Colin Gauld

History of science, individual development and science teaching

The existence of similarities between the ideas of modern students and those of early scientists have led to suggestions about how the history of science can be used to help students undergo similar transitions to those experienced by early generations of scientists. In this paper attention is focused not only on these similarities but also on some crucial differences between the processes and concepts or conceptual frameworks of these two groups of people. In the light of these similarities and differences some of the implications for producing and using historical material in the science classroom are discussed.

The Cognitive Context of Pupils' Alternative Frameworks.

The rationality of students’ alternative frameworks is discussed by considering the role played by their beliefs, their understanding of other views and the reasons they give to justify their own beliefs and to reject alternatives. These notions are used in an investigation of some of the cognitive effects of a series of introductory lessons about electricity on a class of 14‐year old boys. Changes which occurred not only in the beliefs of the students but also in the mental context in which these beliefs were embedded, were studied. Some of the implications of the findings for teaching science are briefly discussed.

The Pendulum: Its Place in Science, Culture and Pedagogy

The study and utilisation of pendulum motion has had immense scientific, cultural, horological, philosophical, and educational impact. The International Pendulum Project (IPP) is a collaborative research effort examining this impact, and demonstrating how historical studies of pendulum motion can assist teachers to improve science education by developing enriched curricular material, and by showing connections between pendulum studies and other parts of the school programme especially mathematics, social studies and music. The Project involves about forty researchers in sixteen countries plus a large number of participating school teachers.1 The pendulum is a universal topic in university mechanics courses, high school science subjects, and elementary school programmes, thus an enriched approach to its study can result in deepened science literacy across the whole educational spectrum. Such literacy will be manifest in a better appreciation of the part played by science in the development of society and culture.

Pendulums in the Physics Education Literature: A Bibliography.

Articles about the pendulum in four journals devoted to the teaching of physics and one general science teaching journal (along with other miscellaneous articles from other journals) are listed in three broad categories — types of pendulums, the contexts in which these pendulums are used in physics teaching at secondary or tertiary levels and a miscellaneous category. A brief description of the sub-categories used is provided.

Subject-oriented test construction

ConclusionThe substance of the case which has been presented is not that any of the procedures that are currently used to develop tests should be discarded but that a richer source of data should be used to make judgements about the validity of tests. It has been argued that the production of valid tests requires a subject-oriented approach and that interviews are a valuable source of information for assisting in the development of such tests. Interviews can be used in the initial exploration of the ways in which potential subjects perceive an area of knowledge, in the trialling of test items and even in the final administration of the completed test. One added bonus of such an approach is that it helps to bring together in a complementary fashion research paradigms which are more often seen to be in competition with one another.

The Treatment of Cycloidal Pendulum Motion in Newton’s Principia

The discovery of the near isochrony of the simple pendulum offered the possibilityof measuring time intervals more accurately than had been possible before. However,the fact that it was not strictly isochronous for all amplitudes remained a problem. Thecycloidal pendulum provided this strict isochrony and, over a thirty year period from1659 the analysis of the motion of this pendulum was developed. Newton’s analysis inhis Principia was both elegant and comprehensive and his argument is illustratedin this paper. It provides insights into the revolutionary nature of Newton’s thinkingespecially compared to the Galilean approach to understanding the motion of the simplependulum found in early 18th century textbooks.

The historical context of Newton's Third Law and the teaching of mechanics

Many studies have shown that Newtons Third Law of Motion is not easy for students to accept when they consider the interaction of two objects. A number of prominent science educators believe that it should not be taught to students before Year 11. This paper reports the results of a study of the historical origins of Newtons Third Law with a view to identifying the context from which it emerged in the 17th century and the conceptual changes which accompanied its emergence. Some of the possible implications of a study such as this for improving the teaching of introductory mechanics are discussed.

Making More Plausible What is Hard to Believe: Historical Justifications and Illustrations of Newton's Third Law

It has been claimed that conceptual change in students is more likely to occur if the alternative to present conceptions is a plausible one for the students. Many studies have shown that students today do not believe Newtons law of action and reaction and in this paper ways in which its plausibility might be enhanced are explored. In it the various justifications of the law by means of which Newton and those who came after him attempted to make it more plausible for their contemporaries are discussed.

The historical anecdote as a “caricature”: A case study

Much discussion has recently taken place about uses which can be made of historical material in science teaching. A great deal of advice, taking advantage of the particular and unique contributions which the history of science can make to science education, is available.The encounter between Thomas Huxley and Bishop Wilberforce in 1860 is frequently referred to when teaching about the theory of evolution and an investigation of the main characteristics of reports of this incident in both educational and historical literature has been carried out. The purposes of using this incident in the educational setting are identified and the appropriateness of these purposes is discussed in the light of a historical understanding of this encounter.

The “pupil-as-scientist” metaphor in science education

ConclusionThe language used in the science education literature often serves the explicit function of presenting information and making cases but it also conveys implicit messages and points to links outside the technical framework of science education. The “pupil-as-scientist” metaphor is embedded in a rich network of associated ideas only some of which have been exploited in research in this and other areas.