首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Acquiring the principles of mathematics and science It has been pointed out that learning mathematics and science is not so much
Acquiring the principles of mathematics and science It has been pointed out that learning mathematics and science is not so much
admin
2015-01-05
52
问题
Acquiring the principles of mathematics and science
It has been pointed out that learning mathematics and science is not so much learning facts as learning ways of thinking. It has also been emphasised that in order to learn science, people often have to change the way they think in ordinary situations. For example, in order to understand even simple concepts such as heat and temperature, ways of thinking of temperature as a measure of heat must be abandoned and a distinction between ’temperature’ and ’heat’ must be learned. These changes in ways of thinking are often referred to as conceptual changes. But how do conceptual changes happen? How do young people change their ways of thinking as they develop and as they learn in school?
Traditional instruction based on telling students how modern scientists think does not seem to be very successful. Students may learn the definitions, the formulae, the terminology, and yet still maintain their previous conceptions. This difficulty has been illustrated many times, for example, when instructed students are interviewed about heat and temperature. It is often identified by teachers as a difficulty in applying the concepts learned in the classroom; students may be able to repeat a formula but fail to use the concept represented by the formula when they explain observed events.
The psychologist Piaget suggested an interesting hypothesis relating to the process of cognitive change in children. Cognitive change was expected to result from the pupils’ own intellectual activity. When confronted with a result that challenges their thinking—that is, when faced with conflict—pupils realise that they need to think again about their own ways of solving problems, regardless of whether the problem is one in mathematics or in science. He hypothesised that conflict brings about disequilibrium, and then triggers equilibration processes that ultimately produce cognitive change. For this reason, according to Piaget and his colleagues, in order for pupils to progress in their thinking they need to be actively engaged in solving problems that will challenge their current mode of reasoning. However, Piaget also pointed out that young children do not always discard their ideas in the face of contradictory evidence. They may actually discard the evidence and keep their theory.
Piaget’s hypothesis about how cognitive change occurs was later translated into an educational approach which is now termed ’discovery learning’. Discovery learning initially took what is now considered the ’lone learner’ route. The role of the teacher was to select situations that challenged the pupils’ reasoning; and the pupils’ peers had no real role in this process. However, it was subsequently proposed that interpersonal conflict, especially with peers, might play an important role in promoting cognitive change. This hypothesis, originally advanced by Perret-Clermont(1980)and Doise and Mugny(1984), has been investigated in many recent studies of science teaching and learning.
Christine Howe and her colleagues, for example, have compared children’s progress in understanding several types of science concepts when they are given the opportunity to observe relevant events. In one study, Howe compared the progress of 8 to 12-year-old children in understanding what influences motion down a slope. In order to ascertain the role of conflict in group work, they created two kinds of groups according to a pre-test: one in which the children had dissimilar views, and a second in which the children had similar views.
They found support for the idea that children in the groups with dissimilar views progressed more after their training sessions than those who had been placed in groups with similar views. However, they found no evidence to support the idea that the children worked out their new conceptions during their group discussions, because progress was not actually observed in a post-test immediately after the sessions of group work, but rather in a second test given around four weeks after the group work.
In another study, Howe set out to investigate whether the progress obtained through pair work could be a function of the exchange of ideas. They investigated the progress made by 12-15-year-old pupils in understanding the path of falling objects, a topic that usually involves conceptual difficulties. In order to create pairs of pupils with varying levels of dissimilarity in their initial conceptions, the pupils’ predictions and explanations of the path of falling objects were assessed before they were engaged in pair work. The work sessions involved solving computer-presented problems, again about predicting and explaining the paths of falling objects. A post-test, given to individuals, assessed the progress made by pupils in their conceptions of what influenced the path of falling objects.
Reading Passage 2 has SIX paragraphs, A-F.
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-F from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-ix.
List of Headings
i A suggested modification to a theory about learning.
ii The problem of superficial understanding.
iii The relationship between scientific understanding and age.
iv The rejection of a widely held theory.
v The need to develop new concepts in daily life.
vi The claim that a perceived contradiction can assist mental development.
vii Implications for the training of science teachers.
viii An experiment to assess the benefits of exchanging views with a partner.
ix Evidence for the delayed benefits of disagreement between pupils.
Paragraph B______
选项
答案
ii
解析
PARAGRAPH B illustrates the problem of superficial understanding by explaining how students can learn information but be unable to applyit
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/RVNO777K
本试题收录于:
雅思阅读题库雅思(IELTS)分类
0
雅思阅读
雅思(IELTS)
相关试题推荐
Itisdifficulttoconceivehow,evenforthosepeoplewelldisposedtorulethemselves,theattempttoachievehappinessshould
Thedistinctionbetweenmakingartandthinkingandwritingaboutitshouldimplyneitheramutualexclusivenessnorahi
ReadingtheepicknowntousastheIliadisvastlydifferentfromthe______experienceofhearingandseeingitperformed,fori
African-Americanfilmmakersshouldbeinanenviableposition,forsincetheearly1990stherehasbeenasteadywaveof
African-Americanfilmmakersshouldbeinanenviableposition,forsincetheearly1990stherehasbeenasteadywaveof
Mostpeoplechoosealawyeronthebasisofsuch______considerationsashiscost,hisfieldofexpertise,andthefeeshecharge
Becausemodernartisneithercompletelyacceptednorrejectedbycritics,theirultimateevaluationsofitremain______.
ThispassageisadaptedfromTheAmericanRepublic:Constitution,Tendencies,andDestinybyO.A.Brownson,1866.Thean
ThispassageisadaptedfromTheAmericanRepublic:Constitution,Tendencies,andDestinybyO.A.Brownson,1866.Thean
Thispassageisadaptedfrommaterialpublishedin2001.FrederickDouglasswasunquestionablythemostfamousAfricanAmerican
随机试题
一个完整、有效的客户关系管理应用系统中,子系统包括()
A吗啡B美沙酮C芬太尼D喷他佐辛E纳洛酮上述哪个镇痛药物含有1个手性碳原子,左旋体镇痛活性比右旋体大
(2016年)下列关于共同经营中合营方的会计处理中,正确的有()。
主要以本公司持有的其他公司的有价证券作为股利发放的股利支付方式属于()。
在驱动成本的作业动因中下列表述正确的有()。
计算∫xsin(x2+1)dx。
下列河流与所注入的海洋,对应关系不正确的是()。
下列属于等距变量数据的是()。
下列选项中,属于应用法学的是()。
TVcanmakeabeggarworld-famousovernight.Nowadaysgameshowsarenottreatedasseriouslyastheyusedtobe.
最新回复
(
0
)