Supporting the development of scientific understanding when constructing an evolving explanation

We explore how students developed an integrated understanding of scientific ideas and how they applied their understandings in new situations. We examine the incremental development of 7th grade students’ scientific ideas across four iterations of a scientific explanation related to a freshwater system. We demonstrate that knowing how to make use of scientific ideas to explain phenomena needs to be learned just as developing integrated understanding of scientific ideas needs to be learned. Students participated in an open-ended, long-term project-based learning unit, constructing one explanation over time to address, “How healthy is our stream for freshwater organisms and how do our actions on land potentially impact the water quality of the stream?” The explanation developed over several weeks as new data were collected and analyzed. Students discussed evidence by revisiting scientific ideas and including new scientific ideas. This research investigates two questions: (1) As students engage in writing a scientific explanation over time, to what extent do they develop integrated understanding of appropriate scientific ideas? and (2) When writing about new evidence, do these earlier experiences of writing explanations enable students to make use of new scientific ideas in more sophisticated ways? In other words, do earlier experiences allow students to know how to make use of their ideas in these new situations? The results indicated statistically significant effects. Through various iterations of the explanation students included richer discussion using appropriate scientific ideas. Students were also able to make better use of new knowledge in new situations.

MASALAH PEMAHAMAN COVID-19 DAN TUGAS FILSAFAT

<em>Public understanding of Covid 19 is often seen as a source of problems in pandemic time. This article presents a discussion that the logic of understanding is different from the logic of explanation. If in scientific explanation, law and scientific theory are regarded as the premises, all human understanding departs from the historical experience of the world which belongs to the community. In a phenomenological perspective, human understanding is rational because it is oriented toward convergence without coincidence, unification without equivalence, commonality without identity, and cooperation without uniformity. The Study of the musical experiences of East Nusa Tenggara shows that the people of East Nusa Tenggara have a transverse rationality, in a sense that is convergent with the health protocol, although is based on the mythical cosmology. Based on this kind of logos, any effort in solving Covid 19's problem as a point of convergence needs interpretation of local community different understanding.</em><br /><br /><strong>Key words:</strong> Covid 19, Edmund Husserl, Phenomenology, rationality, transversality.

An International Comparative Study of Students' Scientific Explanation Based on Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment

Scientific explanation is one of the most core concepts in science education, and its mastery level is crucial for a deep understanding of the nature of science. As a new generation of assessment theory, cognitive diagnostic assessment (CDA) can get the knowledge of students' mastery of fine-grained knowledge. Based on the extant research, this research has formed eight attributes of scientific explanation concepts. By coding the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) test items, a CAD tool was formed. Data collected from 574 Grade 4 students in Hangzhou, China, combined with the data of the United States, Singapore, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Russia, were used in our study. The Deterministic Inputs, Noisy “And” gate (DINA) model was used to analyze the results from three aspects: the probability of mastery of attributes, the international comparison of knowledge states, and the analysis of learning paths. This study provided a new perspective from a CDA approach on the assessment of scientific explanation.

JANOS KORNAI AND HIS MEMORABLE WORK

Janos Kornai is the foremost economist of the socialist and post-socialist countries in the last 50 years. He was a world-famous scientist, who left behind the great legacy of works published in more than 20 languages. His theory of system anti-equilibrium in the centrally planned economy, the concept of soft and hard budget constraints, and the economic deficit had revolutionary significance for the scientific explanation of the production processes and distribution and deepening of capital in the state socialist economics. His contribution to the political economy of socialism, which he taught at Harvard University was particularly significant. In practice, Kornai was satisfied with the descriptive approach analysing of the socialist system whereas, in works published after 1989 he drew attention to normative economics, proposing the ways of structural reform, institutional constructions, and economic policy in the post-socialist transition stage. His last book, in which anti-equilibrium characterized by deficits under socialism compared with the anti-equilibrium specific to the overflows under capitalism is essential. The evolution of the academic thought of this eminent economist and its influence on real economic processes was analyzed. Polemical comments about the interpretation of economic and social processes, which takes place in China are added.

