Making sense of making sense: A microgenetic multiple case study of five students’ developing conceptual compounds related to physics was a graduate project undertaken in the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge
(This was a follow-on project from Intuition and Integration: Insights from intuitive students.)
The research reported in this thesis arose from a comment made by a student who had achieved highly in examinations yet felt that science: ‘doesn’t make sense’. Different conceptualisations of learning are analysed leading to the development of the concept of making sense as the formation or modification of a conceptual compound in which concepts are related in a coherent causal system that may be transferred to novel situations. This definition is situated within a constructivist epistemology. The research question asks how students make sense of physics concepts in dynamics and electricity. Five 17-18 year-old students, conceptualised as a multiple case study, were selected from an English secondary school using purposeful sampling. The students were interviewed once a week for 22 weeks in sessions using a range of probes such as interviews about instances, concept maps and concept inventory questions. It is assumed that data collection occurred at a frequency that was high relative to the rate of conceptual change, hence, the work is conceptualised as microgenetic. The analysis focuses on the development of the students’: a) ontologies of concepts from concrete instances towards abstractions; b) conceptual structures from temporary organisations to more stable structures; c) understanding of causality from focused on macroscopic objects to abstract concepts; d) judgments of coherence; f) conceptual change modelled as an alteration in the ‘oftenness’ of application of a concept in a given context; and e) ability to apply concepts to novel contexts. The implications of these findings for teaching and future research are discussed.
Investigator: Dr Richard Brock
Richard Brock (Homerton College, Cambridge), now at King's College London
Richard Brock is a lecturer in science education at King’s College London (KCL). After working as a secondary physics teacher, Richard now lectures on the science PGCE and supervises MA and PhD research. His research focuses primarily on learning in science education, in particular the nature of understanding and the role tacit knowledge plays in learning science. His work with trainee teachers has spurred an interest in teacher wellbeing and he currently works with a team of researchers studying how policy related to teacher wellbeing has been enacted in schools and developing support for trainee teachers on the KCL PGCE courses.
Richard's Google Scholar listing
Richards institutional webpage at King's College London
Contact Richard: richard.brock@kcl.ac.uk
