Learning, Cognition and the Problem of Conceptual Change

1. Learning, Cognition and the Problem of Conceptual Change Stella Vosniadou National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Department of Philosophy and History of Science

2. Theoretical Frameworks on Learning • Empiricist • Piagetian • Vygotskian • Cognitive • Situated Cognition

3. Empiricist Approach • None or little predisposition for knowledge acquisition (tabula rasa) • Knowledge based on experience • Mechanism of acquisition is mostly the enrichment or prior knowledge

4. Piagetian Approach • Constructive activity of the learner • Stages of development (Global restructuring) • Mechanisms of knowledge acquisition: assimilation and accommodation

5. Vygotskian Approach • The importance of society, history, and culture • Mechanisms of knowledge acquisition: internalization

6. Cognitive approach • Knowledge acquisition in the context of the information processing paradigm • Importance of prior knowledge • Learning strategies • Meaningfuless of learning • Transfer of learning • Metacognition

7. Situated cognition approach • Participation vs acquisition metaphor (apprenticeship learning) • Importance of situational factors (context) • Meaningfulness and authenticity of tasks

8. Key Notions • Importance of experience • Constructivism • Social/cultural factors • Strategic/Metacognitive aspects of meaningful learning for transfer • Importance of situational factors/authenticity of tasks

10. Principles of Learning • Active Involvement • Social Participation • Meaningful Activities • Relating New Information to Prior Knowledge • Being Strategic • Engaging in Self-Regulation and Being Reflective • Restructuring Prior Knowledge • Aiming Towards Understanding Rather than Memorization • Helping Students Learn to Transfer • Taking Time to Practice • Developmental and Individual Differences • Creating Motivated Learners

11. Conceptual Change • The “standard” theory • The fragmentation view • A cognitive/developmental approach to conceptual change

12. A cognitive/developmental approach to conceptual change • Children start with a naïve “theory” of physics which is very different from the currently accepted view • Synthetic models are created as students assimilate scientific information into their naïve theory

13. A Cognitive/Developmental Approach to Conceptual Change • The human mind has developed, through evolution, specialized mechanisms to pick up information from the physical and social world. • Naive physics is not a collection of unrelated pieces of knowledge. It provides a narrow but nevertheless coherent explanatory framework for conceptualizing the physical world. • Naive physics can stand in the way of learning science. • Conceptual change is required in the learning of many science concepts • Conceptual change is a slow and gradual process that proceeds through the gradual replacement of the beliefs and presuppositions of naive physics.

14. Naϊve Physics Ontology: Physical Object Causality: Mechanical Naïve psychology Ontology: Psychogical Beings Causality: Intentional Framework Theories in Physics and Psychology

15. Naϊve Physics The Framework Theory Ontology • Principles of • solidity • spatio-temporal continuity • contact • gravity (up/down) Causality The beginnings of mechanical causality and its distinction from psychological causality. (Dynamic relationship between two objects that come in contact where the first object is thought to cause the second objects’ movement.)

16. Hypothetical Conceptual Structure Underlying Children’s Models of the Earth

17. The concept of the Earth Initial Earth is flat Supported by ground, water, etc Stationary Sky and solar objects located Above its top Geocentric universe Scientific Earth is spherical Surrounded by space Rotating and revolving Space and solar objects Surround the earth Heliocentric solar system

18. An Example of Conceptual Case: The Case of the Earth Concept

26. Earth Shape Models 1st Grade 3rd Grade 5th Grade Total Frequency of the Earth Shape Models as a Function of Grade Sphere 3 8 12 23 Flattened sphere 1 3 0 4 Hollow sphere 2 4 6 12 Dual earth 6 2 0 8 Disc earth 0 1 0 1 Rectangular earth 1 0 0 1 Mixed 7 2 2 11 Total 20 20 20 60

27. The concept of the Earth Initial Earth is flat Supported by ground, water, etc Stationary Sky and solar objects located Above its top Geocentric universe Scientific Earth is spherical Surrounded by space Rotating and revolving Space and solar objects Surround the earth Heliocentric solar system

28. Conceptual Change in Astronomy (A) From Ptolemy to Copernicus Major Bodies Major Bodies Planets Stars Earth Stars Satellites Moon Sun Fixed Stars Planets Mercury Jupiter Earth Moon Sun Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn Saturn Venus Mars (B) From Grade 1 to Grade 5 Major Bodies Major Bodies Celestial Bodies Celestial Bodies Earth Planets Satellites Stars Sun Stars Moon Sun Moon Earth

29. Plant Development Synthetic Models Initial/Naive Theory Plants take their food from the ground (water or other nutrients) through their roots Plants grow as food accumulates in small pieces inside them They do not breathe or if they do-breathing is not related to growth/development (like in humans) Scientific Theory Plants create their own food through the process of photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a chemical process during which solar energy is used to transform water + CO2 into organic materials like glucose. Oxygen is also formed and stored in the plant or released in the atmosphere Plants take in CO2 from the atmosphere and use it in the process of photosynthesis. To this extent “breathing” in plants is related to growth and development.

