The Pedagogy of Physical Science

203 Pages·2010·3.378 MB·English

by  David Heywood, Joan Parker (auth.)

David Heywood
Joan Parker
CONTEMPORARY TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SCIENCE EDUCATION 38
The Pedagogy of
Physical Science
123
The Pedagogy of Physical Science
Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education
VOLUME 38
SERIES EDITOR
Dana Zeidler, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA
FOUNDING EDITOR
Ken Tobin, City University of New York, USA
EDITORIAL BOARD
Fouad Abd El Khalick, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
Marrisa Rollnick, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Svein Sjøberg, University of Oslo, Norway
David Treagust, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia
Larry Yore, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
HsingChi von Bergmann, University of Calgary, Canada
SCOPE
The book series Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education provides a forum for
innovative trends and issues connected to science education. Scholarship that focuses on
advancing new visions, understanding, and is at the forefront of the field is found in this
series. Accordingly, authoritative works based on empirical research and writings from disci-
plines external to science education, including historical, philosophical, psychological and
sociological traditions, are represented here.
For other titles published in this series, go to
www.springer.com/series/6512
David Heywood Joan Parker
●
The Pedagogy of Physical
Science
David Heywood Joan Parker
Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University
Institute of Education Institute of Education
Manchester Manchester
Didsbury Didsbury
United Kingdom United Kingdom
[email protected] [email protected]
ISBN 978-1-4020-5270-5 e-ISBN 978-1-4020-5271-2
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4020-5271-2
Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York
Library of Congress Control Number: 2009942129
© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010
No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written
permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose
of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
Printed on acid-free paper
Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Acknowledgements
The inception of this project derived from a professional concern about effective
teaching to support meaningful learning in science. It is an attempt to develop
insight into effective pedagogy from the perspective of the learner. The book draws
on researching pre-service and practicing teachers’ learning of science on teaching
programmes at Manchester Metropolitan University over the last decade. We would
like to thank all those students and teachers who gave freely of their time and par-
ticipated enthusiastically in such a way that allowed us to gain insights that would
have otherwise been impossible.
We offer thanks to our colleagues in the science education department past and
present for their engagement in lively discussion about the ideas we were struggling
with. In no particular order we are indebted to Mark Rowlands for his carefully
considered insights, Frank Gibson for his intellectually challenging questioning,
Alan Goodwin for his limitless enthusiasm, Denis Burns for his inspiration and Gill
Peet for never tiring of being interested in our work.
A special thanks to all the staff of the Education and Social Science Research
Institute for their continued interest and faith in our research work. In particular we
appreciate the support of Harry Torrance, Liz Jones and Maggie McClure and,
especially Tony Brown, who encouraged us from the outset and gave us the belief
that we were able to undertake such a daunting project.
We are grateful to the editors of the British Education Research Journal, the
Cambridge Journal of Education and the International Journal of Science
Education for permission to draw on previously published articles in the comple-
tion of this work.
The script has been painstakingly revised on numerous occasions as a result of
valuable critical comment from those who gave freely of their time to help with the
initial and final drafting of the text. Sincere thanks to Ann Heywood and Rob
Heywood for their help in this.
Finally, a special mention goes to our families, Ann and Rob, Phil, Lucy and
Kate for their patience, support and encouragement.
v
About the Authors
Dave Heywood is Reader in Education and Joan Parker Senior Lecturer in
Education at the Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Education, England.
Their research interests are focused on developing teacher subject and pedagogic
knowledge. They work collaboratively with colleagues to research how pre-service
and practicing teachers develop science subject and pedagogical knowledge in order
to enhance higher education taught provision in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes. The research undertaken
provides evidence that by engaging in a metacognitive approach to learning, in what
are problematic subject areas for many science trainees and teachers, there resides the
opportunity to foster not only understanding of scientific concepts but also pedagogi-
cal insight into the learning of them. Their current research interests concern the
development of this approach and exploration of its application in the classroom
practice of teachers. They have recently been involved in working with the Manchester
Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) education officers and school teachers in
promoting out of school learning to develop pupils’ enthusiasm and confidence in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). They are passionately
committed to focusing research on practice to inform future programme provision for
both ITE and CPD. They have published internationally and presented at conference
both nationally and internationally.
vii
Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 1
2 Conceptual Change and Learning About Forces ................................. 7
2.1 The Challenge of Learning About Forces and Motion .................. 7
2.2 Conceptual Change: A Brief Historical Perspective ...................... 8
2.2.1 The Influence of Piaget .................................................... 9
2.2.2 The ‘Classical’ Model of Conceptual Change ................. 10
2.2.3 Developing Knowledge and Understanding
of Learners’ Conceptions in Science ............................... 11
2.2.4 Some Theoretical Models of Conceptual Change ........... 12
2.2.5 Considering the Individual’s World ................................. 14
2.3 Conceptual Change in Action: Primary Teachers Learning
About Forces .................................................................................. 17
2.3.1 Forces Within the Context of Floating and Sinking ......... 17
2.3.2 The Socio-Cultural Environment and the Role
of the Tutor ....................................................................... 18
2.3.3 Learning in Action: Floating and Sinking ....................... 20
2.3.4 Initial Ideas....................................................................... 20
2.3.5 Constructing and Reviewing Hypotheses ........................ 21
2.3.6 Developing a Forces View of Floating
and Sinking ...................................................................... 23
2.3.7 Generalising Weight for Size ........................................... 24
2.3.8 Understanding Forces in Different
Contexts – Towards Context Independent
Learning ........................................................................... 25
