About the Book
Conceptual change, how conceptual understanding is transformed, has been investigated extensively since the 1970s. The field has now grown into a multifaceted, interdisciplinary effort with strands of research in cognitive and developmental psychology, education, educational psychology, and the learning sciences. Converging Perspectives on Conceptual Change brings together an extensive team of expert contributors from around the world, and offers a unique examination of how distinct lines of inquiry can complement each other and have converged over time.
Amin and Levrini adopt a new approach to assembling the diverse research on conceptual change: the combination of short position pieces with extended synthesis chapters within each section, as well as an overall synthesis chapter at the end of the volume, provide a coherent and comprehensive perspective on conceptual change research.
Arranged over five parts, the book covers a number of topics including:
the nature of concepts and conceptual change
representation, language, and discourse in conceptual change
modeling, explanation, and argumentation in conceptual change
metacognition and epistemology in conceptual change
identity and conceptual change.
Throughout this wide-ranging volume, the editors present researchers and practitioners with a more internally consistent picture of conceptual change by exploring convergence and complementarity across perspectives. By mapping features of an emerging paradigm, they challenge newcomers and established scholars alike to embrace a more programmatic orientation towards conceptual change.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements
List of Contributors
Introduction T. G. Amin, O. Levrini
Part I: The Nature of Concepts and Conceptual Change B. Sherin Chapter 1: Knowledge in Pieces: An Evolving Framework for Understanding Knowing and Learning A. A. diSessa Chapter 2: Initial and Scientific Understandings and the Problem of Conceptual Change S. Vosniadou Chapter 3: Addressing Robust Misconceptions through the Ontological Distinction between Sequential and Emergent Processes J. B. Henderson, E. Langbeheim, M. T. H. Chi Chapter 4: Conceptual Change and the Complexity of Learning C. Lundholm Chapter 5: Conceptual Change, Relationships, and Cultural Epistemologies A. Marin, D. Medin, b ojalehto Chapter 6: Conceptual Change: A Cultural-Historical and Cognitive-Developmental Framework G. B. Saxe Part I Synthesis: Elements, Ensembles, and Dynamic Constructions B. Sherin Part II: Representation, Language and Discourse in Conceptual Change T. G. Amin Chapter 7: Conceptual Change and Symbol Use in Physics B. Sherin Chapter 8: The Language Paradox: Words Invite and Impede Conceptual Change S. A. Gelman, J. M. DeJesus Chapter 9: Gesture’s Role in Reflecting and Fostering Conceptual Change M. A. Novack, E. L. Congdon, E. M. Wakefield, S Goldin-Meadow Chapter 10: Implicit Conceptual Dynamics and Students’ Explanatory Model Development in Science D. E. Brown Chapter 11: Conceptual Change, Materiality and Hybrid minds R Säljö Chapter 12: Multiple Representations and Students’ Conceptual Change in Science D. F. Treagust, M. Won, F. McLure Part II Synthesis: Representation, Concepts and Concept Learning T. G. Amin Part III: Modeling, Explanation and Argumentation in Conceptual Change C. A. Chinn Chapter 13: Consolidation of Conceptual Change, Argumentation, Models and Explanations: Why it Matters for Science Education S. Erduran, E. Kaya, P. Seda Cetin Chapter 14: The Dynamic Material and Representational Practices of Modeling R. Lehrer, L. Schauble Chapter 15: Shifts in Epistemic Status in Argumentation and in Conceptual Change M. P. Jiménez-Aleixandre, P. Brocos Chapter 16: Conceptual Change through Argumentation: A Process of Dynamic Refinement L. Berland, R. Russ Chapter 17: Concept and Critique: Two Intertwined Routes for Intellectual Development in Science L. Viennot, N. Décamp Chapter 18: Evaluating Self-generated Explanations in the Process of Understanding S. Kapon Part III Synthesis: Modeling, Explanation, Argumentation, and Conceptual Change C. A. Chinn Part IV: Metacognition and Epistemology in Conceptual Change C. Smith, M. Wiser Chapter 19: Identifying the Role of Epistemic Cognition and Metacognition in Conceptual Change B. K. Hofer Chapter 20: Don’t Believe Everything You Think: Reappraising Judgments about Conceptions D. Lombardi, G. M. Sinatra Chapter 21: The Interacting Dynamics of Epistemology and Conceptual Understanding D. Hammer Chapter 22: Situating Practices of Epistemic Cognition W. A. Sandoval Chapter 23: Developing an Understanding of the Limits of Knowing F. C. Keil Part IV Synthesis: Conceptualizing the Interactions among Epistemic Thinking, Metacognition, and Content-Specific Conceptual Change C. L. Smith Part V: Identity and Conceptual Change M. Levin and O. Levrini Chapter 24: A Discursive Approach to Identity and Critical Transitions in Mathematics Learning E. Heyd-Metzuyanim Chapter 25: Identity and Knowledge A. A. diSessa Chapter 26: Personal, Deeply Affective, and Aesthetic Engagement with Science Content: When Disciplinary Learning Becomes a Vehicle for Identity Construction O. Levrini, M. Levin, P. Fantini Part V Synthesis: Unpacking the Nexus between Identity and Conceptual Change: Perspectives on an Emerging Research Agenda M. Levin, O. Levrini, J Greeno Overall Synthesis: Facing the Challenge of Programmatic Research on Conceptual Change T. G. Amin, O. Levrini
About the Author :
Tamer G. Amin is Associate Professor in the Department of Education, and Director of the Science and Mathematics Education Center at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
Olivia Levrini is Associate Professor in Physics Education and History of Physics at the University of Bologna, Italy.
