How Children Construct Understanding of Science

What is Understanding?

inert knowledge: learner lacks the connection and relationship of between ideas and cannot apply the knowledge into appropriate situations.

Instead of inert knowledge, students have to develop integrated, meaningful understanding.

Understanding is a function of knowledge accumulation and knowledge integration.

Four types of understanding:

1- Inert knowledge, disconnected, unusable fragments of knowledge

2- some accumulated knowledge, integrated

3- accumulated knowledge but little integration

4- accumulated knowledge and developed integrated understanding

Types of knowledge:

Content: central concepts, principles and theories . e.g. force - Newton's first law of motion

Procedural: is necessary to find solutions to problems, e.g. knowing how and when to control variables

Metacognitive: knowledge about cognition, awareness of one's own cognition:

• strategic knowledge: e.g knowing how to use search terms to find something on Google
• knowledge of cognitive tasks: e.g understanding that data analysis might include  transforming the data into a different representation
• self-knowledge: knowing one's own weaknesses and strength in learning

Models of Teaching

1- Transformational: supporting students to make sense of material, e.g Project-based science

2 -Receptional: transmitting info and students receiving it

Social Construction of Knowledge