Creating Scientific Concepts

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Creating Scientific Concepts

Author : Nancy J Nersessian
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262293455
Total Pages : 267 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (622 download)

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Book Synopsis Creating Scientific Concepts by : Nancy J Nersessian

Download or read book Creating Scientific Concepts written by Nancy J Nersessian and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2010-08-13 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An account that analyzes the dynamic reasoning processes implicated in a fundamental problem of creativity in science: how does genuine novelty emerge from existing representations? How do novel scientific concepts arise? In Creating Scientific Concepts, Nancy Nersessian seeks to answer this central but virtually unasked question in the problem of conceptual change. She argues that the popular image of novel concepts and profound insight bursting forth in a blinding flash of inspiration is mistaken. Instead, novel concepts are shown to arise out of the interplay of three factors: an attempt to solve specific problems; the use of conceptual, analytical, and material resources provided by the cognitive-social-cultural context of the problem; and dynamic processes of reasoning that extend ordinary cognition. Focusing on the third factor, Nersessian draws on cognitive science research and historical accounts of scientific practices to show how scientific and ordinary cognition lie on a continuum, and how problem-solving practices in one illuminate practices in the other. Her investigations of scientific practices show conceptual change as deriving from the use of analogies, imagistic representations, and thought experiments, integrated with experimental investigations and mathematical analyses. She presents a view of constructed models as hybrid objects, serving as intermediaries between targets and analogical sources in bootstrapping processes. Extending these results, she argues that these complex cognitive operations and structures are not mere aids to discovery, but that together they constitute a powerful form of reasoning—model-based reasoning—that generates novelty. This new approach to mental modeling and analogy, together with Nersessian's cognitive-historical approach, make Creating Scientific Concepts equally valuable to cognitive science and philosophy of science.

This Will Make You Smarter

Author : John Brockman
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 0062109405
Total Pages : 448 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (621 download)

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Book Synopsis This Will Make You Smarter by : John Brockman

Download or read book This Will Make You Smarter written by John Brockman and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2012-02-14 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Featuring a foreword by David Brooks, This Will Make You Smarter presents brilliant—but accessible—ideas to expand every mind. What scientific concept would improve everybody’s cognitive toolkit? This is the question John Brockman, publisher of Edge.org, posed to the world’s most influential thinkers. Their visionary answers flow from the frontiers of psychology, philosophy, economics, physics, sociology, and more. Surprising and enlightening, these insights will revolutionize the way you think about yourself and the world. Contributors include: Daniel Kahneman on the “focusing illusion” Jonah Lehrer on controlling attention Richard Dawkins on experimentation Aubrey De Grey on conquering our fear of the unknown Martin Seligman on the ingredients of well-being Nicholas Carr on managing “cognitive load” Steven Pinker on win-win negotiating Daniel Goleman on understanding our connection to the natural world Matt Ridley on tapping collective intelligence Lisa Randall on effective theorizing Brian Eno on “ecological vision” J. Craig Venter on the multiple possible origins of life Helen Fisher on temperament Sam Harris on the flow of thought Lawrence Krauss on living with uncertainty

Interdisciplinarity in the Making

Author : Nancy J. Nersessian
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262544660
Total Pages : 393 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (625 download)

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Book Synopsis Interdisciplinarity in the Making by : Nancy J. Nersessian

