The central aim of science is to make sense of the world. To move forward as a community endeavor, sense-making must be systematic and focused. The question then is how do scientists actually experience the sense-making process? In this chapter we examine the “practice turn” in science studies and in particular how as a result of this turn scholars have come to realize that models are the “functional unit” of scientific thought and form the center of the reasoning/sense-making process. This chapter will explore a context-dependent view of models and modeling in science. From this analysis we present a framework for delineating the different aspects of model-based reasoning and describe how this view can be useful in educational settings. This framework highlights how modeling supports and focuses scientific practice on sense-making.
CITATION STYLE
Passmore, C., Gouvea, J. S., & Giere, R. (2014). Models in science and in learning science: Focusing scientifi c practice on sense-making. In International Handbook of Research in History, Philosophy and Science Teaching (pp. 1171–1202). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7654-8_36
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