Anton E. Lawson

What Are the Relative Effects of Reasoning Ability and Prior Knowledge on Biology Achievement in Expository and Inquiry Classes

What factor(s) influence the likelihood a student will succeed in college biology? Some researchers have found the primary determinant to be the students prior knowledge of biology, while others have found it to be reasoning ability. Perhaps the ability of these factors to predict achievement depends on the instructional method employed. Expository instruction focuses primarily on facts and concepts. Therefore, perhaps the best predictor of achievement in expository classes is domain-specific prior knowledge. Inquiry instruction focuses more on how science is done, i.e., on scientific processes; therefore, perhaps the best predictor in inquiry classes is reasoning ability. This study was designed to test these hypotheses. Students enrolled in a nonmajors community college biology course were pretested to determine reasoning ability and prior knowledge. The number of previous biology courses was also recorded as an indicator of prior knowledge. After a semester of either expository or inquiry (learning-cycle) instruction, students took a comprehensive final examination. Reasoning ability but not prior knowledge or number of previous biology courses accounted for a significant amount of variance in final examination score in both instructional methods and with semester examination and quiz scores in inquiry classes. This suggests that reasoning ability limits achievement more than prior knowledge among these biology students, whether they are enrolled in expository or inquiry classes. Reasoning ability explained more of the variance in final examination scores for students enrolled in expository classes (18.8%) than in inquiry classes (7.2%). The reason for this is not clear, but significant improvements in reasoning were found in the inquiry but not in the expository classes. These improvements were accompanied by significant differences in achievement in the inquiry classes. Perhaps the reasoning improvement facilitated the better and more equal achievement for students in the inquiry classes, thus reducing the correlation between initial reasoning ability and final achievement.

Development of scientific reasoning in college biology : Do two levels of general hypothesis-testing skills exist?

The primary purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that two general developmentally based levels of hypothesis-testing skills exist. The first hypothesized level presumably involves skills associated with testing hypotheses about observable causal agents; the second presumably involves skills associated with testing hypotheses involving unobservable entities. To test this hypothesis, a hypothesis-testing skills test was developed and administered to a large sample of college students both at the start and at the end of a biology course in which several hypotheses at each level were generated and tested. The predicted positive relationship between level of hypothesis-testing skill and performance on a transfer problem involving the test of a hypothesis involving unobservable entities was found. The predicted positive relationship between level of hypothesis-testing skill and course performance was also found. Both theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Effects of Learning Cycle and Traditional Text on Comprehension of Science Concepts by Students at Differing Reasoning Levels.

Research has found the learning cycle to be effective for science instruction in hands-on laboratories and interactive discussions. Can the learning cycle, in which examples precede the introduction of new terms, also be applied effectively to science text? A total of 123 high school students from two suburban schools were tested for reasoning ability, then randomly assigned to read either a learning cycle or traditional text passage. Immediate and delayed posttests provided concept comprehension scores that were analyzed by type of text passage and by reasoning level. Students who read the learning cycle passage earned higher scores on concept comprehension questions than those who read the traditional passage, at all reasoning levels. This result supports the hypothesis that reading comprehension and scientific inquiry involve similar information-processing strategies and confirms the prediction that science text presented in the learning cycle format is more comprehensible for readers at all reasoning levels.

The Learning Cycle

Early approaches to science instruction in the United States consisted mainly of daily recitations from books and lectures. Use of the laboratory was unheard of prior to the mid 1800s. Physical materials and specimens, if used at all, were a means of verifying book or lecture information. But by the late 1800s, laboratory instruction became very popular because it was felt that firsthand observation and manipulation were useful in “disciplining” the mind. The idea of mental discipline stemmed from psychology and the then popular faculty theory. In general, faculty theory claimed that mental behavior was compartmentalized into several “faculties” such as logic, memorization, and observation. In theory, mental behavior could be enhanced by “exercising” these faculties and once the faculties were developed, they would function in all life situations. The theory was used to justify the use of abstract, meaningless, laborious tasks during instruction to exercise and strengthen the mind.

What Does Galileo's Discovery of Jupiter's Moons Tell Us About the Process of Scientific Discovery?

In 1610, Galileo Galilei discovered Jupitersmoons with the aid of a new morepowerful telescope of his invention. Analysisof his report reveals that his discoveryinvolved the use of at least three cycles ofhypothetico-deductive reasoning. Galileofirst used hypothetico-deductive reasoning to generateand reject a fixed star hypothesis.He then generated and rejected an ad hocastronomers-made-a-mistake hypothesis.Finally, he generated, tested, and accepted a moonhypothesis. Galileos reasoningis modeled in terms of Piagets equilibration theory,Grossbergs theory of neurologicalactivity, a neural network model proposed by Levine &Prueitt, and another proposedby Kosslyn & Koenig. Given that hypothetico-deductivereasoning has played a rolein other important scientific discoveries, thequestion is asked whether it plays a rolein all important scientific discoveries. In otherwords, is hypothetico-deductive reasoningthe essence of the scientific method? Possiblealternative scientific methods, such asBaconian induction and combinatorial analysis,are explored and rejected as viablealternatives. Educational implications of thishypothetico-deductive view of scienceare discussed.

