NATO ASI Series Advanced Science Institutes Series AseriespresentingtheresultsofactivitiessponsoredbytheNATOScience Committee,whichaimsatthedisseminationofadvancedscientific andtechnological knowledge, withaviewtostrengtheninglinksbetweenscientific communities. TheSeriesispublishedbyaninternationalboard ofpublishersinconjunctionwith the NATOScientificAffairsDivision A LifeSciences PlenumPublishingCorporation B Physics London andNewYork C Mathematical and PhysicalSciences KluwerAcademicPublishers o Behaviouraland SocialSciences Dordrecht,BostonandLondon E Applied Sciences F Computerand Systems Sciences Springer-Verlag G Ecological Sciences BerlinHeidelbergNewYork H Cell Biology LondonParisTokyoHongKong I Global EnvironmentalChange BarcelonaBudapest PARTNERSHIPSUB-SERIES 1.DisarmamentTechnologies KluwerAcademicPublishers 2. Environment Springer-Verlag 3.HighTechnology KluwerAcademicPublishers 4.Science andTechnologyPolicy KluwerAcademicPublishers 5.Computer Networking KluwerAcademicPublishers ThePartnershipSub-Series incorporatesactivitiesundertaken incollaborationwith NATO'sCooperationPartners, thecountries oftheCISandCentralandEastern Europe,inPriorityAreas ofconcern tothosecountries. NATO-PCO OATABASE Theelectronicindextothe NATOASISeriesprovides fullbibliographical references (withkeywordsand/orabstracts) toabout 50000contributionsfrom international scientists published inallsectionsoftheNATOASISeries.Accessto theNATO-PCO DATABASEcompiledbythe NATOPublication CoordinationOfficeispossible intwo ways: -viaonlineFILE128(NATO-PCODATABASE)hosted byESRIN, ViaGalileoGalilei,1-00044Frascati,Italy. -viaCD-ROM "NATOScience&TechnologyDisk"withuser-friendlyretrievalsoftware wrv inEnglish,FrenchandGerman(© GmbHand DATAWARETechnologiesInc. 1992). TheCD-ROMcan beordered throughanymemberofthe Board ofPublishersor through NATO-PCO,Overijse,Belgium. Series F: Computerand Systems Sciences,Vol. 148 The NATO ASI Series FSpecial Programme on ADVANCED EDUCATIONALTECHNOLOGY This bookcontainsthe proceedingsofaNATOAdvanced Research Workshopheldwithinthe activitiesofthe NATOSpecialProgrammeon Advanced EducationalTechnology, runningfrom 1988 to 1993 under the auspicesofthe NATOScience Committee.Thebookspublishedsofarin the SpecialProgrammearelisted briefly,aswellasindetail togetherwith othervolumes inNATOASISeriesF,atthe end ofthis volume. Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York Barcelona Budapest HongKong London Milan Paris Santa Clara Singapore Tokyo Knowledge Acquisition, Organization, and Use in Biology Edited by Kathleen M. Fisher Centerfor Research in Mathematics and Science Education San Diego State University, 6476 Alvarado Road,Suite 206 San Diego, CA 92120-6006, USA Michael R. Kibby Centrefor Academic Practice, University of Strathclyde The Graham HillsBuilding, 60 George Street GlasgowG1 1QE,Scotland,UK Springer Publishedincooperation with NATOScientificAffairsDivision Proceedings ofthe NATOAdvanced ResearchWorkshop on Biology Knowledge:ItsAcquisition, Organization,and Use,heldinGlasgow, Scotland, June 14-18, 1992 LIbrary of Congress Cataloglng-In-Publlcatlon Data Knowledge acquisitIon, organizatIon, and use In bIology I edIted by Kathleen M. Fisher, MIchael R. Kibby. p. em. -- (NATO ASI series. SerIes F, Computer and system sciences : vol, 148) "ProceedIngs of the 'NATOAdvanced Research Workshop on Biology Knowledge: Its AcquIsitIon, OrganIzatIon, and Use. held In Glasgow. Scotland, June 14-18. 1992"--T.p. verso. ·Publlshed In cooperatIon wIth NATO ScientIfic Affairs DIvision." Includes biblIographIcal references and Index. ISBN 3-540-60415-4 (alk. paper) 1. Blology--Study and teachlng--Congresses. 