Neuroscience
The beliefs students hold about scientific knowledge can affect their ability to understand physics - a finding that researchers say has implications for the way students are taught.
Greek psychologists Christina Stathopoulou and Stella Vosniadou tested the epistemological beliefs of 394 students aged about 15 years, all of whom had taken courses in physics.
For example, the researchers measured the students' belief in the stability and structure of scientific knowledge by gauging their agreement with statements like: “Physics textbooks present theories that have been confirmed by scientists and are not going to change.”
Next, the ten per cent of the students with the most sophisticated beliefs about knowledge, and the ten per cent with the least sophisticated beliefs, answered questions on Newton's three laws of motion.
Those students with sophisticated beliefs about scientific knowledge, who recognised that knowledge is changing and constantly reorganised, were significantly more likely to show an understanding of Newton's laws of motion, than were the students whose epistemological beliefs were less sophisticated. By contrast, the students' past school grades in physics did not predict whether they would understand Newton's laws.
Not all students with more sophisticated epistemological beliefs showed a deep understanding of Newton's laws, but none of the students with less sophisticated beliefs did. That is, in this study, sophisticated epistemological beliefs were necessary but not sufficient for a deep understanding of Newton's laws.
“If we are interested in designing effective learning environments it is important to pay more attention to students' epistemological beliefs and to develop curricula and instruction explicitly designed to promote epistemological sophistication,” the researchers said.
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Stathopoulou, C. & Vosniadou, S. (2007). Exploring the relationship between physics-related epistemological beliefs and physics understanding. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 32, 255-281.
Post written by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
Link to related Digest article.
Link to recent news item: Concerns not enough students are taking physics.
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Neuroscience
To grasp physics, students need to know about knowledge
The beliefs students hold about scientific knowledge can affect their ability to understand physics - a finding that researchers say has implications for the way students are taught.Greek psychologists Christina Stathopoulou and Stella Vosniadou tested the epistemological beliefs of 394 students aged about 15 years, all of whom had taken courses in physics.
For example, the researchers measured the students' belief in the stability and structure of scientific knowledge by gauging their agreement with statements like: “Physics textbooks present theories that have been confirmed by scientists and are not going to change.”
Next, the ten per cent of the students with the most sophisticated beliefs about knowledge, and the ten per cent with the least sophisticated beliefs, answered questions on Newton's three laws of motion.
Those students with sophisticated beliefs about scientific knowledge, who recognised that knowledge is changing and constantly reorganised, were significantly more likely to show an understanding of Newton's laws of motion, than were the students whose epistemological beliefs were less sophisticated. By contrast, the students' past school grades in physics did not predict whether they would understand Newton's laws.
Not all students with more sophisticated epistemological beliefs showed a deep understanding of Newton's laws, but none of the students with less sophisticated beliefs did. That is, in this study, sophisticated epistemological beliefs were necessary but not sufficient for a deep understanding of Newton's laws.
“If we are interested in designing effective learning environments it is important to pay more attention to students' epistemological beliefs and to develop curricula and instruction explicitly designed to promote epistemological sophistication,” the researchers said.
__________________________________
Stathopoulou, C. & Vosniadou, S. (2007). Exploring the relationship between physics-related epistemological beliefs and physics understanding. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 32, 255-281.
Post written by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
Link to related Digest article.
Link to recent news item: Concerns not enough students are taking physics.
- Hearing About Scientists' Struggles Helps Inspire Students And Boosts Their Learning
Newton worked hard and had an inquisitive natureScience suffers from an image problem. Many students see the subject as too difficult and they think scientists are aloof boffins with big brains. A new study out of Taiwan tests the benefits of teaching...
- Our Belief In Psychological Momentum And The Laws Of Physics
Would you say a sportswoman is more or less likely than usual to win her next game if she won her last game? What about if she had won her last two games? If, like most people, you think her chances of future success are greater following a series of...
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Can you honestly say that alone on a dimly lit street you've never wondered if those footsteps behind are the sound of someone following you? Increasingly, psychologists are recognising that many of the thoughts and experiences, such as paranoia,...
- When Physicists And Philosophers Collide
The Montagues and Capulets. The foxes and the hedgehogs. The peanut butter and jelly.Physics and philosophy have always been at odds with one another. But, when they collide, it's like a thought experiment of particles tied to railroad tracks with...
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Read this article in the Indiana Daily Student here.... Hilbert's tombSince a theory of everything would all the forces of matter, it would be elegant in how much information could be explained so simply. The math and physics behind theory would all...