Personal Epistemology and Student Resistance to Interactive Lecture Demonstrations Guy Ashkenazi & Rachel Zimrot Department of Science Teaching The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Teaching Method (ILD) Demo 3 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: ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ vacuum 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 FinalMidtermAttitudeTerm n.s. 23.3% 22.6% 54.1% 2.55± % 24.4% 47.4% 2.77±1.18 Positive (4-5) Neutral (3) Negative (1-2) Average Fall 2002 (n=151) n.s. 59.5% 28.1% 12.4% 3.66± % 30.8% 18.2% 3.50±1.10 Positive (4-5) Neutral (3) Negative (1-2) Average Fall 2003 (n=156) p (  2 ) <0.001

Results – Performance Topics Performance level Term % 44.3% 46.1% 25.2% 44.4% 30.4% High (4-5) Medium (2-3) Low (0-1) Fall 2002 (n=115) n.s. 29.8% 48.2% 22.0% 28.4% 52.5% 19.1% High (4-5) Medium (2-3) Low (0-1) Fall 2003 (n=141) p (  2 ) <0.001n.s.