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Worldview theory and conceptual change in science education
Author(s) -
Cobern William W.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
science education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.209
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1098-237X
pISSN - 0036-8326
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-237x(199609)80:5<579::aid-sce5>3.0.co;2-8
Subject(s) - conceptual change , construct (python library) , science education , epistemology , everyday life , nature of science , philosophy of science , concept learning , sociology , conceptual framework , scientific theory , psychology , mathematics education , pedagogy , social science , computer science , philosophy , programming language
Abstract Conceptual change is simple idea. If students are given an opportunity to construct scientifically orthodox conceptions, if they then come to see that these conceptions are more intelligible, plausible, and fruitful than other conceptions, the students will change their conceptions for scientific ones. This rationalistic view is embedded in a narrowly conceived notion of the role knowledge plays in an individual's life and fails to recognize that students' everyday conceptions differ from science because they serve a different purpose. Conceptual change instruction is intended to foster a scientific view of the world. This goal is wrong‐headed. Science needs to be joined with the other school disciplines in the common goal of developing student world‐views of which science is one articulated component. Conceptual change should become more plausible for students when they have been invited to a discourse on what are the important questions of life, what are the various answers, and what does science have to contribute to the common human quest for a meaningful life. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.