Using the Learning Cycle To Teach Biology Concepts and Reasoning Patterns.

The learning cycle method of teaching is introduced in the context of biology instruction. The learning cycle is a three-phase inquiry approach consisting of exploration, term introduction, and concept application. The approach has proven effective at helping students construct concepts and conceptual systems as well as develop more effective reasoning patterns, primarily because it allows students to use If/thenfTherefore reasoning to test their own ideas and to participate in the knowledge construction process. Three types of learning cycles exist (i.e., descriptive, empirical-abductive, and hypothetical-predictive) that represent points along a continuum from descriptive to hypothetico-predictive science.

Effects of Collaborative Group Composition and Inquiry Instruction on Reasoning Gains and Achievement in Undergraduate Biology

This study compared the effectiveness of collaborative group composition and instructional method on reasoning gains and achievement in college biology. Based on initial student reasoning ability (i.e., low, medium, or high), students were assigned to either homogeneous or heterogeneous collaborative groups within either inquiry or didactic instruction. Achievement and reasoning gains were assessed at the end of the semester. Inquiry instruction, as a whole, led to significantly greater gains in reasoning ability and achievement. Inquiry instruction also led to greater confidence and more positive attitudes toward collaboration. Low-reasoning students made significantly greater reasoning gains within inquiry instruction when grouped with other low reasoners than when grouped with either medium or high reasoners. Results are consistent with equilibration theory, supporting the idea that students benefit from the opportunity for self-regulation without the guidance or direction of a more capable peer.

How Do Humans Acquire Knowledge? And What Does That Imply about the Nature of Knowledge?.

This paper offers a resolution to the debate between constructivists andrealists regarding the epistemological status of human knowledge. Evidence in the form of three case studies and one experimentalstudy is presented. The conclusion drawn is that knowledge acquisitioninvolves a pattern of idea (representation) generation and test that, whencast in the form of a verbal argument, follows an If/then/Thereforepattern. Self-generated ideas/representations are tested by comparingexpected and observed outcomes. Ideas may be retained or rejected,but can not be proved or disproved. Therefore, absolute Truth aboutany and all ideas, including the idea that the external world exists, isunattainable. Yet learning at all levels above the sensory-motor requiresthat one assume the independent existence of the external world becauseonly then can the behavior of the objects in that world be used to testsubsequent higher-order ideas. In the final analysis, ideas – includingscientific hypotheses and theories – stand or fall, not due to socialnegotiation, but due to their ability to predict future events. Althoughthe knowledge acquisition process has limitations, its use neverthelessresults in increasingly useful representations about an assumed to existexternal world as evidenced by technological progress that is undeniablybased on sound scientific theory. The primary instructional implicationis that science instruction should remain committed to helping studentsunderstand the crucial role played by hypotheses, predictions and evidencein learning.

Can physics develop reasoning

The life of every physicist is punctuated by events that lead him to discover that the way physicists see natural phenomena is different from the way nonphysicists see them. Certain patterns of reasoning appear to be more common among physicists than in other groups. These include:▸ focussing on the important variables (such as the force that accelerates the apple, rather than the lump it makes on your head);▸ propositional logic (“if heat were a liquid it would occupy space and a cannon barrel could only contain a limited amount of heat, but this is contrary to my observations, so…”), and▸ proportional reasoning (for example, the restoring force of a spring increases linearly with its displacement from equilibrium).

Managing the Inquiry Classroom: Problems & Solutions

CALLS for curriculum reform in secondary and undergraduate education emphasize the need to teach science in a ‘‘hands-on,’’ ‘‘minds-on’’ investigative way that engages students in active inquiry. For example, a National Science Foundationsponsored panel of scientists, mathematicians and engineers recommended that the focus of new programs ‘‘. . . be on open-ended activities that enhance skills of observation and discovery, hypothesis formation, testing and evaluation (Division of Undergraduate Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Education, 1990). In a similar vein, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1990) recommended that ’’. . . science should be taught as science is practiced.’’ Many of the ‘‘How-To-Do-It’’ lessons published in this journal are excellent examples of how to implement open-ended inquiry with its emphasis on hypothesis generation and test. For example, Johnson (1998) presented an active inquiry lesson on cellular respiration. Favero (1998) used an open-ended lesson on potato chip ‘‘double-dipping’’ to introduce the scientific method. And Maret & Rissing (1998) used a learning cycle approach with its instructional phases of exploration, term introduction and concept application to introduce the concepts of natural selection and genetic drift. Although our department’s efforts at curriculum reform embody the goal of ‘‘teaching science as science is practiced,’’ and several of our courses utilize the learning cycle teaching methodology, we have found that many of our new graduate teaching assistants have little, if any, experience in inquiry teaching. Therefore, when they first attempt to teach inquiry lessons, they often encounter classroom management problems. The purpose of this article is to briefly describe how some of these problems have been identified and to suggest solutions. The intent is to provide teachers new to the inquiry classroom with a list of potential problems and solutions so that they can either avoid such problems altogether, or reduce their severity.