2. Constructivism (Educatlonl--Congresses. I. FIsher, Kathleen M. II. KIbby, MIchael. III. North AtlantIC Treaty Organization. ScientIfic Affairs DivIsion. IV. NATO Advanced Research Workshop on BIology Knowledge: Its AcquisItIon. OrganizatIon. and Use (1992 : Glasgow. Scotland) V. SerIes: NATO ASI serIes. Series F, Computer and systems sciences : no. 148. OH315.K55 1995 574'.071--dc20 95-39014 CIP CR Subject Classification (1991): K.3, J,3 ISBN-13:978-3-642-64670-6 e-ISBN-13:978-3-642-61047-9 DOl:10.1007/978-3-642-61047-9 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.Allrlghtsarereserved.whetherthewholeorpartofthematerlalis concerned,specificallytherlghtsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseofillustrations.recitation,broadcast ing,reproductiononmicrofilmsorInanyotherway,andstorageIndatabanks.Duplicationofthis publicationorpartsthereofispermittedonlyundertheprovisionsoftheGermanCopyrightLawof September9,1965,inItscurrentverslon,andpermissionforusemustalwaysbeobtainedfrom Sprlnger-Verlag.ViolationsareliableforprosecutionundertheGermanCopyrightLaw. ©Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg1996 Softcoverreprintofthehardcoverlstedition1996 Typesetting:Camera-readybyeditors Printedonacid-freepaper SPIN:10486135 45/3142-543210 Preface Biology education,likescience education ingeneral, isinthemidst ofarevolution that is worldwide in scope.The changes occurring in the ways in which science education researchers think about learning and understanding seem to many to be exciting and profound.They represent nothing less than a major paradigm shift, similar at least in some ways to that wrought by the molecular revolution in biology. In both fields technology led the way into a whole new level of under standing.The molecular biology revolution grew out of (and provided a channel for) increasingly sophisticated means of detecting, visualizing, and manipulating subcellular structures and complex organic molecules. Likewise, the learning revolution is to a large extent a consequence of our increasingly sophisticated mechanisms forrepresenting, simulating, assessing, and interacting withcognitive processes and structures. As Francis Crick once said, the revolution allows us to askquestionsatalevel thatwaspreviously unimaginable. As with most revolutions, it is much easier to see where we have been than where we maybe going. The prevailing new theories reside largely under the umbrella of constructivism. Many science educationresearchers today agree with certain basic premises ofconstructivism, such as: • cognitiveknowledge must becreated bythelearner, asopposed tobeing passively received, • new ideasareunderstood through theirconnections topriorknowledge, • knowledge constructioniseffortful, • knowledge constructionisenhanced bypractice, introspection, explicit analysis, and metacognitiveskills, • newideas arebestcreated inrelevantcontexts, • our understandingof theworldisinformed bytheaccumulatedartifacts of ourcultures andinthissense cognition isdistributed, • social interactions form animportant mechanism intheknowledge constructionprocess, • ourmodel ofthe worldcan neverbemorethananapproximationofreality (that is,there isno 'truth' inscience), and • useful knowledge isorganized andcanbereadily applied inparticular situations, asopposed totheinertknowledge promoted bytextsandteaching methods oftherecentpast. VI Preface One of the problems researchers face is that the term constructivism is used to describe theories in at least three interrelated but nonetheless distinct domains. First,constructivismisatheoryoflearningembodying manyideasfromcognitive, motivation/affect, and social theory. This is the brand of constructivism that constitutes the major focus of this book. Second, constructivism is a theory of knowledge - that is, an epistemology.This strand of constructivism also receives some attention here. Third, constructivism describes a philosophy which in its extreme form is called radical constructivism. There is almost no discussion of philosophy in this volume. The one direct philosophical reference, by Honey, refers toanolder,alternative theory.Interestingly, one thingthatconstructivismis not is a theory of teaching. Yet it has many implications for instruction, some of whichareexplored inthefollowingchapters. The papers in this book come from researchers working in many different countries. Inmanycases theydidn'tknowoneanotheroroneanother's workprior tomeeting inScotland. Yetthere isanamazing (tousatleast)degree ofcontinuity and complementarity in the ideas and data they present. From Rome to Toronto, from Baton Rouge to Hamburg, from early elementary grades tocollege, biology education researchers are devising ways to get students actively engaged in such activities as: • explicating personal knowledge, • struggling