Download or read book Interdisciplinarity in the Making written by Nancy J. Nersessian and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2022-11-22 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A cognitive ethnography of how bioengineering scientists create innovative modeling methods. In this first full-scale, long-term cognitive ethnography by a philosopher of science, Nancy J. Nersessian offers an account of how scientists at the interdisciplinary frontiers of bioengineering create novel problem-solving methods. Bioengineering scientists model complex dynamical biological systems using concepts, methods, materials, and other resources drawn primarily from engineering. They aim to understand these systems sufficiently to control or intervene in them. What Nersessian examines here is how cutting-edge bioengineering scientists integrate the cognitive, social, material, and cultural dimensions of practice. Her findings and conclusions have broad implications for researchers in philosophy, science studies, cognitive science, and interdisciplinary studies, as well as scientists, educators, policy makers, and funding agencies. In studying the epistemic practices of scientists, Nersessian pushes the boundaries of the philosophy of science and cognitive science into areas not ventured before. She recounts a decades-long, wide-ranging, and richly detailed investigation of the innovative interdisciplinary modeling practices of bioengineering researchers in four university laboratories. She argues and demonstrates that the methods of cognitive ethnography and qualitative data analysis, placed in the framework of distributed cognition, provide the tools for a philosophical analysis of how scientific discoveries arise from complex systems in which the cognitive, social, material, and cultural dimensions of problem-solving are integrated into the epistemic practices of scientists. Specifically, she looks at how interdisciplinary environments shape problem-solving. Although Nersessian’s case material is drawn from the bioengineering sciences, her analytic framework and methodological approach are directly applicable to scientific research in a broader, more general sense, as well.

The Process of Science

Author : N.J. Nersessian
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9400935196
Total Pages : 221 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (9 download)

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Book Synopsis The Process of Science by : N.J. Nersessian

Download or read book The Process of Science written by N.J. Nersessian and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For some time now the philosophy of science has been undergoing a major transfor mation. It began when the 'received view' of scientific knowledge -that developed by logical positivists and their intellectual descendants - was challenged as bearing little resemblance to and having little relevance for the understanding of real science. Subsequently, an overwhelming amount of criticism has been added. One would be hard-pressed to find anyone who would support the 'received view' today. Yet, in the search for a new analysis of scientific knowledge, this view continues to exert influence over the tenor of much of present-day philosophy of science; in particular, over its problems and its methods of analysis. There has, however, emerged an area within the discipline - called by some the 'new philosophy of science' - that has been engaged in transforming the problems and methods of philosophy of science. While there is far from a consensus of beliefs in this area, most of the following contentions would be affirmed by those working in it: - that science is an open-ended, on-going activity, whose character has changed significantly during its history - that science is not a monolithic enterprise - that good science can lead to false theories - that science has its roots in everyday circumstances, needs, methods, concepts, etc.

A Framework for K-12 Science Education

Author : National Research Council
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309214459
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis A Framework for K-12 Science Education by : National Research Council

Download or read book A Framework for K-12 Science Education written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-02-28 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity's most pressing current and future challenges. The United States' position in the global economy is declining, in part because U.S. workers lack fundamental knowledge in these fields. To address the critical issues of U.S. competitiveness and to better prepare the workforce, A Framework for K-12 Science Education proposes a new approach to K-12 science education that will capture students' interest and provide them with the necessary foundational knowledge in the field. A Framework for K-12 Science Education outlines a broad set of expectations for students in science and engineering in grades K-12. These expectations will inform the development of new standards for K-12 science education and, subsequently, revisions to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development for educators. This book identifies three dimensions that convey the core ideas and practices around which science and engineering education in these grades should be built. These three dimensions are: crosscutting concepts that unify the study of science through their common application across science and engineering; scientific and engineering practices; and disciplinary core ideas in the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth and space sciences and for engineering, technology, and the applications of science. The overarching goal is for all high school graduates to have sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on science-related issues, be careful consumers of scientific and technical information, and enter the careers of their choice. A Framework for K-12 Science Education is the first step in a process that can inform state-level decisions and achieve a research-grounded basis for improving science instruction and learning across the country. The book will guide standards developers, teachers, curriculum designers, assessment developers, state and district science administrators, and educators who teach science in informal environments.

