1st Edition

Student Thinking and Learning in Science Perspectives on the Nature and Development of Learners' Ideas

By Keith S. Taber Copyright 2014
238 Pages
by Routledge

238 Pages
by Routledge

238 Pages
by Routledge

This readable and informative survey of key ideas about students’ thinking in science builds a bridge between theory and practice by offering clear accounts from research, and showing how they relate to actual examples of students talking about widely taught science topics. Focused on secondary students and drawing on perspectives found in the international research literature, the goal is... Read more

Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments 

Section 1. Student conceptions and science 
Introduction. The things students say: learners’ ideas about science topics 
Chapter 1. Why is learning science so difficult for many students? 
Chapter 2. Characterising and labelling learners’ ideas 
Chapter 3. Alternative conceptions of learning 

Section 2. Making sense of student thinking 
Chapter 4. Innateness and development: cognitive biases influencing learners’ ideas 
Chapter 5. Developing intuitions about the world 
Chapter 6. The role of language in learning science 
Chapter 7. The influence of everyday beliefs 
Chapter 8. Thinking about knowing and learning: Metacognitive and epistemological limitations on science learning 
Chapter 9. Integrating knowledge and constructing conceptual frameworks 

Section 3. Diagnosing student thinking in science learning 
Chapter 10. A provisional synthesis: Learning, teaching, and ‘bugs’ in the system 
Chapter 11. The science teacher as learning doctor 
Chapter 12. Science teaching informed by an appreciation of student thinking

Biography

Keith S. Taber is University Reader in Science Education, University of Cambridge, UK.

"I encourage science teachers of all specialities who are looking to enhance their classroom practice to pick up a copy of Student thinking and learning in science and accept Keith’s challenge to take on the role of ‘a science learning doctor’ and look to diagnose, prevent and ultimately cure bugs in their own teaching." - Catherine Smith, Education in Chemistry, Nov 2014