Students' Scientific Explanations and the Contexts in Which They Occur

Wong, E. David

doi:10.1086/461841

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Although this classification of explanation provides a useful framework for defining scientific explanations, it requires modifications when used to examine students' explanations in classrooms. The adequacy and completeness of an explanation depend on the knowledge available to the explainer and the knowledge assumed to be available to the explainee (Achinstein, 1971;McEwan & Bull, 1991;Wong, 1996). The explanation of "why the sky is blue" shown previously is a complete scientific explanation according to the D-N model but it cannot be fully understood by learners at the middle school level.…”

Section: Features Of Inquiry Learning and Scientific Explanationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing Sixth Graders’ Inquiry Skills to Construct Explanations in Inquiry‐based Learning Environments

Hsieh²

2006

International Journal of Science Education

150

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The purpose of this study is to investigate how sixth graders develop inquiry skills to construct explanations in an inquiry-based learning environment. We designed a series of inquiry-based learning activities and identified four inquiry skills that are relevant to students' construction of explanation. These skills include skills to identify causal relationships, to describe the reasoning process, to use data as evidence, and to evaluate explanations. Multiple sources of data (e.g., video recordings of learning activities, interviews, students' artifacts, and pre/post tests) were collected from two science classes with 58 sixth graders. The statistical results show that overall the students' inquiry skills were significantly improved after they participated in the series of the learning activities. Yet the level of competency in these skills varied. While students made significant progress in identifying causal relationships, describing the reasoning process, and using data as evidence, they showed slight improvement in evaluating explanations. Additionally, the analyses suggest that phases of inquiry provide different kinds of learning opportunities and interact with students' development of inquiry skills.

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Section: Features Of Inquiry Learning and Scientific Explanationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing Sixth Graders’ Inquiry Skills to Construct Explanations in Inquiry‐based Learning Environments

Hsieh²

2006

International Journal of Science Education

150

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“…Most studies reported in the literature about scientific reasoning have been done in the context of school subjects rather than with everyday societal and environmental problems (for example, Newton 1999, Samarapungavan 1992, Schauble 1996, Vosniadou and Brewer 1992, Wong 1996. Only a few studies put emphasis on reasoning in areas of daily life situations (for example, Jiménez-Aleixandre and Pereiro-Munoz 2002, Kortland 1996, Kuhn 1991, Ratcliffe 1996, Yang and Anderson, 2003.…”

Section: Literature Surveymentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring high school students' use of theory and evidence in an everyday context: the role of scientific thinking in environmental science decision‐making

Yang

2004

International Journal of Science Education

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This study examined 10th-grade students' use of theory and evidence in evaluating a socio-scientific issue: the use of underground water, after students had received a Science, Technology and Society-oriented instruction. Forty-five male and 45 female students from two intact, single-sex, classes participated in this study. A flow-map method was used to assess the participants' conceptual knowledge. The reasoning mode was assessed using a questionnaire with open-ended questions. Results showed that, although some weak to moderate associations were found between conceptual organization in memory and reasoning modes, the students' ability to incorporate theory and evidence was in general inadequate. It was also found that students' reasoning modes were consistent with their epistemological perspectives. Moreover, male and female students appear to have different reasoning approaches.

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“…We are also interested in addressing common science misconceptions. framework of scientific inquiry in which students are encouraged to ask questions, speculate about possible answers, and test and revise their ideas [22,23]. This inquiry cycle promotes a view of science as a process, rather than as a body of facts, and encourages students to bring their own experiences and conjectures into the science classroom.…”

Section: The Stc Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adapting user interface design methods to the design of educational activities

Lewis

Brand

Cherry

et al. 1998

Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI '98

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ABSTRACTconsidered simply, but a more complex evaluation of the effects of performing the tasks. For example, an educational activity that learners complete quickly and accurately is of no value if they learn nothing from it.We have adapted the programming walkthrough technique to help design computer-supported educational activities in elementary school science. We present examples from a case study which illustrate ways in which design of an educational activity is similar to and different from design of a user interface. We have found that the walkthrough approach is useful in this new setting, and that it sheds new light on the general task-centered orientation to design. Despite these differences in design problems, we hypothesized that the core logic of task-centered user interface design, and of the associated walkthrough methods, could be adapted to the design of educational activities. We present the results of our exploration of this possibility by describing a case study in which we adapted the programming walkthrough technique [2,9] to the design of a suite of educational activities about plants for an elementary school science unit.

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Students' Scientific Explanations and the Contexts in Which They Occur

Cited by 15 publications

References 27 publications

Developing Sixth Graders’ Inquiry Skills to Construct Explanations in Inquiry‐based Learning Environments

Developing Sixth Graders’ Inquiry Skills to Construct Explanations in Inquiry‐based Learning Environments

Exploring high school students' use of theory and evidence in an everyday context: the role of scientific thinking in environmental science decision‐making

Adapting user interface design methods to the design of educational activities

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