Sharing Books, Talking Science

Author : Valerie Bang-Jensen
Publisher : Heinemann Educational Books
ISBN 13 : 9780325087740
Total Pages : 137 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (877 download)

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Book Synopsis Sharing Books, Talking Science by : Valerie Bang-Jensen

Download or read book Sharing Books, Talking Science written by Valerie Bang-Jensen and published by Heinemann Educational Books. This book was released on 2017 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science is everywhere, in everything we do, see, and read. Books-all books-offer possibilities for talk about science in the illustrations and text once you know how to look for them. Children's literature is a natural avenue to explore the seven crosscutting concepts described in the Next Generation Science Standards*, and with guidance from Valerie Bang-Jensen and Mark Lubkowitz, you will learn to develop the mindset necessary to think like a scientist, and then help your students think, talk, and read like scientists. Sharing Books Talking Science is an engaging and user-friendly guide that provides practical, real world understandings of complex scientific concepts using children's literature. By demonstrating how to work in a very familiar and comfortable teaching context-read aloud-to address what may be less familiar and comfortable content-scientific concepts-Valerie and Mark empower teachers to use just about any book in their classroom to help deepen students' understanding of the world. Valerie and Mark supply you with everything you need to know to get to the heart of each concept, including a primer, questions and strategies to spot a concept, and ways to prompt students to see and talk about it. Each chapter offers a list of suggested titles (many of which you probably already have) to help you get started right away, as well as "topic spotlight" sections that help you connect the concepts to familiar topics such as eating, seasons, bridges, size, and water. With Sharing Books Talking Science, you will have the tools and confidence to explore scientific concepts with your students. Learn how to "talk science" with any book so that you can infuse your curriculum with scientific thinking...even when you aren't teaching science. *Next Generation Science Standards is a registered trademark of Achieve. Neither Achieve nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.

Science of Memory Concepts

Author : Henry L. Roediger III
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190295015
Total Pages : 464 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis Science of Memory Concepts by : Henry L. Roediger III

Download or read book Science of Memory Concepts written by Henry L. Roediger III and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2007-04-26 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientists currently study memory from many different perspectives: neurobiological, ethological, animal conditioning, cognitive, behavioral neuroscience, social, and cultural. The aim of this book is to help initiate a new science of memory by bringing these perspectives together to create a unified understanding of the topic. The book began with a conference where leading practitioners from all these major approaches met to analyze and discuss 16 concepts that are crucial to our understanding of memory. Each of these 16 concepts is addressed in a section of the book, and in the 66 succinct chapters that fill these sections, a leading researcher addresses the section's concept by clearly stating his or her position on it, elucidating how it is used, and discussing how it should be used in future research. For some concepts, there is general agreement among practitioners from different fields and levels of analysis, but for others there is general disagreement and much controversy. A final chapter in each section, also written by a leading researcher, integrates the various viewpoints offered on the section's concept, then draws conclusions about the concept. This groundbreaking volume will be an indispensable reference for all the students and researchers who will build upon the foundation it provides for the new science of memory.

Ready, Set, SCIENCE!

Author : National Research Council
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309131944
Total Pages : 220 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Ready, Set, SCIENCE! by : National Research Council

Download or read book Ready, Set, SCIENCE! written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2007-10-30 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What types of instructional experiences help K-8 students learn science with understanding? What do science educators, teachers, teacher leaders, science specialists, professional development staff, curriculum designers, and school administrators need to know to create and support such experiences? Ready, Set, Science! guides the way with an account of the groundbreaking and comprehensive synthesis of research into teaching and learning science in kindergarten through eighth grade. Based on the recently released National Research Council report Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8, this book summarizes a rich body of findings from the learning sciences and builds detailed cases of science educators at work to make the implications of research clear, accessible, and stimulating for a broad range of science educators. Ready, Set, Science! is filled with classroom case studies that bring to life the research findings and help readers to replicate success. Most of these stories are based on real classroom experiences that illustrate the complexities that teachers grapple with every day. They show how teachers work to select and design rigorous and engaging instructional tasks, manage classrooms, orchestrate productive discussions with culturally and linguistically diverse groups of students, and help students make their thinking visible using a variety of representational tools. This book will be an essential resource for science education practitioners and contains information that will be extremely useful to everyone Ã¯Â¿Â½including parents Ã¯Â¿Â½directly or indirectly involved in the teaching of science.