tomakesenseofphenomena,structures,andevents (i.e.,developing one'sownsituation models), • askingquestions (whatdoIneedtoknowtounderstand...?), • engaging incollaborative problem-based research tofindandevaluate answers, • developing skeletal representationsandorganizational frameworks oftheir emerging ideas,and • applyingideasinnewcontexts. Researchers consistently involve students in building upon what they already know, with the aim of developing relatively deep conceptual understanding of biological processes andevents. The reader will find the following chapters variable in terms of style and perspective.This isacollection ofpapers, notacontinuous story. Authors include physics educators and psychologists as well as biology educators.Some chapters present research data whileothersaremoretheoretical. Yeteachchapter presents a piece of the puzzle of how to produce deep conceptual understanding of biology. We can only hope thereader finds some ofthis information useful andenjoys the challenge ofthepuzzle. The major themes of thebook are summarized inFigure 1.The organization of chapters within these themes is shown on page VIII. This organization is some whatarbitrary since manychapters could beplaced inmorethanonecategory, but someorganization isrequired andthisisours. Preface VII Culture. Society Living World Conceptual Understanding of Informal Learning Biology Settings Formal Learning Settings Sourcesof Activities, Goal, Information Procedures Outcome Figure 1. Facetsofknowledgeconstructioninbiology We think we can speak for all participants inexpressing our enjoyment of the conference in Scotland. We are grateful to NATO for making the sharing of this work possible, and to the University ofStrathclyde inGlasgow forthe impeccable accommodations so conducive to open discussions. We are also grateful to the Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education for their unwavering supportinbringing thiscollection topress. November 1995 Kathleen M.Fisher Michael R.Kibby Chapter Organization Theme Chapter Author(s) 1.OverviewofBiologyKnowledge 1. Jimenezetal. II.KnowledgeAcquisition Fromimages 2. Wandersee Fromtext 3. Otero Fromtext,elementary/middleclasses 4. Scardemalia Inelementary/middleclasses 5. Jimenez 6. Brinkman 7. Area 8. Caravita Insecondary/collegeclasses 9. Buddingh 10. Gorodetsky&Fisher III.KnowledgeOrganization Modelofconceptgenesis II. Schaefer Conceptsandrelations 12. Brody Natureofrelations 13. Faletti&Fisher Conceptualgraphstructures 14. Gordon IV.KnowledgeUse Mentalmodels 15. Honey Retrospectivecausalreasoning 16. Tamir Table ofContents 1. The NatureofKnowledgeinBiologyandItsImplicationsfor Teaching andLearning . Maria PilarJimenez Aleixandre, Ruth Amir, MichaelJ. Brody, Pinchas Tamir, and Warren Tomkiewicz 2. TheGraphicRepresentationofBiologicalKnowledge: IntegratingWords andImages 25 .JamesH. Wandersee 3. ComponentsofComprehensionMonitoringinthe Acquisition of Knowledge from Science Texts 36 JoseOtero 4. ConstructiveLearning fromTextsinBiology............. 44 Marlene Scardamalia, Carl Bereiter, Jim Hewitt,and Jim Webb 5. DarwinianandLamarckianModelsUsedbyStudents andTheir Representation 65 Maria PilarJimenezAleixandre 6. FoodRelationsofLivingOrganismsasaBasisfortheDevelopment ofaTeachingStrategyDirectedtoConceptualChange 78 Fred G. Brinkman 7. Cognitive Strategies in Biological Thinking 99 Maria Arca 8. OrganizingtheConcept ofOrganismattheElementarySchoolLevel: ACaseStudy 108 Silvia Caravita 9. WorkingwithPersonalKnowledgeinBiologyClassroomsonthe Theme ofRegulation andHomeostasisinLivingSystems 126 Joop Buddingh X TableofContents 10. Generating Connections and Learning in Biology 135 Malka GorodetskyandKathleen M. Fisher II. A Folding Model ofConceptGenesis and ItsApplicationto Teaching Biology . 155 GerhardSchaefer 12. Biological Interrelationships and Water 170 MichaelJ. Brody 13. The Information in Relations in Biology, or The UnexaminedRelation IsNotWorth Having 182 Joseph Faletti andKathleenM. Fisher 14. Eliciting and Representing Biology Knowledge with Conceptual Graph Structures 206 Sallie E. Gordon 15. Biological Models: Some Significant Features 226 John N. Honey 16. RetrospectiveCasual Reasoning (RCR) inBiology ........ 235 Pinchas Tamir SubjectIndex 240