Children's Informal Ideas in Science

P. J. Black, A. M. Lucas

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2002
• eBook ISBN: 9781134987450
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

The ideas that children have about science concepts have for the past decade been the subject of a wealth of international research. But while the area has been strong in terms of data, it has suffered from a lack of theory.
Children's Informal Ideas in Science addresses the question of whether children's ideas about science can be explained in a single theoretical framework. Twelve different approaches combine to tackle this central issue, each taking a deliberately critical standpoint. The contributors address such themes as values in research, the social construction of knowledge and the work of Piaget in a rich contribution to the debate without claiming finally to resolve it. The authors conclude with a discussion of how a theory can be built up, along with suggestions for ways ahead in the research.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Figures
• Tables
• Contributors
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Four Frames for a Field
• Chapter 2: The Relevance of Piaget to Research into Children’s Conceptions
• Chapter 3 Minitheories: A Preliminary Model for Learning Science
• Chapter 4 An Alternative Conception: Representing Representations
• Chapter 5: The Social Construction of Children’s Scientific Knowledge
• Chapter 6: A View of ‘Understanding’
• Chapter 7: A Common-Sense Theory of Motion
• Chapter 8: Constructing Knowledge from Fragments of Learning?
• Chapter 9 Vernacular Science: Something to Rely on in your Actions?
• Chapter 10: Schematic Representation in Optics
• Chapter 11: The Interplay of Values and Research in Science Education
• Chapter 12: How can we Specify Concepts for Primary Science?
• Chapter 13: Ways Ahead?