This Idea Is Brilliant

Author : John Brockman
Publisher : HarperCollins
ISBN 13 : 0062698222
Total Pages : 544 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (626 download)

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Book Synopsis This Idea Is Brilliant by : John Brockman

Download or read book This Idea Is Brilliant written by John Brockman and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2018-01-16 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Brilliant but overlooked ideas you must know, as revealed by today’s most innovative minds What scientific term or concept ought to be more widely known? That is the question John Brockman, publisher of the acclaimed science salon Edge.org (“The world’s smartest website”—The Guardian), presented to 205 of the world’s most influential thinkers from across the intellectual spectrum—award-winning physicists, economists, psychologists, philosophers, novelists, artists, and more. From the origins of the universe to the order of everyday life, This Idea Is Brilliant takes readers on a tour of the bold, exciting, and underappreciated scientific concepts that will enrich every mind. Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel JARED DIAMOND on the lost brilliance of common sense * Oxford evolutionary biologist RICHARD DAWKINS on how The Genetic Book of the Dead could reconstruct ecological history * philosopher REBECCA NEWBERGER GOLDSTEIN on how to extend our grasp of reality beyond what we can see and touch * author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics CARLO ROVELLI on the interconnected fabric of information * Booker Prize–winning novelist IAN McEWAN on the Navier-Stokes equations, which govern everything from weather prediction to aircraft design and blood flow * cosmologist LAWRENCE M. KRAUSS on the hidden blessings of uncertainty * psychologist STEVEN PINKER on the fight against entropy * Nobel Prize–winning economist RICHARD THALER on the visionary power of the “premortem” * Grammy Award–winning musician BRIAN ENO on confirmation bias in the Internet age * advertising guru RORY SUTHERLAND on the world-changing power of sex appeal * Harvard physicist LISA RANDALL on the power of the obvious * Wired founding editor KEVIN KELLY on how to optimize your chances at success * Nobel Prize winner FRANK WILCZEK on the creative potential of complementarity * Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times reporter JOHN MARKOFF on the synthetic metamaterials that soon will transform industry and technology * euroscientist SAM HARRIS on the lost art of intellectual honesty *Berkeley psychologist ALISON GOPNIK on the role of life history in the human story, and many others.

Science Literacy

Author : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309447569
Total Pages : 167 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (94 download)

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Book Synopsis Science Literacy by : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Download or read book Science Literacy written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-11-14 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science is a way of knowing about the world. At once a process, a product, and an institution, science enables people to both engage in the construction of new knowledge as well as use information to achieve desired ends. Access to scienceâ€"whether using knowledge or creating itâ€"necessitates some level of familiarity with the enterprise and practice of science: we refer to this as science literacy. Science literacy is desirable not only for individuals, but also for the health and well- being of communities and society. More than just basic knowledge of science facts, contemporary definitions of science literacy have expanded to include understandings of scientific processes and practices, familiarity with how science and scientists work, a capacity to weigh and evaluate the products of science, and an ability to engage in civic decisions about the value of science. Although science literacy has traditionally been seen as the responsibility of individuals, individuals are nested within communities that are nested within societiesâ€"and, as a result, individual science literacy is limited or enhanced by the circumstances of that nesting. Science Literacy studies the role of science literacy in public support of science. This report synthesizes the available research literature on science literacy, makes recommendations on the need to improve the understanding of science and scientific research in the United States, and considers the relationship between scientific literacy and support for and use of science and research.

Scientific Concepts and Investigative Practice

Author : Uljana Feest
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter
ISBN 13 : 3110253615
Total Pages : 308 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (12 download)

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Book Synopsis Scientific Concepts and Investigative Practice by : Uljana Feest

Download or read book Scientific Concepts and Investigative Practice written by Uljana Feest and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2012-10-30 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent philosophy and history of science has seen a surge of interest in the role of concepts in scientific research. Scholars working in this new field focus on scientific concepts, rather than theories, as units of analysis and on the ways in which concepts are formed and used rather than on what they represent. They analyze what has traditionally been called the context of discovery, rather than (or in addition to) the context of justification. And they examine the dynamics of research rather than the status of the finished research results. This volume provides detailed case studies and general analyses to address questions raised by these points, such as: - Can concepts be clearly distinguished from the sets of beliefs we have about their referents? - What - if any - sense can be made of the separation between concepts and theories? - Can we distinguish between empirical and theoretical concepts? - Are there interesting similarities and differences between the role of concepts in the empirical sciences and in mathematics? - What underlying notion of investigative practice could be drawn on to explicate the role of concept in such practice? - From a philosophical point of view, is the distinction between discovery and justification a helpful frame of reference for inquiring into the dynamics of research? - From a historiographical point of view, does a focus on concepts face the danger of falling back into an old-fashioned history of ideas?

