Science Teaching

and
Development of Thinking

Anton E Lawson
Arizona State University

WADSWORTH

THOMSON LEARNING
 CONTENTS

PREFACE xvii

CH APTE R 1 TEACHING AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

Educational Purpose 1
The Nature of Scientific Thinking: A Look at the
Work of an Ethologist 5
Creating Hypotheses 6
Testing Hypotheses 8
Why Hypotheses Are Neither Proven nor Disproven 11
The Origin and Nature of Theories: A Look at the
Work of Charles Darwin 13
The Use of Analogy 16
The Nature of Theories 17
How Are Theories Tested? The Case of
Spontaneous Generation 23
Science and Religion 27
The Role of Observation in Science: The "Construction"
of Oxygen 28

VII
VIII CONTENTS

CH APTE R 2 PATTERNS OF THINKING BY SCIENTISTS

AND BY ADOLESCENTS 42
Homing Behavior in Silver Salmon 43
Raising a Causal Question 43
Creating Hypotheses and Combinatorial Thinking 44
Generating Predictions 45
Identifying and Controlling Variables 45
Drawing Conclusions 46
Probabilistic and Correlational Thinking 46
Creative and Critical Thinking Skills 49
The Nature of Adolescent Thinking 53
The Mealworm Puzzle 53
The Volume Puzzle 55
The Frog Puzzle 58
Empirical-Inductive and Hypothetical-Deductive
Thinking Patterns 60
Empirical-Inductive Thinking Patterns 60
Hypothetical-Deductive Thinking Patterns 61
Analysis of Student Responses 62
Summary 65

CH APTE R 3 SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE: ITS CONSTRUCTION

AND DEVELOPMENT 68
The Nature of Declarative Knowledge 69
Types of Concepts 70
Types of Conceptual Systems 73
Mental Structures and the Process of Self-Regulation 74
The Pattern of Knowledge Construction 75
The Role of Mental Structures 76
Additional Examples of Self-Regulation 78
Disrupting Children's Spontaneous Attempts
at Self-Regulation 82
Three Basic Mental Abilities and Self-Regulation 83
How Do Thinking Patterns Function in
Adult Thinking? 83
Contributing Factors in Self-Regulation 85
How Are Descriptive Concepts Constructed? 88
 CONTENTS

The Role of Chunking in Higher-Order

Concept Construction 91
How Are Theoretical Concepts Constructed? 91
Practice in Classifying Science Concepts 96

C H APTE R 4 STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF

PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGE 100
Piaget's Theory 101
The Four Card Task and Hypothetical-Deductive Thought 103
Algebra and Hypothetical-Deductive Thought 105
A New View of Stage Theory 106
Stage 1 (Birth to 18 Months) 107
Stage 2(18 Months to 7 Years) 107
Stage 3 (7 Years to Early Adolescence) 110
Stage 4 (Early Adolescence and Older) 111
The Relationship Between Procedural and Declarative
Knowledge: A Closer Look 112
A Return to the Mellinarks 117
How Does Hypothetical-Deductive Thought Develop? 121
Developing the Procedure of Controlled Experimentation 124
Session 1 125
Session 2 127
Session 3 127
Session 4 128

CH APTE R 5 THE LEARNING CYCLE 132

Essential Elements of Science Instruction 133
The Learning Cycle 134
Three Types of Learning Cycles 139
Descriptive Learning Cycles 142
Empirical-Abductive Learning Cycles 142
Hypothetical-Deductive Learning Cycles 143
Learning Cycles as Different Phases of Doing Science 147
A Note on Creativity 149
A Note on Intelligence and Achievement 150
Historical Perspective: Origins of the Learning Cycle 155
X CONTENTS

The Origins of Inquiry-Oriented Instruction 155

Origins in the SCIS Program 158
Origins in Biology Education 160
Changes in Names: The Phases of the Learning Cycle 161
The Learning Cycle in the BSCS Program 162
The Learning Cycle in Driver's Conceptual Change Model 162
Key Postulates 162
Selecting Appropriate Explorations 169
General Science 169
Biology 171
Chemistry 173
Physics 175

CH APTE R 6 CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE

SCIENCE INSTRUCTION 177
Lesson Characteristics 178
Characteristics of Student Behavior 180
Characteristics of Teacher Behavior 181
Characteristics of Effective Questioning 182
Example Lessons 184
Keeping Inquiry Going and "Covering" Content 200
Helping Students Create Hypotheses 201
Correcting "Wrong" Conclusions 202
Classroom Control, Motivation, and
Seating Arrangements 203
Covering Content 204
Scheduling Learning Cycles 204

CH APTE R 7 WHY DON'T MORE TEACHERS USE

INQUIRY-ORIENTED METHODS? 209
Resistance to Inquiry 211
Time and Energy 211
Too Slow 213
Reading Too Difficult 214
Risk Too High 218
Tracking 219
Student Immaturity 220
 CONTENTS XI

Teaching Habits 221

Sequential Text 221
Discomfort for Teachers and Students 222
Too Expensive 223
Conclusion 224

