominated by authoritative exposition to one that is more dialogic, involving small-group discussion based on tasks that stimulate argumentation. The paper builds on previous research on enhancing the quality of argument in school science, to focus on how argumentation activities have been designed, with appropriate strategies, resources and modelling, for pedagogical purposes. The paper analyses design frameworks, their contexts and lesson plans, to evaluate their potential for enhancing reasoning through foregrounding the processes of argumentation. Examples of classroom dialogue where teachers adopt the frameworks/plans are analysed to show how argumentation processes are scaffolded. The analysis shows that several layers of interpretation are needed and these layers need to be aligned for successful implementation. The analysis serves to highlight the potential and limitations of the design frameworks

Teacher conceptions of authentic science : exploring teachers' practical and formal epistemologies

Reform documents such as A Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have placed an emphasis on students' understanding and ability to engage in scientific practices. Even with an understanding of the importance of engaging students in authentic science practices for informed citizenry, much of what goes on in classrooms differs from what scientists do. Elementary teachers in particular often feel underprepared and/or uncomfortable teaching science. NGSS-aligned curriculum materials offer one route to support implementation of scientific practices. However, teachers' beliefs about science influence their planning process and how those plans are enacted in the classroom. Thus, if teachers hold inaccurate views of science and do not understand the pedagogical rationale for the inclusion of the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), they may implement curricula that emphasize scientific practices in ways that are inauthentic to how science is practiced. Therefore, it is important to understand how teachers conceptualize scientific practices, and how these materialize in teachers' plans for the inclusion of scientific practices in the classroom. Findings from this study indicate that the SEPs are included in elementary teachers' plans for instruction, but focus on particular aspects of the practices and in ways that are more teacher-driven. Additionally, teachers primarily engage their students in the practices for the purpose of assessing student understanding of the content, as opposed to as opportunities for student sense-making. These findings have important implications for both research and practice.Includes bibliographical reference

They Blinded me with Science!: Promoting a Community View of the Nature of Science for Science Education

The purpose of this dissertation is fourfold: a) to synthesize and analyze literature defining current approaches to science education, its epistemic pedagogical systems (Nature of Science; inquiry, discovery and integrated learning) and to propose a pedagogical lens to focus their instruction; b) to situate the nature and role of science education within the greater realm of educational endeavour and to propose a structure for the development of community views of science through guided collective reflection and introspection; c) to present and critique a system of science conception known as ‘Community Views of Science’ (CVOS) from a pedagogical, epistemological and empirical standpoint; and d) to empirically and theoretically dissect and interpret each interconnected constituent element of CVOS. To expand upon ‘d)’, a qualitative exploration and analysis of cooperative and individual concept mapping activities with undergraduate pre-service elementary learners (N=55) from Concordia University’s Department of Education will demonstrate that self- actualization of collective views of science can possibly be fostered by instructional strategies embedded in an instructional system designed for the actualization of epistemic belief systems. This exploratory study of pre-service educators will address the following objectives. First, explore and analyze interpretations of concept maps and concept mapping, as well as the affect of concept mapping analysis on epistemic realization and self-actualization. Second, explore, analyze and test the affect of cooperative concept mapping on epistemic realization, self-actualization and the development of a ‘Community View of Science’. Third, elaborate upon the use of cooperative concept mapping within pre-service elementary science educator classrooms to reflect the methods, processes, approaches, purposes, structures and systems of science as related to science education. Fourth, reflect on and discuss the nature of philosophical and empirical inquiry while ‘breaking methodological boundaries’ as defined by traditional qualitative research. With tenets from the ‘Nature of Science’ as the eventual goal of ‘Community Views of Science’, results of this exploratory study pinpoint potential uses for and associated outcomes of cooperative concept mapping as a culminating task for the development of epistemic malleability within pre-service elementary science educators (the inherent ability to begin questioning personal views of science so as to develop a healthy scepticism for and criticality towards science as a solution)

Developing NGSS Scientific Practices Through Inquiry in an Outdoor Learning Environment

