Enabling Students to Develop a Scientific Mindset
Science & Education
Calvin Kalman
This paper is centered on getting students to understand the nature of science (NOS) by considering historical material in relation to modern philosophers of science. This paper incorporates the methodology of contrasting cases in the calculus-based introductory physics course on optics and modern physics. Students study one philosopher all semester as a group project and report regularly on how their philosopher would view the subject matter of the course. Almost all of the students were able to argue successfully on the final examination about all three philosophers. Students become aware that the same textual material can be viewed in a variety of ways. The answers that students give about the NOS have become clearer at the end of the course.
Showing posts with label Science and Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Science and Education. Show all posts
2009-04-19
2008-07-04
Dedes Ravanis - Science and Education 2008
History of Science and Conceptual Change: The Formation of Shadows by Extended Light Sources
Science & Education online first publication
Christos Dedes and Konstantinos Ravanis
This study investigates the effectiveness of a teaching conflict procedure whose purpose was the transformation of the representations of 12–16-year-old pupils in Greece concerning light emission and shadow formation by extended light sources. The changes observed during the children’s effort to destabilize and reorganise their representations towards a model that was compatible with the respective scientific model were studied using three groups of pupils belonging to different age groups. The methodological plan implemented was based on input from the History of Science, while the parameters of the geometrical optics model were derived from Kepler’s relevant historic experiment. The effectiveness of the teaching procedure was evaluated 2 weeks after the intervention. The results showed that the majority of the subjects accepted the model of geometrical optics, i.e. the pupils were able to correctly predict and adequately justify the experimental results based on the principle of punctiform light emission. Educational and research implications are discussed.
Science & Education online first publication
Christos Dedes and Konstantinos Ravanis
This study investigates the effectiveness of a teaching conflict procedure whose purpose was the transformation of the representations of 12–16-year-old pupils in Greece concerning light emission and shadow formation by extended light sources. The changes observed during the children’s effort to destabilize and reorganise their representations towards a model that was compatible with the respective scientific model were studied using three groups of pupils belonging to different age groups. The methodological plan implemented was based on input from the History of Science, while the parameters of the geometrical optics model were derived from Kepler’s relevant historic experiment. The effectiveness of the teaching procedure was evaluated 2 weeks after the intervention. The results showed that the majority of the subjects accepted the model of geometrical optics, i.e. the pupils were able to correctly predict and adequately justify the experimental results based on the principle of punctiform light emission. Educational and research implications are discussed.
Yalcin Altun Turgut Aggül - Science and Education 2008
First Year Turkish Science Undergraduates’ Understandings and Misconceptions of Light
Science & Education online first publication
Mehmet Yalcin, Sema Altun, Umit Turgut and Fatma Aggül
The present study aims to identify first year Turkish Science undergraduates’ understandings and misconceptions of the concept of light and its propagation. For this purpose, an instrument composed of four open-ended questions was developed by the researchers. The diagnostic test was piloted with twenty students and modifications were made prior to the final administration of the test. The content validity of the test questions was assessed by two physics researchers and one lecturer. These questions were administered to a hundred first year undergraduates (aged 16–18) enrolled in the Science Teacher Training Department in Ataturk University in Turkey. In addition, the semi-structured interviews of 30–40 min were conducted with the four students whose responses involved common misunderstanding. All interview records were transcribed and analysed. The findings showed that undergraduates’ understanding of light is poor and also they have important and prevalent misconceptions. Identified misconceptions, some of which have been reported in the literature, are discussed qualitatively. The misunderstandings identified were compared with those in the literature. The results have some implications for teaching light, suggesting that a substantial revision of teaching strategies is needed.
Science & Education online first publication
Mehmet Yalcin, Sema Altun, Umit Turgut and Fatma Aggül
The present study aims to identify first year Turkish Science undergraduates’ understandings and misconceptions of the concept of light and its propagation. For this purpose, an instrument composed of four open-ended questions was developed by the researchers. The diagnostic test was piloted with twenty students and modifications were made prior to the final administration of the test. The content validity of the test questions was assessed by two physics researchers and one lecturer. These questions were administered to a hundred first year undergraduates (aged 16–18) enrolled in the Science Teacher Training Department in Ataturk University in Turkey. In addition, the semi-structured interviews of 30–40 min were conducted with the four students whose responses involved common misunderstanding. All interview records were transcribed and analysed. The findings showed that undergraduates’ understanding of light is poor and also they have important and prevalent misconceptions. Identified misconceptions, some of which have been reported in the literature, are discussed qualitatively. The misunderstandings identified were compared with those in the literature. The results have some implications for teaching light, suggesting that a substantial revision of teaching strategies is needed.
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