1. Affective Domain and Key Issues Tom Koballa Department of Mathematics and Science Education University of Georgia

2. “ There can be little doubt that affect is the most important yet least understood influence on the way people think and behave in social situations. ” Joseph P. Forgas, Affect and Social Cognition (2001)

3. Affective domain I. Affect and its origins II. Attitude III. Motivation IV. Controversial issues

4. Contemporary thinking The affective domain (from the Latin affectus, meaning “feelings”) includes a host of constructs, such as attitudes, values, beliefs, opinions, interests, and motivation. It describes learning objectives that emphasize a feeling tone, an emotion, or a degree of acceptance or rejection. Affect is not just a simple catalyst, but a necessary condition for learning to occur.

5. I. Affect and its origins  Classic philosophers viewed affect as a primitive, animalistic mode of responding that is incompatible with reason. (Elser, 1985)  Empirical psychology’s fundamental assumption that feeling, knowing, and willing can be studied in separation. (Hilgard, 1980) Christian Wolff - facultas cognoscivita and facultas appetiva Moses Mendelssohn - three fold classification of mental faculties Immanuel Kant - tripartite division into his philosophical system

6. In Science Education  Classification of mental faculties led to cognitive domain, affective domain, and psychomotor domain.  Reasons for imbalanced attention to affective domain include: Archetypal image of science itself, where reason is separated from feeling Long-standing cognitive tradition of science education Confusing definitions of affective constructs Underdeveloped affective assessment practices

7. Cognitive paradigm in psychology 1960s Emergence of a cognitive paradigm as the mainstream orientation accepted by most psychologists. Affect was considered a disruptive influence on thinking (Hilgard 1980). 1980s Research began to link affect and social cognition--feeling and thinking (Forgas, 2001).

8. Affect in contemporary psychology Affect encompasses the broad range of experiences referred to as emotions and moods. (Forgas, 1991; Petty, DeSteno, Rucker, 2001) Emotions – specific and short-lived internal feeling states Moods – global and enduing feeling states (Schwarz &Clore, 1996)

9. II. Attitude  Attitude– a general evaluation regarding some person, object or issue (Fazio, 1986; Petty & Cacioppo, 1981).  Attitudes refer to valenced reactions to specific attitude objects and do not represent a global affective experience on the part of the individual.  A happy or sad person can possess both positive and negative attitudes.

10. Affective factors in attitude change  Cognitive-thoughts or ideas, expressed as beliefs  Behavioral-intentions to act or observable behaviors  Affect-emotions related to the attitude object

11. III. Motivation  Motivation is an internal state that arouses, directs, and sustains behavior.  The study of motivation attempts to -explain why students strive for particular goals when learning science, -how intensively they strive, -how long they strive, and -what moods and emotions characterize them in the process. (Glynn & Koballa, 2006)

12. Important motivation constructs  Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation  Goal Orientation  Self-determination  Self-efficacy  Assessment Anxiety

13. IV. Controversial issues and problems Issue - an idea about which people hold different beliefs mandatory recycling strip mining Evolution Problem - a situation that places a population at risk Fishing industry and people’s health placed in jeopardy due to industrial waste

14. Instructional approaches for dealing with controversy  Issue and Problem Awareness Four-corners Vignette  Issue and Problem Investigation Analytical decision-making (Oliver & Newman, 1967) Structured controversy (Johnson & Johnson, 1988)

15. Moving forward  Affect has a past that weaves though philosophy and psychology.  Affect influences learning, and learning strategies can play a crucial role in regulating affect.  Attitude and motivation are important constructs of the affective domain in science education.