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Using a Practical Context to Encourage Conceptual Change: An Instructional Sequence in Bicycle Science
Author(s) -
Taylor Joseph A.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
school science and mathematics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.135
H-Index - 2
eISSN - 1949-8594
pISSN - 0036-6803
DOI - 10.1111/j.1949-8594.2001.tb18014.x
Subject(s) - conceptual change , context (archaeology) , perspective (graphical) , curriculum , mathematics education , science education , sequence (biology) , instructional design , computer science , teaching method , pedagogy , sociology , psychology , artificial intelligence , chemistry , paleontology , biochemistry , biology
The grounding of science instruction in practical applications has been strongly emphasized in the science education literature. The notion of concept status change allows one to view the importance of practical applications from a learning theory perspective. This article describes an instructional sequence in which a bicycle context was used to increase the status of appropriate concepts of work and simple machines. The instructional sequence was pilot tested in an applied physics course for elementary education majors. Implications are made for conceptual change pedagogy and for curriculum design.