Revisiting cognitive conflict, construction, and metacognition, and discovering metaconstructivism

Abstract

Constructivist views have been the dominating epistemological orientations shaping research on learning science over the past two decades. Whereas radical constructivist perspectives as developed, for instance, by Ernst von Glasersfeld significantly influenced the development of conceptual change approaches in the 80s and early 90s more recently there are strong tendencies towards more inclusive views. These comprise the major issues of radical constructivism on the one hand and social-constructivist and social-cultural views on the other that have become increasingly prominent over the 90s. Clearly, fundamental critiques on radical constructivism (see the contributions in the volume by Matthews, 1998) have substantially contributed to these developments. The four papers presented in this symposium address the issue of "constructivism and learning science" from various perspectives. It appears that this symposium provides a valuable theoretical background for the poster sessions on "Research on students' conceptions and conceptual change" which follow the symposium. Gaalen Erickson will present a retrospective review and analysis of research on science learning conducted in the past two decades in the domain of "students' conceptions of science". Philip Adey focuses on the theoretical framework of the CASE (Cognitive acceleration through science education) project in the UK which is substantially based on Piagetian ideas. He will critically analyse this orientation, for instance, from a Vygotskian perspective. He thinks that "metaconstructicism" could be a term indicating ways out of limitations of "middle of the road" constructivism which still dominates so many studies on learning science. The following two papers address the issue of further developing the theoretical underpinnings of conceptual change which has become the term indicating constructivist instructional settings. Stefan von Aufschnaiter outlines a research program at the Institute for Physics Education of the University of Bremen (Germany). The key idea of this approach is to view learning, and hence conceptual change, as a process of increasing complexity. Reinders Duit takes, in a certain way, a broader perspective in discussing tendencies in research on learning science towards inclusive views (or multi-perspective views) of conceptual change.