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EXTENDED FORECAST
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Analogical Learning
Dedre Gentner
Northwestern University
Analogy is a powerful learning process by which abstract knowledge can arise from experience. I’ll begin by laying out a framework for analogical comparison as a process of structure-mapping, and show several ways in which it fosters learning. However, although analogy is powerful, it has an important limitation: Even when learners know a relevant prior analog, they often fail to retrieve it. This is often called the inert knowledge problem. I will discuss two ways to overcome the inert knowledge problem: relational language and analogical encoding. I’ll describe studies illustrating these phenomena in adults and children and suggest implications for education. |
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Misconceptions or Missing Conceptions?
Claudia von Aufschnaiter
Justus-Liebig-University Giessen
Research on conceptual change assumes that students enter a science classroom with prior (mis-)conceptions. When being exposed to instruction, students are supposed to develop or change their conceptions to (more) scientific concepts. As a consequence, instruction typically concentrates on appropriate examples demonstrating that students’ conceptions are limited and need to be extended or revised (Posner criteria). Based on our studies on students’ conceptual development in Physics, we rather argue that students typically lack any (explanatory) conceptual understanding of the science content offered. We therefore conclude that a focus on missing conceptions is much more promising than a focus on misconceptions. This lecture will address theoretical arguments and empirical results supporting our proposition as well as suggest possible implications for research on students’ learning and instruction.
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A New Aprroach to the Nature of Science
Gürol Irzik
Sabancý Üniversitesi
Although there is universal consensus both in the science education literature and in the science standards documents to the effect that students should learn not only the content of science but also its nature, there is little agreement about what that nature is. In my talk I present and defend a new analytical approach, according to which science is both a cognitive system and s social institution. The former consists of a set of intrinsic aims and values, activities and methods, methodologies and their products. The latter consists of extrinsic aims, an organizational structure and its ethics. I discuss each of these and show how they are related to one another. I argue that this is a more comprehensive, systematic and philosophically neutral (as far as possible) approach and that it has also the virtue of being accessible to high school students without getting entangled in difficult philosophical issues. |
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Is Science approaching its Conclusion ?
Yves Quéré
Académie des Sciences, Paris
There was the belief, at the end of the 19th century, and even more recently, that Science was reaching the conclusion of its beautiful history. In particular, some of the great physicists of the time had the conviction that only "a few more decimals" (Kelvin) had to be determined before writing the word "The End". It is difficult to be more erroneous. Science is continuing, in an accelerated pace, to accumulate new results in all the fields of knowledge, and the question to be asked, now, is rather the following : will there be, one day, a conclusion to this progression? An important feature, here, is that most discoveries - while increasing the human knowledge about Nature - appear to increase simultaneously the immensity of our misreading - not to say our ignorance - of the reality of the world. A number of examples will be given, which show how difficult it would be to proclaim that we come closer, or that - contrariwise - we move further, of a complete knowledge of the world. |
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Doris Jorde
University of Oslo
The final talk of the ESERA 2009 conference will be a time to reflect on our accomplishments as an organization past both past and present. Our members are represented in many projects within the EU Science and Society program which means we are becoming more visible and influential in Europe. Our voice as an organization is being heard.
The talk will also be a reflection on the conference itself - the main impulses, trends and findings from our week together in Turkey.
Finally, the talk will take a look forward towards challenges we face in science education related to research, teacher education, recruiting and classroom teaching. |
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