On Science

Author : Tuhina Ray
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1000292835
Total Pages : 265 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis On Science by : Tuhina Ray

Download or read book On Science written by Tuhina Ray and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2020-12-20 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On Science: Concepts, Cultures, and Limits explores science and its relationship with religion, philosophy, ethics, mathematics, and with socio-economic changes. The book gives an overview of the metaphysical contexts in which science emerged and the particular forms science has taken in history. It examines the preoccupation of ancient cultures with the validity of interpretations of natural phenomena, the role of the study of materials in the substantiation of the conceptual world, and the establishment of modern science on both experimentation and mathematics. This theoretical discussion is illustrated by a host of examples from physics to the life sciences, which highlight how current concepts developed over the centuries, or even millennia. The volume underscores some of the weaknesses inherent in a scientific approach, and how in the modern context of a wealth-driven technological orientation, these have been conducive to a gradual distortion of science into its exact opposite, a dogmatic faith. It further discusses the nature of scientific education in the world, and how conditions can be created to ensure pioneering creativity and to preserve scientific rigor. The book will be of great interest to scholars, teachers and researchers of science, the metaphysics and philosophy of science, mathematics, science and technology studies, epistemology, ethics, history and sociology. It will also be useful for general readers who are interested in the history of scientific discoveries and ideas as well as in the issues surrounding science today, in particular its relations with many urgent problems.

Make It Stick

Author : Peter C. Brown
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674729013
Total Pages : 330 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (747 download)

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Book Synopsis Make It Stick by : Peter C. Brown

Download or read book Make It Stick written by Peter C. Brown and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2014-04-14 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To most of us, learning something "the hard way" implies wasted time and effort. Good teaching, we believe, should be creatively tailored to the different learning styles of students and should use strategies that make learning easier. Make It Stick turns fashionable ideas like these on their head. Drawing on recent discoveries in cognitive psychology and other disciplines, the authors offer concrete techniques for becoming more productive learners. Memory plays a central role in our ability to carry out complex cognitive tasks, such as applying knowledge to problems never before encountered and drawing inferences from facts already known. New insights into how memory is encoded, consolidated, and later retrieved have led to a better understanding of how we learn. Grappling with the impediments that make learning challenging leads both to more complex mastery and better retention of what was learned. Many common study habits and practice routines turn out to be counterproductive. Underlining and highlighting, rereading, cramming, and single-minded repetition of new skills create the illusion of mastery, but gains fade quickly. More complex and durable learning come from self-testing, introducing certain difficulties in practice, waiting to re-study new material until a little forgetting has set in, and interleaving the practice of one skill or topic with another. Speaking most urgently to students, teachers, trainers, and athletes, Make It Stick will appeal to all those interested in the challenge of lifelong learning and self-improvement.

Concepts of Biology

Author : Samantha Fowler
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9789888407453
Total Pages : 618 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis Concepts of Biology by : Samantha Fowler

Download or read book Concepts of Biology written by Samantha Fowler and published by . This book was released on 2018-01-07 with total page 618 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Concepts of Biology is designed for the single-semester introduction to biology course for non-science majors, which for many students is their only college-level science course. As such, this course represents an important opportunity for students to develop the necessary knowledge, tools, and skills to make informed decisions as they continue with their lives. Rather than being mired down with facts and vocabulary, the typical non-science major student needs information presented in a way that is easy to read and understand. Even more importantly, the content should be meaningful. Students do much better when they understand why biology is relevant to their everyday lives. For these reasons, Concepts of Biology is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand.We also strive to show the interconnectedness of topics within this extremely broad discipline. In order to meet the needs of today's instructors and students, we maintain the overall organization and coverage found in most syllabi for this course. A strength of Concepts of Biology is that instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Concepts of Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand--and apply--key concepts.

