On Coordinating Theory with Evidence: The Role of Epistemic Commitments in Scientific Reasoning among College Students

Abstract

This study examined the impact of two epistemic commitments on the quality of college students" scientific reasoning in the domain of hydrostatics. These were the commitment to the consistency of theory with prior knowledge and commitment to the consistency of theory with evidence. Participants were 12 sophomore science majors enrolled in a large Midwestern university in the United States. They were first administered a 10 short-answer item questionnaire to assess their understandings of buoyancy, and then participated in an individual, think-aloud interview centered on four paper-and-pencil scenarios involving systems of objects immersed in water. During the interview, participants also were asked to justify their responses and explain certain reported "observations" in each scenario. The interviews aimed to explore the impact of participants" epistemic commitments on their reasoning. A majority of participants did not demonstrate coherent reasoning schemes when working with buoyancy problems. To be sure, participants" prior conceptions of buoyancy interacted with the target epistemic commitments in impacting their reasoning. Still, there was a discernable impact for the target epistemic commitments on the quality of participants" reasoning.

Perceived effect on buoyancy of weight vs. gravitational force

“…The idea that gravitational force and/or weight change when an object is placed in a fluid ("F B changes F g ") has been identified in many populations [5][6][7][8][9], including our own interviews with US college students [10]. Additional studies [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] have discussed in depth the different meanings of the word "weight" in physics texts and instruction.…”

Experiências De Pensamento Científico Em Aulas De Física

“…Suspeitamos que tais textos possam estar começando a influenciar nossa comunidade de pesquisa, pois, embora ainda em pequeno número, há uma ampliação do interesse de pesquisadores pelo estudo do fenômeno do ensino e da aprendizagem para além da esfera conceitual (Bellucco & Carvalho, 2014;Choi, Hand & Greenbowe, 2012;Havdala & Ashkenazi, 2007;Kanari & Millar, 2004;Lee & Park, 2013;Locatelli & Carvalho, 2007;Maurines, 2010;Mendonça & Justi, 2006;Yeo & Gilbert, 2014;Zeineddin & Abd-el-khalick, 2008). O que não podemos dizer com certeza é que esse germe de mudança observado nas pesquisas em Ensino de Ciências tem sido também observado nas salas de aula.…”