Tool 1: Concepts
What are we talking about here?
In thinking about the learner’s existing knowledge in terms of concepts ((This perspective comes from cognitive science. Much science education research in this area builds on the studies of Piaget, and this is sometimes referred to as a ‘constructivist’ theory of learning we are putting forward an idea of mental structures in someone’s head.The aim of teaching and learning is to change these mental structures, hence the term ‘conceptual change’.
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What does this mean for engineering education?
Most of the research on concepts and conceptual change has been in the natural science disciplines of physics and chemistry, some of this work with university students. Given that these are the disciplines which form part of the foundation for engineering studies, there is much here that can be applied directly to engineering education. For example, the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) is a test which can be administered to students both before and after instruction to determine to what extent conceptual change has taken place.
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In what ways might this be a useful thinking tool?
The focus on students’ concepts both before and after instruction was a major step forward in education theory – rather than simply stating that a student ‘got it wrong’, one started to take an active interest in the wrong answers.This has proved to be a very productive angle both for research and also for teaching. Teaching which elicits students’ prior conceptions means that instruction can be focused directly on what students are struggling with.
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Show me an example
In the context of new requirements for engineers to ‘understand’ sustainability (this was based on the latest accreditation requirements from the Institution of Engineers in Australia, in particular a requirement similar to statement E-3 in UK-SPEC), Anna Carew and Cynthia Mitchell set out to investigate the understanding of a group of third year engineering students who had just completed a module on sustainable development.
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Where can I read further to learn more about this tool?
As noted above, research into students’ conceptions and conceptual change has been very prominent in science education research. John Leach and Phil Scott represent the research group at the University of Leeds which led much of this research. In this 2003 paper they provide a very helpful mapping out of the territory, summarising the work of key scholars in the area.This paper covers both ‘individual’ perspectives on learning, which focus on the theory outlined in this ‘thinking tool’, and ‘sociocultural’ perspectives which will be dealt with in tools 4-6. Because the aim of their paper is to argue for the necessity of combining these perspectives they include critiques of work that focus only on individual conceptual change. However they also point out salient theoretical positions in this area and they do argue for the value of this work.
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