“Sources of knowledge” for students entering a gateway science courseAhmed Ibrahim, McGill University, Montreal, CanadaCalvin Kalman, Concordia University, Montreal, CanadaMarina Milner-Bolotin, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

June 18th, 2013

Background

Epistemic beliefs

Justification of K

Sophistication of K

Certainty of K

Sources of K

Attainability of Truth

Epistemic Beliefs

Sources of knowledge

DeductiveIntrospective

Perceptual

Memorial Inductive

SourcesTestimony

Objective

‣ Identify students’ sources of knowledge

‣ Understand the nature of students’ sources of knowledge

Method

Sample Procedure Measures‣ 8 students‣ 1st year

‣ Interview‣ Theory-based coding

‣ Sources of knowledge‣ Sources of physics knowledge

Results

Results

‣ Recommendation # 1

‣ Assess students’ epistemologies

‣ Recommendation # 2

‣ Assess students’ ways of knowing (sources of knowledge)

‣ Recommendation # 3

‣ Use methods that promote conceptual understanding & sophisticated epistemological beliefs

‣ Recommendation # 4

‣ Use TEE tools that have been shown to promote students’ knowledge, and meta-knowledge

‣ Recommendation # 5

‣ Use assessment methods that evaluate epistemological beliefs

‣ Recommendation # 6

‣ Use learning environments that promote deep knowledge understanding

‣ Recommendation # 7

‣ Use authentic science activities to promote acquiring knowledge

‣ Recommendation # 8

‣ Online courses, and MOOCs should go beyond teaching content knowledge

‣ Recommendation # 9

‣ Use social learning tools that promote collaborative learning, and knowledge building

‣ Recommendation # 10

‣ Use evidence-based methods grounded in theory and research

Q&A

Thankyou