The National Research Council has aggregated research evidence on the pedagogy of science teaching and learning (NRC, 2012), culminating in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). These standards support emphasis on eight scientific practices as an important component for teaching science as inquiry to K-12 students. This latest framework for curriculum and instruction poses the question of the role of science practices in student content understanding as well as understanding the nature of science inquiry. Improved understanding of students’ knowledge construction while engaged in an outdoor learning environment (OLE) can help improve theory about students’ knowledge-building work that imply ways to structure better contexts for learning involving scientific practices. The present investigation provides descriptive evidence of students’ epistemological moves as they engaged in a six-month inquiry investigation in an OLE on the school campus designed to embed scientific practices as described in the NGSS. Berland et al. (2015) Epistemologies in Practice (EIP) provided the conceptual framework for examining student knowledge construction. The data consisted of written artifacts and recorded discourse events that were used to provide evidence of student thinking as it related to scientific sense-making in a school context. The analysis parsed the data as to whether students’ thinking was meaningful within four “epistemological considerations” in building knowledge: Nature, Generality, Justification, and Audience. Evidence suggests student thinking progresses over time from a classroom goal orientation to inclusive of scientific sense-making. Students constructed knowledge in a variety of science and non-science topics, as well as demonstrating personal and social skills. This study suggests that there may be a productive hierarchy or progression in the epistemological considerations that students use in building knowledge

What types of science count? Exploring the formal, informal and hidden curricula in undergraduate medical education, with a particular focus on beliefs about science and knowledge.

Background and Purpose. This PhD thesis is a qualitative research project using interpretive and socio-cultural theories in a case study design. It explores medical students’ beliefs about scientific knowledge and the nature of evidence as applied to medicine, at key transition points in their education. This thesis situates current theories and conceptual models of epistemological development from the fields of psychology and education within the emergent field of medical education. Its aim is to provide insights into personal epistemological development, any curriculum barriers to such and provide insights into how students can be better supported, notably in transition periods. It addresses both a gap in the literature and the calls for more research into the development of student epistemologies in professional education. The thesis key research questions are: • What are medical students’ beliefs and understandings about the nature of scientific knowledge as applied to medicine? • What curriculum factors appear to facilitate or inhibit medical students’ epistemological development, at key transitions? Methodology. The case study design involved a four phase approach; • Phase 1: This was a critical discourse analysis of key policy and curricula texts to explore assumptions, inconsistencies or disputes relating to science and scientific content in the field of medical education. • Phase 2: This was the observation of learning episodes in preparation for Phase 3 involving participants. The purpose of Phase 2 was to situate and ground conversations with participants in real experiences. • Phase 3: This phase involved task groups and semi-structured interviews with medical students and faculty participants based at the University of Exeter Medical School (UEMS). Task groups and semi-structured interviews explored individual beliefs about the nature of science and scientific evidence as applied to medicine generally and the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (BMBS) curriculum content specifically. This included its contested scientific content and the nature of complexity and uncertainty in evidence based medicine. • Phase 4: This final phase involved presenting the case study findings to two other UK medical schools to explore the tentative applicability or transferability. The purpose of Phase 4 was to consider how case-specific and context bound the case study findings are. Findings. Findings suggest there is substantial variation in how medical students and faculty talk about science and evidence in medicine. This is influenced by their experiences of courses studied prior to entering medical school and their maturity in age. Medical students described how faculty informally spoke about the ambiguity within medical practice as clinical decision making, but there were very few reports of faculty explicitly speaking about the uncertain and tentative nature of scientific knowledge underpinning applied medicine. The bio-sciences were still dominant in terms of curriculum and assessment content. Where science in medicine is defined and approaches to scientific research are stated, formal curriculum documents espouse a narrow and positivistic methodological approach, which serves to perpetuate misconceptions regarding scientific research within medicine and may influence epistemological beliefs about the nature of science within medicine. Discussion and Conclusions. It is anticipated this case study will afford medical educators and curriculum designers insights upon which to address imbalances, include appropriate content, and reinforce good practice, so that medical graduates are effectively prepared for the challenges of a career in medicine