C H APTE R 8 PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

AND IMPLEMENTATION 226
Curriculum Principles: Concept Organization and Presentation 227
The Undifferentiated Whole 228
Examples of Teaching Conceptual Systems 233
The Ecosystem 233
Evolution and Natural Selection 238
Curricular Principles for the Development of Thinking Skills 247
Self-Regulation 247
Independent Investigations 248
Historical Model 249
Comparing Conceptual Systems 249
Textbook Use and Selection 250
Using Field Trips to Provoke Self-Regulation 254
An Example of Student Field Work 256
Comments and Questions About Student Work 260

C H APTE R 9 STUDENT ASSESSMENT 261

Classifying Test Items 262
Biology 262
Geology 264
Chemistry 266
Physics 268
Empirical-Inductive and Hypothetical-Deductive
Test Items 270
Using Test Items to Encourage Self-Regulation 272
Using Homework Problems to Encourage Self-Regulation 274
What Is Wrong with Typical Homework Problems? 275
How to Encourage Self-Regulation 276
Examples of Physical Science Homework Problems 278
XII CONTENTS

Examples of Biological Science Homework Problems 283

Written Work 287
Lab Report Guidelines 288
The One-Page Lab Report 289
Science Fair Projects 290
Portfolio Assessment 295

CH APTE R 1O DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

AND DEVELOPMENT 300
Conceptions and Misconceptions 301
Motivation and Assessment 303
Cooperative Learning 303
Sequencing and Selecting Content 304
The Role of Analogy 306
Retention and Transfer of Thinking Skills 307
Teaching Content Versus Process 308
Textbooks 309
New Technologies 310
Teacher Education and Professional Growth 310
Other Currently Popular Methods 312
Project 2061 313
Integrating Social and Technological Issues 314
Testing 316
Theoretical Issues and a Problem with "Social" Constructivism 317
Conclusion 319

CHAPTER 11 NEUROLOGICAL MODELS OF SELF-REGULATION

AND INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS 323
Basic Neurological Principles 324
General Brain Anatomy 324
Neuronal Signals 326
General Principles of Network Modeling 327
Equations of Variable Interactions 328
Learning in a Simple Circuit: Classical Conditioning 330
Learning in Humans: A More Complex Network 331
The Basic Pattern of Knowledge Construction 331
 CONTENTS XIII

The Neural Network 333

The Rebound from Hunger to Satisfaction 334
Stopping Feeding Behavior Resulting from Frustration 334
Match and Mismatch of Input with Expectations:
Adaptive Resonance 335
Extension of Network Characteristics to Higher
Levels of Learning 338
Initiating and Terminating Problem-Solving Behavior 340
Terminating the Additive Strategy Because
of Contradiction 341
Orienting Arousal and the Search for a New Strategy 342
Feedback and Internal Monitoring of Problem Solving 343
Instructional Implications 344
Self-Regulation, Constructivism, and the Learning Paradox 346
Emergent Properties in the Natural Sciences 347
Emergent Properties in Cognition 348
A Return to Classical Conditioning 349

CH APTE R 12 THE ROLE OF LOGICAL AND ANALOGICAL

THINKING IN KNOWLEDGE
CONSTRUCTION 351
Role of Logic 352
Two Common Forms of Logic 353
The Multiple-Hypothesis Theory of Hypothetical-
Deductive Thought: Key Elements 361
Testing the Alternatives 362
Conclusions and Recommendations 365
A Neurological Explanation of Memory and Analogical Thinking 367
Adaptive Resonance 369
Outstars and Instars: Fundamental Units 370
The Neural Basis for Analogy 374
An Emergent, Self-Organizing Control System 376
A Return to the Japanese Classroom 380
Summary 381
Integrating Philosophy, Neural Modeling, Scientific
Insight, and Instruction 382
XIV CONTENTS

APPENDIXA THE CENTRAL PURPOSE OF AMERICAN EDUCATION 387

Educational Policies Commission

A P P E N D1X B THE METHOD OF MULTIPLE WORKING HYPOTHESES 398

T. C. Chamberlain

APPENDIXC WHAT IS SCIENCE? 408

R. P. Feynmen

APPENDIX D RESEARCH ON THE LEARNING CYCLE 418

A. E. Lawson, M. R. Abraham, and J. W. Renner

APPENDIX E TEACHING AND THE EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE 432

A. Szent-Gyorgyi

A P P E N DIX F CLASSROOM TEST OF SCIENTIFIC REASONING 436

APPENDIX C LEARNING CYCLES 446

Learning Cycle 1: Is Water a "Pure" Substance? 447
Learning Cycle 2: What Happens When Food Coloring
and Detergent Are Put in Milk? 460
Learning Cycle 3: How Were Alien Monoliths Sorted? 471
Learning Cycle 4: What Is Energy? 480
Learning Cycle 5: What Causes Molecules to Move? 492
Learning Cycle 6: How Does Cell Structure
Relate to Function? 503
Learning Cycle 7: How Do Multicellular
Organisms Grow? 520
Learning Cycle 8: What Happens to Molecules During
Chemical Breakdown? 531
Learning Cycle 9: What Is the Structure and
Function of Flowers? 539
 CONTENTS XV

Learning Cycle 10: Why Do Liquids Evaporate

at Different Rates? 544
Learning Cycle 11: What Changes Have Occurred
in Organisms Through Time? 556

REFERENCES 573

INDEX 589