2.3.9 The Arched Bridge ........................................................... 27
2.3.10 The Parachutist ................................................................. 29
2.4 Some Conclusions and Implications .............................................. 31
2.4.1 Reflections on the Development a Qualitative
Understanding of Force and Motion ................................ 31
2.4.2 Developing Pedagogical Insight Through Employing
a Metacognitive Approach to Learning ........................... 35
2.4.3 Some Implications for Teacher Education ....................... 37
ix
x Contents
3 The Role of Analogies in Learning .......................................................... 39
3.1 Learning About Simple Circuits ........................................................ 40
3.2 Applying Analogies to Simple Circuits ............................................. 42
3.2.1 Analogies Deployed ............................................................... 42
3.2.2 Synopsis of Research Findings .............................................. 44
3.2.3 Tracking Learning Within the Groups ................................... 48
3.3 Implications for Pedagogy ................................................................. 50
3.3.1 The Problem of Analogies in Developing
a Sequential View of Simple Circuits .................................... 50
3.4 Explanation and Meaning .................................................................. 54
3.4.1 The Appropriation of Hermeneutics ...................................... 55
3.4.2 Exemplification of Language and Meaning ........................... 55
3.4.3 Alternative Perspectives on Knowledge Acquisition ............. 57
3.4.4 Partitioning and Sequencing .................................................. 59
3.4.5 The Presentation of Science Knowledge
in Science Education .............................................................. 59
3.5 Practical Implications for Pedagogy: Learning .................................. 61
3.6 Practical Implications for Pedagogy: Teaching ................................. 62
3.7 Teacher Subject and Pedagogic Knowledge ...................................... 63
4 Cognitive Conflict and the Formation of Shadows ................................ 65
4.1 Promoting Conceptual Change Through Cognitive Conflict ............. 66
4.1.1 The Role of Cognitive Conflict in Learning Science ............. 66
4.1.2 Some Limitations of the Cognitive Conflict Strategy ............ 66
4.2 The Challenge Presented by the Conceptual
Domain of Light ................................................................................. 68
4.3 Exploring the Impact of Cognitive Conflict in Learning
About Shadows .................................................................................. 69
4.3.1 Background to the Exemplification Study ............................. 69
4.3.2 The Cognitive Conflict Scenarios .......................................... 70
4.3.3 Learner Responses to the Cognitive
Conflict Scenarios .................................................................. 72
4.3.4 Categories of Responses to the Cognitive
Conflict Scenarios (1–3) ........................................................ 73
4.3.5 Triggering Meaningful Cognitive Conflict ............................ 78
4.4 Resolving the Conflict ....................................................................... 78
4.4.1 The Need to Generate Causal Explanation ............................ 78
4.4.2 Resolving the Cognitive Conflict Caused
by the Cross-Shaped Shadow ................................................. 79
4.5 The Emergence of Pedagogical Insight ............................................. 83
4.5.1 The Learning Process ............................................................. 83
4.5.2 Pedagogy Relating to Light ................................................... 87
4.5.3 Pedagogical Implications for Future Practice ........................ 88
4.6 Discussion .......................................................................................... 88
4.7 Some Concluding Remarks ................................................................ 90
Contents xi
5 Language Interpretation and Meaning ................................................... 93
5.1 Conceptualising How Language Works ............................................. 94
5.1.1 A Brief Look at Language as a System or Structure ............. 94
5.2 Sign and Signification ........................................................................ 95
5.3 Signification in Science Learning ...................................................... 96
5.3.1 Paradigm Constraints in Reasoning ....................................... 98
5.3.2 The Relational Value of the Sign ........................................... 99
5.4 Interpretation and Meaning ................................................................ 102
5.4.1 What Counts for Text? ........................................................... 103
5.4.2 Language and Accessing the World (Electricity) .................. 104
5.4.3 Possibilities and Constraints .................................................. 104
5.4.4 Shaping the Ontological Landscape ....................................... 107
5.4.5 Distancing .............................................................................. 111
6 Metacognition and Developing Understanding of Simple
Astronomical Events ................................................................................. 113
6.1 Metacognition and Learning .............................................................. 113
6.1.1 What Is Meant by Metacognition? ........................................ 113
6.1.2 The Relevance of Developing Metacognitive
Awareness of Learning in Teacher Education ........................ 115
6.2 The Conceptual Domain of the Earth and Beyond ............................ 116
6.2.1 The Cognitive and Pedagogical Challenge of Developing
Causal Explanations of Simple Astronomical Events............ 116
6.2.2 Using a Metacognitive Approach to Generating
Subject and Pedagogical Knowledge ..................................... 119
6.3 Mapping Movement in Conceptual Understanding
About Simple Astronomical Events ................................................... 121
6.3.1 The Day–Night Cycle ............................................................ 121
6.3.2 The Seasons ........................................................................... 123
6.3.3 The Phases of the Moon ......................................................... 125
6.4 Insights Identified Through Adopting a Metacognitive
Approach to Learning ........................................................................ 127
6.4.1 The Nature of Cognitive Development Within
the Subject Domain the Earth and Beyond ............................ 127
6.4.2 Using Key Features of Learning to Stimulate the
Development of Subject and Pedagogical Knowledge .......... 129
6.5 Discussion .......................................................................................... 136
7 The Subject Matter Learning Audit and the Generation
of Pedagogical Content Knowledge ......................................................... 139
7.1 Teacher Knowledge ............................................................................ 139
7.1.1 Pedagogic Content Knowledge .............................................. 141
7.1.2 Teacher Education and the Development of PCK .................. 143
7.1.3 Translation and Interpretation: Knowledge
into Practice ........................................................................... 144