The Empirical Attitude, Material Practice and Design Activities

Autor/inn/en	Apedoe, Xornam; Ford, Michael
Titel	The Empirical Attitude, Material Practice and Design Activities
Quelle	In: Science & Education, 19 (2010) 2, S.165-186 (22 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0926-7220
DOI	10.1007/s11191-009-9185-7
Schlagwörter	Feedback (Response); Research Methodology; Data Collection; Science Curriculum; Theories; Science Process Skills; Instructional Design; Science Education + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Research method; Forschungsmethode; Data capture; Datensammlung; Theory; Theorie; Lesson concept; Lessonplan; Unterrichtsentwurf; Naturwissenschaftliche Bildung
Abstract	This article is an argument about something that is both important and severely underemphasized in most current science curricula. The empirical attitude, fundamental to science since Galileo, is a habit of mind that motivates an active search for feedback on our ideas from the material world. Although more simple views of science manifest the empirical attitude through relation of theories to data, we describe more recent philosophical scholarship that characterizes the relation of theories to data through "phenomena" (regularities in nature's behavior that can be identified and characterized through data). This view highlights the centrality of "material practice", in which scientists design data collection events to inform phenomena. Thus manifestation of the empirical attitude in science is characterized as a design endeavor that involves considerably sophisticated coordination among theories, phenomena, data, and data collection events. If we want students to learn how to participate in such work, curricula should break down these complex processes into more basic components at least at the outset. Our recommendation is to begin with design activities that can focus on the empirical attitude initially without the complex coordination with phenomena and data. We present an example of such an activity and share results that suggest design activities can target the empirical attitude and be built upon in curricula to gradually include coordination with phenomena and theories. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10