Sammelbandbeitrag

Autorenliste: Lieber, L.; Graulich, N.

Erschienen in: Student Reasoning in Organic Chemistry

Herausgeberliste: Graulich, N.; Shultz, G.

Jahr der Veröffentlichung: 2023

Seiten: 110-124

ISBN: 978-1-83916-491-0

eISBN: 978-1-83916-778-2

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1039/9781839167782-00110

Serientitel: Advances in Chemistry Education Research

Serienzählung: 10

Abstract: 

In chemistry education research, the “product” of a reasoning process in terms of performance and outcome are more the centre of attention and less often how a reasoning “process” unfolds. Hammer et al. stated that how it happens is much more important than whether students apply knowledge from one reasoning context to another.¹  While determining students’ use of knowledge is important, for example, as part of diagnosing their learning and providing support for meaningful reasoning processes,²  epistemology, as the knowledge about the nature and epistemic justification of knowledge, is an inherent aspect of students’ reasoning processes as well. Focusing on students’ epistemologies helps us gain a deeper understanding of how knowledge is experienced and viewed by students.³  Epistemology refers to reflecting on beliefs about knowledge, but also reflecting on beliefs for strategies for solving problems and reasoning about those problems.⁴  Knowledge and epistemology are thus closely linked. On the one hand, an epistemic stance is expressed, for example, through various ways of considering the value and application of knowledge. On the other hand, acquiring knowledge in turn also invokes one’s reasoning about the nature of this knowledge.⁴  By explicitly looking at epistemology, it is also possible to elicit, among other things, the extent to which students are critical about statements, how they make judgments about claims, and how they justify them with evidence and reasoning.⁴  For this reason, looking at students’ reasoning processes, taking students’ epistemic stances into account, might be a way to view and characterize students’ approaches in problem-solving more holistically. Using such a process lens is also increasingly applied in chemistry education research. Rodriguez et al., for example, analyzed the problem-solving process of physical chemistry students and characterized their (un)productive features.⁵  Investigating students’ problem-solving process with a process-oriented lens gives additional power to the analysis of students’ answers because the use of (un)productive features is helpful to ascertain an individual’s problem-solving approach. Kelly et al. investigated the solving process of general chemistry students by applying Hammer and Elby’s resources framework and the epistemic stances.⁶  The goal of Kelly et al. was to characterize students’ understanding of the atomic level. What stands out in both studies is that incorporating students’ epistemologies in the analysis shifts the focus from the (in)correct use of conceptual knowledge towards how students’ approach and experience the knowledge pieces they have to use in the problem-solving process.

Harvard-Zitierstil: Lieber, L. and Graulich, N. (2023) Epistemic Stances in Action - Students’ Reasoning Process While Reflecting About Alternative Reaction Pathways in Organic Chemistry, in Graulich, N. and Shultz, G. (eds.) Student Reasoning in Organic Chemistry. Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry, pp. 110-124. https://doi.org/10.1039/9781839167782-00110

APA-Zitierstil: Lieber, L., & Graulich, N. (2023). Epistemic Stances in Action - Students’ Reasoning Process While Reflecting About Alternative Reaction Pathways in Organic Chemistry. In Graulich, N., & Shultz, G. (Eds.), Student Reasoning in Organic Chemistry (pp. 110-124). Royal Society of Chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1039/9781839167782-00110