Assessing epistemological beliefs of experts and novices via practices in authentic science inquiry

Abstract

Achieving science literacy requires learning disciplinary knowledge, science practices, and development of sophisticated epistemological beliefs about the nature of science and science knowledge. Although sophisticated epistemological beliefs about science are important for attaining science literacy, students’ beliefs are difficult to assess. Previous work suggested that students’ epistemological beliefs about science are best assessed in the context of engagement in science practices, such as argumentation or inquiry. In this paper, we propose a novel method for examining students’ epistemological beliefs about science situated in authentic science inquiry or their Epistemology in Authentic Science Inquiry (EASI). As a first step towards developing this assessment, we performed a novice/expert study to characterize practices within a simulated authentic science inquiry experience provided by Science Classroom Inquiry (SCI) simulations. Our analyses indicated that experts and novices, as defined by their experience with authentic science practices, had distinct practices in SCI simulations. For example, experts, as compared to novices, spent much of their investigations seeking outside information, which is consistent with novice/expert studies in engineering. We also observed that novice practices existed on a continuum, with some appearing more-or less expert-like. Furthermore, pre-test performance on established metrics of nature of science was predictive of practices within the simulation. Since performance on pre-test metrics of nature of science was predictive of practices, and since there were distinct expert or novice-like practices, it may be possible to use practices in simulated authentic science inquiry as a proxy for student’s epistemological beliefs. Given than novices existed on a continuum, this could facilitate the development of targeted science curriculum tailored to the needs of a particular group of students. This study indicates how educational technologies, such as simulated authentic science inquiry, can be harnessed to examine difficult to assess, but important, constructs such as epistemology.

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