IS HAVING A HELICOPTER MOTHER A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE? THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HELICOPTER MOTHER ATTITUDE AND TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES AND LEARNED HELPLESSNESS

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of mothers’ and teachers’ testimonies that conflict with scientific facts and scientific explanations on kindergartners’ judgments. The participants consisted of 104 young children in Şanlıurfa province in Turkey. Their ages ranged from 48 to 79 months, with a mean age of 61.48 months (SD = 5.58). The participants were randomly assigned to the following four groups: 1) Scientific explanation followed by teacher’s testimony, 2) teacher’s testimony; 3) scientific explanation followed by mother’s testimony, 4) mother’s testimony. The children responded to a question about a scientific fact. After the response, they watched their mothers’ or teachers’ testimonies which contradict the scientific fact. Findings revealed that when a scientific explanation was not provided, the children tended to show deference to their teachers’ and especially mothers’ testimony. A week later, a follow-up measurement revealed that this impact did not last a week.

IMPACT OF MOTHERS’ AND TEACHERS’ TESTIMONIES AND SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATIONS ON CHILDREN’S JUDGMENTS

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of mothers’ and teachers’ testimonies that conflict with scientific facts and scientific explanations on kindergartners’ judgments. The participants consisted of 104 young children in Şanlıurfa province in Turkey. Their ages ranged from 48 to 79 months, with a mean age of 61.48 months (SD = 5.58). The participants were randomly assigned to the following four groups: 1) Scientific explanation followed by teacher’s testimony, 2) teacher’s testimony; 3) scientific explanation followed by mother’s testimony, 4) mother’s testimony. The children responded to a question about a scientific fact. After the response, they watched their mothers’ or teachers’ testimonies which contradict the scientific fact. Findings revealed that when a scientific explanation was not provided, the children tended to show deference to their teachers’ and especially mothers’ testimony. A week later, a follow-up measurement revealed that this impact did not last a week.

Efektivitas Learning Cycle 3E Berkonteks Socioscientific Issues terhadap Pemahaman Konsep dan Penjelasan Ilmiah Siswa Sekolah Dasar

<p><strong>Abstract:</strong> This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the 3E learning cycle model in the context of socioscientific issues on conceptual understanding and scientific explanations of grade V students on science content. This study used a quasy experimental approach with posttest only control group design. The subjects of this study were fifth grade students in two public schools in Kalipare sub-district, namely SDN A and SDN B. The research instruments consisted a conceptual test of 20 multiple choice questions (α Cronbach’s = 0,842) and 5 scientific explanation test with essay questions (α Cronbach’s = 0,882). The answers of scientific explanations are categorized using SOLO Taxonomy and tested by Cohen Kappa. Data analysis using ANOVA, Post Hoc further test and effect size. Product moment correlation test is used to see the correlation between understanding concepts and scientific explanations. The results of the study show that the 3E learning cycle model has socioscientific issues contexts that are effective in improving students' understanding of concepts and scientific explanations. Correlation analysis between understanding concepts and scientific explanations has a positive correlation.</p><strong>Abstrak: </strong>Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui efektivitas model <em>learning cycle</em> 3E berkonteks <em>socioscientific issues</em> terhadap pemahaman konsep dan penjelasan ilmiah siswa kelas V pada muatan IPA. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan <em>quasy eksperimental </em>dengan <em>posttest only control group design</em>. Subjek penelitian adalah siswa kelas V di dua sekolah negeri kecamatan Kalipare, yaitu SDN A dan SDN B. Instrumen penelitian terdiri dari tes pemahaman konsep 20 soal pilihan ganda dan 5 soal <em>essay</em> tes penjelasan ilmiah. Jawaban penjelasan ilmiah dikategorikan menggunakan Taksonomi SOLO dan diuji <em>Cohen Kappa</em>. Analisis data menggunakan uji ANOVA, uji lanjut <em>Post Hoc,</em> dan <em>effect size</em>. Uji <em>korelasi product moment</em> digunakan untuk melihat hubungan antara pemahaman konsep dan penjelasan ilmiah. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa model <em>learning cycle</em> 3E berkonteks <em>socioscientific issues</em> efektif untuk meningkatkan pemahaman konsep dan penjelasan ilmiah siswa. Analisis korelasi antara pemahaman konsep dan penjelasan ilmiah memiliki hubungan positif.