Chapter 6, page 111
opposing
arguments
and/or
evidence
idea is most likely to be true
because, although there are
arguments for and against the
idea, the arguments for it are
stronger.against the Adkins diet and has concluded that it
would be dangerous to his long-term health to follow
that diet.
Ivana has listened to arguments for and against current
U.S. Middle East policy and has concluded that a
drastically different course is needed to enhance U.S.
security.
Sources: (Hammer & Elby, 2002; Hofer, 2000; Hofer & Pintrich, 2002):
Among the conceptions about justification in Table 6.7, one conception that appears to be
nonavailing is the conception that knowledge is justified based on authority. Students who take knowledge
to be based on authority seem to gain a more superficial understanding of what they are learning. The
process of deciding whether an idea makes sense based on one’s own knowledge and experiences may help
students understand new ideas more deeply, and it also encourages more active cognitive processing.
In contrast, the conception that knowledge should be justified based on evaluation of arguments
appears to be an availing conception about epistemology (Kuhn & Weinstock, 2002). Students who
believe that they should evaluate arguments on each side of a question are better prepared to learn the
complexities of real-world topics, many of which are controversial and have arguments on two or more
sides to consider.
Variation in Students’ Epistemological Conceptions. Students’ epistemological conceptions can
vary from subject to subject (Muis, Bendixen, & Haerle, 2006). A student may believe that knowledge of
mathematics is certain and based on authority, whereas scientific knowledge is uncertain and grounded in
empirical observations of scientists. Epistemological conceptions can also even vary from topic to topic
within the same subject (Louca, Elby, Hammer, & Kagey, 2004; Rosenberg, Hammer, & Phelan, 2006). A
history student may believe what she is taught about the Revolutionary War based on the authority of the
textbook and the teacher, but when the class discusses the Iraq War that began in 2003, she may insist on
evaluating arguments herself before deciding what is true.
Implications for Instruction [B—HEAD]
The central implication of research on students’ conceptions about learning and knowledge is that
teachers should encourage students to adopt availing conceptions and abandon unavailing conceptions.
For example, teachers should encourage the conceptions that learning takes time and that knowledge is
often complex and uncertain because these conceptions facilitate learning of many school topics. In later
chapters, we will learn many instructional techniques for promoting availing beliefs in the chapters on
motivation, promoting self-regulated learning, and inquiry environments.
One basic technique that teachers can use to promote more availing epistemological conceptions is
to straightforwardly direct students to different kinds of justifications. In one study by learning scientists
Seth Rosenberg, David Hammer, and Jessica Phelan, an eight-grade earth science teacher assigned
students to develop an explanation of the rock cycle. The teacher noticed that one group of students was
developing their explanation based on the textbook, but they had a poor understanding of what the
textbook said, and they were essentially copying ideas without understanding them. She encouraged them
to shift from a conception of justification based on the authority of the textbook to a justification based on
their own knowledge by saying, “You’re looking at a lot of papers and using a lot of words that you don’t
know what they mean.... And if you’re doing that, for your [explanation], it’s not going to be very good.
So, I want to start with what you know, not with what the paper says.” (Rosenberg et al., 2006, p. 272)
Although one student immediately responded, “Well, then we don’t know anything!” other students
started generated ideas that they did know—that lava comes out of volcanoes and hardens, that volcanoes
erupt and lava shoots out, that lava cools to become rock, and that wind and water can chip away at that