PERC 2013 Abstract Detail Page
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| Abstract Title: | Rethinking the Locus of Evaluation to Promote Classroom Scientific Induction |
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| Abstract: | For over a century, physicists and physics educators have attempted to transform physics education to engage students in scientific induction. These efforts have largely failed to bring about evidence-based, inductive reasoning on a broad scale. This study investigates the role of nontraditional evaluative structures in promoting authentic scientific reasoning among students, as contrasted with more commonly observed failure-avoidance behaviors, in two physics classes. Prominent evaluative structures in this context consisted of (1) individual and small group reconciliation of students' ideas and explanations with available laboratory evidence and (2) whole class consensus building of explanations that can best explain the evidence collected. Findings suggest that the relocation of evaluative authority of students' ideas and explanations to laboratory evidence and social consensus, rather than with teacher and text, can promote more authentic engagement, enjoyment, and a sense of identification with physics. |
| Abstract Type: | Contributed Poster Presentation |
Author/Organizer Information | |
| Primary Contact: |
Mike Ross University of Colorado at Boulder 1907 Lotus Ct. Longmont, CO 80504 Phone: 3037097105 |
