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Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research
written by Ayush Gupta, Andrew Elby, and Luke D. Conlin
Many science education researchers have argued that learners' commitment to a substance (matter-based) ontology impedes the learning of scientific concepts that scientists typically conceptualize as processes or interactions, such as force, electric current, and heat. By this account, students' tendency to classify these entities as substances or properties of substances leads to robust misconceptions, and instruction should steer novices away from substance-based reasoning. We argue that substance-based reasoning can contribute to the learning and understanding of these very same physics concepts. Our case study focuses on a group of elementary school science teachers in our professional development program. Starting from substance-based metaphors for gravity, the teachers build a sophisticated explanation for why objects of different masses fall with the same acceleration. We argue that, for conceptual, epistemological, and affective reasons, instructional interventions should focus on tapping these productive substance-based resources when they arise rather than attempting to suppress them.
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education - Basic Research
- Alternative Conceptions
- Cognition
= Cognition Development
- Learning Theory
= Representations
- Problem Solving
= Representational Use
- Graduate/Professional
- Reference Material
= Research study
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Access Rights:
Free access
License:
This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.
Rights Holder:
American Physical Society
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010113
NSF Number:
0831970
PACSs:
01.40.J-
01.40.gb
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created July 27, 2015 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
May 30, 2016 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
April 9, 2014
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Record Link
AIP Format
A. Gupta, A. Elby, and L. Conlin, , Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 10 (1), 010113 (2014), WWW Document, (https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010113).
AJP/PRST-PER
A. Gupta, A. Elby, and L. Conlin, How substance-based ontologies for gravity can be productive: A case study, Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 10 (1), 010113 (2014), <https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010113>.
APA Format
Gupta, A., Elby, A., & Conlin, L. (2014, April 9). How substance-based ontologies for gravity can be productive: A case study. Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res., 10(1), 010113. Retrieved November 10, 2024, from https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010113
Chicago Format
Gupta, A, A. Elby, and L. Conlin. "How substance-based ontologies for gravity can be productive: A case study." Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 10, no. 1, (April 9, 2014): 010113, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010113 (accessed 10 November 2024).
MLA Format
Gupta, Ayush, Andrew Elby, and Luke Conlin. "How substance-based ontologies for gravity can be productive: A case study." Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 10.1 (2014): 010113. 10 Nov. 2024 <https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010113>.
BibTeX Export Format
@article{ Author = "Ayush Gupta and Andrew Elby and Luke Conlin", Title = {How substance-based ontologies for gravity can be productive: A case study}, Journal = {Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res.}, Volume = {10}, Number = {1}, Pages = {010113}, Month = {April}, Year = {2014} }
Refer Export Format

%A Ayush Gupta %A Andrew Elby %A Luke Conlin %T How substance-based ontologies for gravity can be productive: A case study %J Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. %V 10 %N 1 %D April 9, 2014 %P 010113 %U https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010113 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Journal Article %A Gupta, Ayush %A Elby, Andrew %A Conlin, Luke %D April 9, 2014 %T How substance-based ontologies for gravity can be productive: A case study %J Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. %V 10 %N 1 %P 010113 %8 April 9, 2014 %U https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010113


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