30. Models of Plant Development • Plants take food from the ground, through roots. Food accumulates inside plant and makes it grow. They do not breathe. • Plants take food from the ground, through roots. Food accumulates inside plant and makes it grow. Information about photosynthesis is assimilated in breathing. • Information about photosynthesis assimilated in feeding. Plants takes food from ground and from air and use it to grow. • 4. Plants take food from the ground and from atmosphere and make it themselves in their leaves. And also plants make their own food themselves through photosynthesis. • 5. Plants make their own food by themselves but still no understanding of the chemical processes involved.

31. The concept of Force Initial Notion of internal and acquired force-Force contained Internal force is a property of the objects that feel heavy Acquired force is imparted to objects by an outside agent and is necessary to explain their motion Motion of physical objects requires an explanation in terms of a causal agent. Natural state of physical objects is that of rest Scientific Force – interaction Force is not a property of objects/notion of gravity Differentiation between force and energy Both rest and motion can be natural states of physical objects

32. Models Kind/ garten 4th grade 6th grade 9th grade Total 1. INTERNAL FORCE: There is an internal force within objects affected by weight/size only. 7 (46.7%) 4 (13.3%) - - 11 (10.5%) 2. INTERNAL FORCE AFFECTED BY MOVEMENT: There is an internal force within objects affected both by weight/size and by position/movement. 2 (13.3%) 2 (6.7%) - - 4 (3.8%) 3. INTERNAL and ACQUIRED FORCE: There is an internal force affected by weight/size and/or position. In addition there is an acquired force within moving objects only. 4 (26.7%) 10 (33.3%) 9 (30%) 1 (3.3%) 24 (22.9%) 4. ACQUIRED FORCE: There is an acquired force within moving objects only. - 5 (16.7%) 11 (36.7%) 2 (6.7%) 18 (17.1%) 5. ACQUIRED FORCE and FORCE OF PUSH/PULL: There is an acquired force within moving objects. There is a force exerted on all objects being pushed/pulled regardless of motion. - - 5 (16.7%) 10 (33.3%) 15 (14.3%) - - - 1 (3.3%) 1 (1%) 7. GRAVITATIONAL and OTHER FORCES: Force of gravity. Force of push/pull when objects are being pushed/pulled. Acquired force when objects are moving - 3 (10%) 1 (3.3%) 16 (53.3%) 20 (19%) 8. Mixed 2 (13.3%) 6 (20%) 4 (13.3%) - 12 (11.4%) Total 15 (14,3%) 30 (28.6%) 30 (28.6%) 30 (28.6%) 105 (100%) (0%) (0%) (0%) (0%) (0%) (0%) (0%) 6. FORCE OF PUSH/PULL: There is a force only on objects being pushed/pulled regardless of motion. (0%) (0%) (0%) (0%) Frequencies and Percent of Models of Force as a function of grade (0%) 6. FORCE OF PUSH/PULL: There is a force only on objects being pushed/pulled regardless of motion.

33. Implications for Instruction

34. Students’ Naïve Theories • Content (Presuppositions, Beliefs, Mental Models) • Structure • Metacognition • Implications for Instruction • Content - Explicitness of Explanation • - Does it address entrenched presuppositions and beliefs? • - Does it deal with student’s mental representations? • Structure - Order of acquisition of the concepts involved • Metacognition - Conceptual Change and Cognitive Flexibility

35. Curricula • Amount and sequence of information to be taught • Breadth of coverage of the curriculum • Relational structure of the concepts that comprise a given domain and order of acquisition • Instruction • Facilitating metaconceptual awareness • Social collaboration • Verbal discussions • Making internal representations external • Cognitive flexibility • Addressing entrenched presuppositions • Provide theoretically relevant experiences • Different explanatory framework

36. Addressing entrenched presuppositions • Good explanatory framework-tied to years of confirmations • Coherent system of explanation that lies at the roots of our conceptual system • Motivation to change • Experiential support (observations and experiments) • Cultural support-authenticity • Linguistic problems in the acquisition of science concepts

37. Broad framework for conceptual change • Individual cognitive changes • Individual motivational and affective variables • The educational settings in which instruction takes place • The broader social and cultural environments in which students live and learn

38. Principles of Learning • Active Involvement • Social Participation • Meaningful Activities • Relating New Information to Prior Knowledge • Being Strategic • Engaging in Self-Regulation and Being Reflective • Restructuring Prior Knowledge • Aiming Towards Understanding Rather than Memorization • Helping Students Learn to Transfer • Taking Time to Practice • Developmental and Individual Differences • Creating Motivated Learners