Science Learning Doctors
Diagnosing 'learning bugs': Epistemological learning impediments
The typology of learning impediments
is intended as a diagnostic tool for thinking about where science learning
'goes wrong'. It is a model of the different types of 'learning bugs'
that may occur when our teaching does link to students' thinking in the ways
we intend.
One category of learning impediment is epistemological learning impediments:
SUBSTANTIVE LEARNING IMPEDIMENTS occur when learning does not match the
desired learning because the student interprets teaching in terms of existing
ideas in a different way to intended. Associative learning impediments occur
because the student makes an unintended link with prior learning, for example
over-interpreting models - students may lacking the epistemological
sophistication to appreciate the limitations of models, analogies and metaphors
used in science teaching, and so interpret teaching in a too literal and
absolute sense, i.e. an epistemological learning impediment
A dusty analogy - a visual demonstration
of ionisation in a mass spectrometer
A dusty analogy - a visual demonstration
of ionisation in a mass spectrometer
I was talking to a girl just starting her A level chemistry,
and one of the topics they've started with was mass spectrometry. One of
the unconvincing aspects of the new topic seemed to be the way positive ions
were produced by bombarding atoms with (negative) electrons - although she
had clearly picked up the point. She reported that her teacher had demonstrated
this point with an analogy. She told me that the teacher was using a lot
of analogies, and she seemed to find them a little silly, implying that this
analogy was not helpful. This particular example involved a board duster
and two matchboxes. One matchbox sat on the duster, and was knocked off by
the other matchbox being projected at it. I thought this was quite interesting,
as she did think the formation of positive ions was counter-intuitive, but
had remembered that this is what happened, and seemed to both remember and
understand the use of the analogy, even though she was somewhat dismissive
of it. I didn't get the chance to explore the issue at the time, but wondered
if this was an example of a student maybe not appreciating the role of models
and analogies (and simulation) in science itself, and so feeling that using
such a device in teaching science was a little 'naff'.