Variation theory: A theory of learning and a useful theoretical framework for chemical education research

Bussey, Thomas J.; Orgill, MaryKay; Crippen, Kent J.

doi:10.1039/c2rp20145c

Cited by 60 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…A related question is what is the “best” way to define familiarity, or how do we gauge what a student should have learned in a course? This could potentially be viewed from the instructor or student standpoint, although past research has shown that these groups can possess differing perspectives of a classroom environment or the associated learning that is occurring [ 27 – 30 ]. This may in part be due the fact that novices (students) and experts (instructors) process material differently [ 31 – 33 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Familiar(ity) Problem: Assessing the Impact of Prerequisites and Content Familiarity on Student Learning

et al. 2016

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Prerequisites are embedded in most STEM curricula. However, the assumption that the content presented in these courses will improve learning in later courses has not been verified. Because a direct comparison of performance between students with and without required prerequisites is logistically difficult to arrange in a randomized fashion, we developed a novel familiarity scale, and used this to determine whether concepts introduced in a prerequisite course improved student learning in a later course (in two biology disciplines). Exam questions in the latter courses were classified into three categories, based on the degree to which the tested concept had been taught in the prerequisite course. If content familiarity mattered, it would be expected that exam scores on topics covered in the prerequisite would be higher than scores on novel topics. We found this to be partially true for “Very Familiar” questions (concepts covered in depth in the prerequisite). However, scores for concepts only briefly discussed in the prerequisite (“Familiar”) were indistinguishable from performance on topics that were “Not Familiar” (concepts only taught in the later course). These results imply that merely “covering” topics in a prerequisite course does not result in improved future performance, and that some topics may be able to removed from a course thereby freeing up class time. Our results may therefore support the implementation of student-centered teaching methods such as active learning, as the time-intensive nature of active learning has been cited as a barrier to its adoption. In addition, we propose that our familiarity system could be broadly utilized to aid in the assessment of the effectiveness of prerequisites.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Familiar(ity) Problem: Assessing the Impact of Prerequisites and Content Familiarity on Student Learning

et al. 2016

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“…Pang and Ling (2012) demonstrate the power of the theory in explaining and predicting the relationship between what takes place in the classroom and what students learn, and how ways of improving student learning through teacher professional development can be identified. Also, Bussey, Orgill, and Crippen (2013) encourage the use of variation theory within the chemical education research community as a mechanism for further examination of students' understanding of chemical concepts, as well as a way to improve practice and Elliot's (2012) evaluation of learning studies in Hong Kong supports the view that teachers' curriculum development was enhanced by the use of variation theory.…”

Section: The Theoretical Framework: Variation Theory As a Guiding Primentioning

confidence: 99%

What Makes the Difference? Teachers Explore What Must be Taught and What Must be Learned in Order to Understand the Particulate Character of Matter

Vikström

2014

Journal of Science Teacher Education

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The concept of matter, especially its particulate nature, is acknowledged as being one of the key concept areas in learning science. Within the framework of learning studies and variation theory, and with results from science education research as a starting point, six lower secondary school science teachers tried to enhance students' learning by exploring what must be learnt in order to understand the concept in specific way. It was found that variation theory was a useful guiding principle when teachers are engaged in pedagogical design, analysis of lessons, and evaluation of students learning, as well as a valuable tool for adapting research results into practice.

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“…2 Focus on design techniques of software engineering, expressing the components and their structural (i.e., static) relationships using notations like class or architecture diagrams. 3 Focus on design techniques of software engineering, expressing the components and some sequential (dynamic) behavior using notations like sequence diagrams or flowcharts. 4…”

Section: Category 0: Informal Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Graduating students' designs

Thomas

Eckerdal

McCartney

et al. 2014

Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Conference on International Computing Education Research

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We expand upon previous research that looked at the question: "Can graduating students design software systems?" Specifically we want to examine students' understanding of the phenomenon "produce a design." What does this instruction mean to them? In order to investigate student understandings, we examined their designs using a phenomenographic approach.Our outcome space includes six understandings: (0) the design a layman might produce; (1) a design with some formal notation; (2) a design that uses formal notations to express the static relationships among the parts; (3) a design that uses formal notation to express sequential (dynamic) information, but does not relate that to the static system parts; (4) a design that includes and relates multiple artifacts, both static and dynamic; and (5) a design that relaxes the notations and includes only essential artifacts. The last understanding was found only in our expert's design, and we do not expect it from undergraduates.

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Variation theory: A theory of learning and a useful theoretical framework for chemical education research

Cited by 60 publications

References 33 publications

A Familiar(ity) Problem: Assessing the Impact of Prerequisites and Content Familiarity on Student Learning

A Familiar(ity) Problem: Assessing the Impact of Prerequisites and Content Familiarity on Student Learning

What Makes the Difference? Teachers Explore What Must be Taught and What Must be Learned in Order to Understand the Particulate Character of Matter

Graduating students' designs

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