Constructing Worlds through Science Education: The Selected Works of John K. Gilbert

by Gilbert; John K.

• ISBN13: 9780415352178
• ISBN10: 0415352177
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-11-14
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

In theWorld Library of Educationalistsseries, international experts themselves compile career- long collections of what they judge to be their finest pieces-extracts from books, key articles, salient research findings, major theoretical and/practical contributions-so the world can read them in a single manageable volume. Readers will be able to follow the themes and strands of their work and see their contribution to the development of a field. John Gilbert has spent the last thirty years researching, thinking and writing about some of the key and enduring issues in science education. He was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to science teaching in 2001 by the American National Association of Research into Science Teaching. In this book he brings together in one place his sixteen key and seminal writings. Starting with a specially written Introduction, the author summarizes his career and contextualizes his selection within the development of the field. Thechapters cover: Alternative conceptions and science education Relating science education and technology education Models and modeling Informal education in science and technology

Author Biography

John K. Gilbert is currently Professor of Education at The University of Reading, UK, and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Science Education.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. xii
Introduction	p. 1
Preface	p. 1
Signposts on a road with many turnings	p. 1
The themes addressed	p. 4
And now, that title...	p. 9
Explanation, models, modelling in science education	p. 11
Models in explanations: horses for courses?	p. 13
What is an explanation?	p. 13
A typology of explanations	p. 15
Appropriateness in an explanation	p. 17
Who questions, who explains and why?	p. 18
Models and how they explain	p. 21
Horses for courses	p. 25
History and philosophy of science through models: the case of chemical kinetics	p. 27
Introduction	p. 27
Models of chemical kinetics	p. 32
The Anthropomorphic Model	p. 32
Discussion	p. 40
A cause of ahistorical science teaching: use of hybrid models	p. 45
Introduction	p. 45
Models in science and science education	p. 46
Analysis of research field for historical models	p. 47
Historical models of chemical kinetics	p. 48
Analysis of teaching of chemical kinetics	p. 50
Discussion	p. 55
Implications for science education	p. 56
Epistemological resources for thought experimentation in science learning	p. 60
Introduction	p. 60
Thought experiments and research in science learning	p. 62
What is a thought experiment?	p. 62
The learning experiment	p. 63
The construction of a Thought Experiment	p. 64
The non-propositional nature of images	p. 70
The role of bodily knowledge	p. 70
Conclusion and discussion	p. 73
Modelling, teachers' views on the nature of modelling and implications for the education of modellers	p. 78
Introduction	p. 78
The act of modelling	p. 79
Learning and teaching modelling	p. 81
The study	p. 83
Results	p. 84
Discussion	p. 91
Conclusions	p. 94
Relating science education and technology education	p. 99
The interface between science education and technology education	p. 101
The increased emphasis on technology education	p. 101
Technology	p. 102
Science and technology	p. 105
Forms of technology education	p. 106
Education for technology: the technical aspect	p. 107
Education about technology: the organizational and cultural aspects	p. 111
Education in technology: all Pacey's aspects	p. 111
The contribution of science education to technology education	p. 111
Some research questions	p. 113
Positioning models in science education and in design and technology education	p. 117
Introduction	p. 117
The role of modelling in scientific enquiry	p. 117
The conduct of science and of technology	p. 118
The nature of education in science and in technology	p. 120
Exploring links	p. 121
On modelling and models	p. 122
Modelling and models as a bridge	p. 126
Modelling: promoting creativity while forging links between science education and design and technology education	p. 128
Building a knowledge-based society	p. 128
Perceptions of the nature of creativity	p. 129
Modelling as a creative act	p. 130
Modelling: a creative link between science and design and technology in schools	p. 131
The creative act of modelling	p. 132
Promoting creativity in general	p. 136
Strategies for linking science and design and technology education	p. 138
Specific strategies for promoting modelling	p. 138
Conclusion	p. 140
Research and development on satellites in education	p. 144
The current situation	p. 144
Satellites and the new education	p. 145
Current research on satellites in education	p. 148
Future development work	p. 150
Future research work	p. 151
Informal education in science and technology	p. 155
Informal chemical education	p. 157
Introduction	p. 157
Attitudes to chemistry	p. 157
Narrative, context and situation: keys to success	p. 158
Chemistry in popular books	p. 160
Newspapers and popular magazines	p. 162
Chemistry on television	p. 163
Live science shows	p. 165
Chemistry lectures and chemistry in science festivals	p. 166
Chemistry in science and technology centres	p. 166
Summary of the problem and the solution	p. 168
Informal chemical education: is it really necessary?	p. 169
The design of interactive exhibits to promote the making of meaning	p. 173
Introduction	p. 173
The significance of science and technology centres	p. 174
A model of the use of an interactive exhibit	p. 174
The design of 'experiences'	p. 177
Experiences with interactive exhibits	p. 178
Implications for exhibit designers	p. 179
Towards a designed future for interactive exhibits	p. 180
Models and discourse: a primary school science class visit to a museum	p. 183
Introduction	p. 183
Models and critical incidents	p. 185
Context and study	p. 187
Critical incidents, discourse, and mental models	p. 188
Discussion	p. 193
Alternative conceptions and science education	p. 197
Eliciting student views using an interview-about-instances technique	p. 199
Introduction	p. 199
Designing a deck of IAI cards	p. 201
The process of elicitation	p. 203
The transcription of interviews	p. 204
The analysis of a transcript	p. 206
Results obtained by the IAI method	p. 208
The representativeness of data obtained	p. 208
The future use and development of the IAI approach	p. 211
Concepts, misconceptions and alternative conceptions: changing perspectives in science education	p. 213
Introduction	p. 213
Some influences on research in science education	p. 213
Concepts of concept	p. 216
Conceptions, categories and frameworks	p. 219
A review of the outcomes of some recent studies	p. 221
Conceptual development	p. 231
Challenges to the alternative frameworks movement	p. 234
Children's science and its consequences for teaching	p. 246
The "blank-minded" or "tabula rasa" assumption	p. 246
The "teacher dominance" assumption	p. 246
The "student dominance" assumption	p. 247
The exploration of children's science	p. 247
Patterns in children's science	p. 248
Teachers' views of science	p. 250
The consequences of children's science for teaching	p. 251
Conclusion	p. 254
Appendix	p. 255
Constructive science education	p. 257
Psychology bases for science education	p. 257
Passivist and activist theories of knowledge	p. 258
A challenge to traditional views of science education	p. 259
The role of the teacher in students' conceptual change	p. 260
Conclusion	p. 266
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