scholarly journals Understanding the nature of science and scientific progress: A theory-building approach

2010 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Chuy ◽  
Marlene Scardamalia ◽  
Carl Bereiter ◽  
Fleur Prinsen ◽  
Monica Resendes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nature Of Science ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Scientific Progress ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Collaborative Project ◽  
Technological Support ◽  
Constructivist Inquiry ◽  
Inquiry Approach ◽  
Approach To Teaching

In 1993 Carey and Smith conjectured that the most promising way to boost students’ understanding of the nature of science is a “theory-building approach to teaching about inquiry.” The research reported here tested this conjecture by comparing results from two Grade 4 classrooms that differed in their emphasis on and technological support for creating and improving theories. One class followed a Knowledge Building approach and used Knowledge Forum®, which together emphasize theory improvement and sustained creative work with ideas. The other class followed an inquiry approach mediated through collaborative project-based activities. Apart from this, the two classes were demographically similar and both fell within the broad category of constructivist, inquiry-based approaches and employed a range of modes and media for investigative research and reports. An augmented version of Carey and Smith’s Nature of Science Interview showed that the Knowledge Building approach resulted in deeper understanding of the nature of theoretical progress, the connections between theories and facts, and the role of ideas in scientific inquiry.

A scientific evening with P. Feyerabend, C.S. Peirce, J.S. Bruner and T.S. Kuhn

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (78) ◽  
pp. 11-18
Author(s):  
Wacław Petryński
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Nature Of Science ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Specific Role ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Intellectual Courage ◽  
Theoretical Reasoning ◽  
Theory Creation

The author emphasises the constructivist nature of science and the specific role of abduction in creation of theories. He points out to eclectic nature of science and theory creation and compares scientists’ strategy to that of Foraminifera, as described by E. Heron-Allen. To build tests around their uni-cellular organisms they use any suitable grain of sand. The only mechanism for theory building is the abduction, eclectic by its nature. Basing on that, the author presents language not as a passive tool for reality description, but as an active instrument for science creation. He illustrates it with the specific interplay between notions “certainty” and “reliability”. Such an interplay unveils specific mechanisms underlying creation, development and improvement of theories (and science as a whole, as well). He points to the fact that certainty belongs to the sphere of abstraction, and reliability – to the sphere of practice. The relations between theory and practice are quite tight in physics. Unfortunately, in biology, and – all the more – in psychology and in motor control, the theory is by far more distal to reality than in physics. As a result, in motor control the share of theoretical reasoning in motor control is by far greater than observations and measurements. In motor control the intellectual courage is, then, by far more needed than the experimental diligence.

Soil Chemical Pollution and Aggressive Pathologies

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 2278-2282
Author(s):  
Stelian Ioan Morariu ◽  
Letitia Doina Duceac ◽  
Alina Costina Luca ◽  
Florina Popescu ◽  
Liliana Pavel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Scientific Progress ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Chemical Pollution ◽  
Optimal Parameters ◽  
Chemical Pollutants ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Health Physician ◽  
Solid Liquid

Maintaining the soil in optimal parameters is vital for mankind, given its essential role in providing the alimentary base, as well as its extremely slow formation and regeneration (hundreds or thousands of years). The direct and indirect pollution of the soil and especially its chemical pollution represent a corollary of other types of pollution, given that it is produced by solid, liquid and gaseous residues. It may be involved in a wide range of diseases (respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, renal, haematological, osteoarticular, neurological) of allergic, infectious, degenerative or neoplastic nature, from infancy to the old age. Although there are natural causes of soil pollution (e.g. volcanic eruptions), most pollutants come from human activities, which are the most incriminated in its pollution, degradation and erosion at an accelerated pace. The growing concern of all nations for the adoption of measures to limit the chemical pollution of the soil is partially found so far in viable and effective solutions intended to combat soil contamination and degradation and ensure its restoration. Chemical industrialization leads to technical and scientific progress, but at the same time it can develop related pathologies, which means that the role of the occupational health physician is essential in ensuring prophylaxis and the early detection of occupational diseases. Besides that, the role of the pediatrician is equally precious for the detection of specific diseases caused by chemical pollutants to children, because they will develop into adults with pathological stigma.The chemical pollution of the soil is a major challenge for ecologists, given that it is an important risk factor for many types of afflictions. It requires maximum attention from civil society, health care professionals and government institutions. The specialist in occupational medicine, as well as the pediatrician bear an essential responsibility in both, prevention and treatment.

Contributions of Contemporary Political Science to an Understanding of the Common Good

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.J. Matthew Carnes
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Scientific Theory ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Catholic Theology ◽  
Politics And Government ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Common ◽  
Nature And Society

The transformation of political science in recent decades opens the door for a new but so far poorly cultivated examination of the common good. Four significant “turns” characterize the modern study of politics and government. Each is rooted in the discipline’s increased emphasis on empirical rigor, with its attendant scientific theory-building, measurement, and hypothesis testing. Together, these new orientations allow political science to enrich our understanding of causality, our basic definitions of the common good, and our view of human nature and society. In particular, the chapter suggests that traditional descriptions of the common good in Catholic theology have been overly irenic and not sufficiently appreciative of the role of contention in daily life, on both a national and international scale.

A Brief Statement on the Future of Public Scholarship and the Research Methods Landscape

2019 ◽  
pp. 700-707
Author(s):  
Patricia Leavy
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Research Community ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Scholarship ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
The Future ◽  
Book Editor

The book editor offers some final comments about the state of the field and promise for the future. Leavy suggests researchers consider using the language of “shapes” to talk about the forms their research takes and to highlight the ongoing role of the research community in shaping knowledge-building practices. She reviews the challenges and rewards of taking your work public. Leavy concludes by noting that institutional structures need to evolve their rewards criteria in order to meet the demands of practicing contemporary research and suggests that professors update their teaching practices to bring the audiences of research into the forefront of discussions of methodology.

An Interrelated Approach to Teaching Visually Handicapped Children and Mobility Education

1970 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 445-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Goodman
Keyword(s):  
Professional Preparation ◽  
Dual Role ◽  
Handicapped Children ◽  
Professional Person ◽  
Approach To Teaching ◽  
Visually Handicapped

The idea of training a new kind of professional person who would have competency in the dual role of teaching and mobility instruction in the area of the visually handicapped is discussed. The professional preparation and responsibilities of the teacher and the mobility instructor are examined to point out overlapping areas that already exist. Consideration is given to the advantages of this approach, as well as to some likely criticism and to some unresolved questions.

scholarly journals Indirectness in the Age of Globalization: A Social Network Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 930-949
Author(s):  
Marina Terkourafi
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
American English ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Network Ties ◽  
British English ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Individual Self

Indirectness has traditionally been viewed as commensurate with politeness and attributed to the speaker’s wish to avoid imposition and/or otherwise strategically manipulate the addressee. Despite these theoretical predictions, a number of studies have documented the solidarity-building and identity-constituting functions of indirectness. Bringing these studies together, Terkourafi 2014 proposed an expanded view of the functions of indirect speech, which crucially emphasizes the role of the addressee and the importance of network ties. This article focuses on what happens when such network ties become loosened, as a result of processes of urbanization and globalization. Drawing on examples from African American English and Chinese, it is argued that these processes produce a need for increased explicitness, which drives speakers (and listeners) away from indirectness. This claim is further supported diachronically, by changes in British English politeness that coincide with the rise of the individual Self. These empirical findings have implications for im/politeness theorizing and theory-building more generally, calling attention to how the socio-historical context of our research necessarily influences the theories we end up building.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document