Reading about energy: The effects of text structure in science learning and conceptual change

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Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of text structure in the acquisition of the concept of energy and the overcoming of specific preconceptions associated with it. Cypriot sixth-grade students read either a simple expository text that presented factual information or a refutation text that also explicitly addressed two common preconceptions and proceeded to refute them. Both texts were used as adjuncts to the standard science instruction that is typically provided in the Cypriot elementary school. Students who read the refutation text outperformed students who read the expository text and students who received standard instruction only. In contrast, the influence of the expository text was negligible and generally comparable to that of standard instruction. The implications of these results for the instructional use of refutational text structures were discussed.

Introduction

The recognition that science learning may require conceptual change on the part of the learner has generated a substantial amount of research aiming at the identification of (a) students’ alternative conceptions on a variety of science topics (Carey, 1985; Clement, 1982; Vosniadou & Brewer, 1992), and (b) instructional approaches that facilitate the restructuring of alternative conceptions (Diakidoy & Kendeou, 2001; Posner, Strike, Hewson, & Gertzog, 1982; Smith, Maclin, Grosslight, & Davis, 1997). Connected to this latter outcome, has also been the adoption of a constructivist framework as the basis for the quest for more effective instructional interventions. A consequence of this state of affairs has been the move away from the science text (Guzzetti, Snyder, Glass, & Gamas, 1993), and the adoption of more “hands-on” methods and collaborative activities in science classrooms (Driver, Asoko, Leach, Mortimer, & Scott, 1994).

The extent, however, to which a particular instructional method is successful does not necessarily depend on the level of the physical or verbal activity involved or on the ingenuity of the demonstrations utilized. Instead, the important factor must be the level of the mental activity that it entails, as implicated by the basic tenet of constructivism—namely, that knowledge is not transmitted but actively constructed by the learner. Therefore, any instructional method that has the potential of actively engaging learners in considering their preconceptions in light of scientific models should be a viable candidate for the empirical test. The present study, motivated by the above observations, explored the effects of the use of science text on the learning of one particular science concept, that of energy, and the overcoming of particular preconceptions related to it.

Section snippets

Learning from text

Text has been and continues to be a primary medium of learning. More importantly, the ability to acquire information from text determines the extent to which an individual can engage in independent, life-long learning (Diakidoy, 1999). Furthermore, in light of current reading comprehension models, the implicit view that text promotes the passive transmission of knowledge is unfounded. All reading research in the last twenty years has conceptualized comprehension as the active construction of

Learning about energy

According to Warren (1982), energy should be banished from the elementary-school curriculum. One problematic aspect about energy is that it represents an abstract, theoretical concept. The scientific conceptualization of energy as the capacity for work (Warren, 1982) implicates that what may be directly observable are only the results of energy storage and transformation, not energy itself. Previous work on abstract physics concepts has unveiled students’ tendency to conceptualize such concepts

Participants

The participants were 215 sixth-grade students (109 males and 106 females) from six rural schools in the island nation of Cyprus. There were two sixth-grade classrooms in four of the schools and one sixth-grade classroom in each of the other two schools. For the purposes of the study, the students remained in their intact classrooms. All students’ native language was Greek. Individual Analyses of Variance indicated that there were no significant differences between Schools or between Classrooms

Results

Preliminary analyses indicated that Grade Point Average, Science Grade, and Reading Grade were all positively correlated with each other (p<.01). However, only Grade Point Average and Reading Grade were consistently and significantly related to all dependent variables (p<.05). Therefore, Grade Point Average, as the most inclusive measure, was used in all subsequent analyses.

The primary dependent variables, Immediate Energy Total Score and Delayed Energy Total Score, were normally distributed

Discussion

Overall, the findings of the present study confirmed our main hypothesis by highlighting the superiority of a refutational text structure in science learning and conceptual change. Sixth-grade students who read a refutation text as an adjunct to standard instruction outperformed students who read a simple expository text and students who received no text. These findings are in agreement with previous research examining the contribution of refutational text structures in the acquisition of

Conclusion

Refutation text was found to facilitate the acquisition of conceptual distinctions even when it was used in a regular classroom setting and as an adjunct to the standard instruction provided. Given the limitations of this study and, particularly, those related to the assessment instrument, the present findings can be taken only as preliminary. Further research is needed to establish the depth of understanding and the extent of conceptual restructuring that can be achieved from exposure to

Acknowledgements

We thank S. Vosniadou and C. Varnavas for their insightful comments concerning the potential usefulness of refutation text and our treatment of the concept of energy, the teachers and their students for their enthusiastic participation, and the Cypriot Ministry of Education and Culture for supporting the study.

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