Personal Epistemology
and
Student Resistance to Interactive
Lecture Demonstrations
Guy Ashkenazi & Rachel Zimrot
Department of Science Teaching
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
[email protected]
The Teaching Method (ILD)
Demo 3
vacuum
The nozzle of an evacuated
vessel is inserted into a
flask filled with water.
Predict the state of the
system after the valve is
opened. Provide a short
explanation:
water
a
b
c
d
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
Constructivist Objectives



Prediction – Activates students’ conceptions,
and employs them as resources for further
conceptual development.
Discussion – Demonstrates the possibility of
several plausible models for the same
phenomenon.
Demonstration – Tests the range of validity of
the different models in the context of an actual
observation.
Student Resistance
“What is your preferred way of learning new
concepts and scientific principles: the way this
course is taught (ILD) or regular lectures like
in all other courses?”
 ILD course: 28.2%
 Neutral: 24.4%
 Traditional courses: 47.4%
Is this just because students are lazy and
prefer the path of least cognitive effort?
Personal Epistemology (Hofer, 2004)
The beliefs and theories that individuals come to
hold about knowledge and knowing. These are
comprised of multiple dimensions that can
each be expressed as a continuum, from less
sophisticated to more sophisticated:
 Certainty of knowledge
 Simplicity of knowledge
 Source of knowledge
 Justification for knowing
Certainty of Knowledge
“Can a scientific theory change?”
 Danny: “A theory is something which is not
fully founded, not completely verified by
experiment – it has holes; but it can later be
tied to something which is well established.”
 Heather: “It happens if new technologies lead
to new discoveries which contradict theory.”
 Michael: “Even if an experiment contradicts a
theory, we may say ‘this is the best we have’
and continue using it.”
Complexity of Knowledge
“How do you learn a new concept?”
 Danny: “I first try to understand it intuitively.
When I see I cannot understand it intuitively,
or when I don’t feel like it, I memorize it.”
 Heather: “I try to look for connections to things
I do know… it makes me feel more secure.”
 Michael: “It always builds upon [prior
knowledge]… I know that with time, as more
concepts and more structures are built upon
the new material, I will know it better.”
Student Resistance to ILD
Three students* interpret the same classroom
experience in three different ways, through the
lenses of their personal epistemologies:
 Danny finds it confusing and antagonizing,
and strongly opposes this teaching method.
 Heather can see the usefulness of specific
elements, but overall doesn’t feel secure in her
knowledge.
 Michael strongly supports all elements of this
constructivist teaching method.
* All three students are high-achievers (Final grades: 89, 93, 91)
Prediction



Danny: “A regular class is more focused, less
of a ‘roller-coaster’ [= low level amusement]…
it is easier to concentrate.”
Heather: “It is more fun – you sit with your
friends, talk, and think together… but I’m not
sure that it leads to better learning.”
Michael: “The fact that a person needs to sit
and sort out what he thinks will happen, and to
give an explanation… and he can compare
what he wrote to other things – it is better.”
Discussion



Danny: “He writes the incorrect sentences,
and then explains why they make sense, and
you can no longer trust your professor… he
should not reinforce students’ mistakes!”
Heather: “It is a nice interaction – it confronts
your opinion with others. You should either
defend it or become convinced.”
Michael: “I sometimes see a conflict between
two sentences that I try to reconcile… it helps
me to sort out my thoughts.”
Demonstration



Danny: “An experiment is something that
attracts my eye, and makes me understand;
but the way it was done it only confused me.”
Heather: “I think that from all the experiments,
I remember more the ones which surprised
me… if it contradicts your intuition, it lights a
bulb in your mind.”
Michael: “An experiment is more attractive and
also demands more careful consideration and
integration of knowledge you have.”
Conclusions


When knowledge is considered as something
that can be simply transmitted, constructivist
teaching methods may seem at best pointless
and even distracting.
Even when students are willing to go through
the process, they have a need for a feeling of
certainty: “Give us some phase of struggle, a
chance to contemplate, but at the end of this
process summarize and say: ‘this is correct,
that is incorrect, for the following reasons…’.”
Results - Attitude
Term
Attitude
Midterm
Final
Fall 2002 Positive (4-5)
(n=151) Neutral (3)
Negative (1-2)
Average
28.2%
23.3%
24.4%
22.6%
47.4%
54.1%
2.77±1.18 2.55±1.04
Fall 2003 Positive (4-5)
(n=156) Neutral (3)
Negative (1-2)
Average
51.0%
59.5%
30.8%
28.1%
18.2%
12.4%
3.50±1.10 3.66±1.06
<0.001
<0.001
n.s.
n.s.
p (2)
Results – Performance
Term
Performance
level
Topics
1-5
6-10
Fall 2002 High (4-5)
(n=115) Medium (2-3)
Low (0-1)
25.2%
44.4%
30.4%
9.6%
44.3%
46.1%
0.003
Fall 2003 High (4-5)
(n=141) Medium (2-3)
Low (0-1)
28.4%
52.5%
19.1%
29.8%
48.2%
22.0%
n.s.
<0.001
p (2)
n.s.