Conceptual Profiles

Author : Eduardo F. Mortimer
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9048192463
Total Pages : 330 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (481 download)

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Book Synopsis Conceptual Profiles by : Eduardo F. Mortimer

Download or read book Conceptual Profiles written by Eduardo F. Mortimer and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2014-02-07 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The language of science has many words and phrases whose meaning either changes in differing contexts or alters to reflect developments in a given discipline. This book presents the authors’ theories on using ‘conceptual profiles’ to make the teaching of context-dependent meanings more effective. Developed over two decades, their theory begins with a recognition of the coexistence in the students’ discourse of those alternative meanings, even in the case of scientific concepts such as molecule, where the dissonance between the classical and modern views of the same phenomenon is an accepted norm. What began as an alternative model of conceptual change has evolved to incorporate a sociocultural approach, by drawing on ideas such as situated cognition and Vygotsky’s influential concept of culturally located learning. Also informed by pragmatist philosophy, the approach has grown into a well-rounded theory of teaching and learning scientific concepts. The authors have taken the opportunity in this book to develop their ideas further, anticipate and respond to criticisms—that of relativism, for example—and explain how their theory can be applied to analyze the teaching of core concepts in science such as heat and temperature, life and biological adaptation. They also report on the implementation of a research program that correlates the responsiveness of their methodology to all the main developments in the field of science education. This additional material will inform academic discussion, review, and further enhancement of their theory and research model.

Hard-to-Teach Science Concepts

Author : Susan Koba
Publisher : NSTA Press
ISBN 13 : 1936137453
Total Pages : 273 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (361 download)

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Book Synopsis Hard-to-Teach Science Concepts by : Susan Koba

Download or read book Hard-to-Teach Science Concepts written by Susan Koba and published by NSTA Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Authors Susan Koba and Carol Mitchell introduce teachers of grades 3- 5 to their conceptual framework for successful instruction of hard-to-teach science concepts. Their methodology comprises four steps: (1) engage students about their preconceptions and address their thinking; (2) target lessons to be learned; (3) determine appropriate strategies; and (4) use Standards-based teaching that builds on student understandings. The authors not only explain how to use their framework but also provide a variety of tools and examples of its application on four hard-to-teach foundational concepts: the flow of energy and matter in ecosystems, force and motion, matter and its transformation, and Earth's shape. Both preservice and inservice elementary school teachers will find this approach appealing, and the authors' engaging writing style and user-friendly tables help educators adapt the method with ease.

Discipline-Based Education Research

Author : National Research Council
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309254140
Total Pages : 282 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis Discipline-Based Education Research by : National Research Council

Download or read book Discipline-Based Education Research written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-08-27 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The National Science Foundation funded a synthesis study on the status, contributions, and future direction of discipline-based education research (DBER) in physics, biological sciences, geosciences, and chemistry. DBER combines knowledge of teaching and learning with deep knowledge of discipline-specific science content. It describes the discipline-specific difficulties learners face and the specialized intellectual and instructional resources that can facilitate student understanding. Discipline-Based Education Research is based on a 30-month study built on two workshops held in 2008 to explore evidence on promising practices in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. This book asks questions that are essential to advancing DBER and broadening its impact on undergraduate science teaching and learning. The book provides empirical research on undergraduate teaching and learning in the sciences, explores the extent to which this research currently influences undergraduate instruction, and identifies the intellectual and material resources required to further develop DBER. Discipline-Based Education Research provides guidance for future DBER research. In addition, the findings and recommendations of this report may invite, if not assist, post-secondary institutions to increase interest and research activity in DBER and improve its quality and usefulness across all natural science disciples, as well as guide instruction and assessment across natural science courses to improve student learning. The book brings greater focus to issues of student attrition in the natural sciences that are related to the quality of instruction. Discipline-Based Education Research will be of interest to educators, policy makers, researchers, scholars, decision makers in universities, government agencies, curriculum developers, research sponsors, and education advocacy groups.