A Possible Theoretical Motivation for Inquiry Type Learning and

Primary Science?

Sven-Olof Holmgren Zlatibor, Serbia 2005-6-13

What is Science?

Knowledge and research about the material world!

What is not Science?Are there immaterial objects?

Yes of course!” eg. Music!

Eternal questions:

What? How? Why?

astronomy physicschemistrybiology...technology...

humanities,social science ...

Inventions

Why?

What?

How?

desire, might, consciousness, religion,values, politics, art, values …

matter

forces

Science methods

Democracy

Eternal questions Answers

Central in empirical Science methodology

Nobody, so far , has been able to describe or formalize the theory building process!

Fits!

Start from a theory

Deduce consequences

Perform experimentsand observations

Does not fit!

Revise the theory

Ded

ucti

on

Indu

ctio

n

How does a human conscious and brain start to work?

• The eternal questions– How do children do it?

• The theory-theory!

QuickTime™ and aDV - PAL decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Conclusions:

• Children develop, themselves, with the help of adults, an intuitive “theory” of the material world and …

• communication skills both socially and with spoken language

”From an evolutionary point of view we might suggest that explanations is to cognition as orgasm (or at least the male orgasm) is to reproduction.”

From ”Words Thoughts and Theories”by Alison Gopnick och Andrew N. Meltzoff, p38

It seems … “we were designed with a theorizing drive and that explanation is a symptom o f that drive in action.”

“Adult scientists take advantage of the natural human capacities that let children learn so much so quickly.”

“It’s not that children are little scientists but that scientists are big children.”

From ”THE SCIENTIST IN THE CRIB”by Alison Gopnik, Andrew N. Meltzoff och Patricia K. Kuhl, p9.

Some Science history

• When did we, homo sapiens sapiens appear?– About 150 000 years ago

• When was the Science methodology invented?– The Greeks made a big contribution… – Continuation (and completion) came 2000 years

later during the renaissance, about 1540-1670

Theorycentre?

150 000 years ago

Why did it take 149 600 years for adults to invent themethods we all use as new born kids?

So, how do adult scientists do?

• Like children but with …

• instruments,

• mathematics and

• intentional methods!

Scientific instruments extend the natural senses

• Sometimes we get cheated by our senses!

• Science is often contra intuitive!

• Increased extension of observation

• Increased precision

• Absolute measurements - units

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are needed to see this picture.

Try to count the number of times the balls are bouncing on the floor!

Did you see the gorilla?

Scientific instruments extend the natural senses

• Sometimes we get cheated by our senses!

• Science is often contra intuitive!

• Increased extension of observation

• Increased precision

• Absolute measurements - units

Scientific instruments extend the natural senses

• Sometimes we get cheated by our senses!

• Science is often contra intuitive!

• Increased extension of observation

• Increased precision

• Absolute measurements - units

Eye, microscope, accelerator, CERN

• An accelerator can be conceived as a gigantic microscope– In quantum mechanics all articles are associated

with a wave– The wave length is inversely proportional to the

particle energy– The higher the energy of the particle the

smaller is the object that can be “seen”

So, what have we learnt about fundamental matter and forces?

• After 50 years of Particle Physics we know quite a lot:– The Standard Model– Higgs-mechanism (no Higgs-particle yet

though!)

• But ...

Quantum mechanics Chemistry

Explains the periodic system (atoms)Great progress in the period 1924-1950!

Quantum field theory

Explains the new table of fundamental particles and forces(quarks, leptons and field particles)

Great progress during last three decades!

SubatomicParticle Physics

New ‘Periodic’ TableAnswer to Chemistry: Microsoft PowerPoint

Presentation

Standard Model of

Table representsremarkable progress in fundamentalparticle physics

Quarks - subatomic length scale today is about 10-18 meter ie 0, 000 000 000 000 000 001 meter

Universe - has a size about 13.7 billion light years = 1023 meter, ie ca 100 000 000 000 000 000 000 meter

Man - length scale is about 1 meter

Particles, the origin of the universe and its development

Big - bang cosmology together with the Standard Model provide tools to describe the origin of the universe:

Is there more?

Andromeda galaxy

COBE-satelite1992

WMAP-sateliteFebruari 2003

Total Energy of the Universe :

Normal matter - atoms ~ 4 %

Dark matter (unknown origin) ~ 23 %

Dark energy (unknown origin) ~ 73 %

Waiting for Particle Physics explanation!

How will we understand what is missing?

•New experiments and instruments!

Challenging goal in compulsory school:

“all students should achieve scientific literacy”

•Start early in school - Primary Science!

•Work with experiments - Inquiry!

How?

The term inquiry can be used in two ways,

1. The abilities students should develop to be able to design and conduct scientific investigations and the understanding they should gain about scientific inquiry

2. The teaching and learning strategies that enable scientific concepts to be mastered through investigations.

Inquiry type education is drawing connections between learning science, learning to do science and learning about science.

Two kinds of learning?Alison Gopnik, NYT, Jan 16, 2005

• Inquiry type learning (and coaching) seems to be engraved in our genes by evolution. Call that discovery learning

• Reading, writing and math are late inventions on an evolutionary time scale. Too late in order to have changed our biology.

• Reading, writing and formal math have to be taught and trained in order to be mastered. Call that mastery learning

Two kinds of learning? cont …

• General mastering of reading, writing and math is necessary to control a modern society. Hence today virtually all organised countries have compulsory school.

• Mastery learning is dull in itself and needs motivation. Look at sports and games!

Compulsory school

• Practical professions were (some still are) learned and taught in direct apprenticeship between a master and one or a few learners in a craft-guild

• This organisation takes full advantage of our naturally engraved skills to imitate and also to coach a learner in close contact

• This organisation is unfortunately not practical in compulsory school which implies mass education

Compulsory school cont …

• However, for reading, writing and math in primary school the teacher is always a “natural master”, even if best practice has to be learnt

• For science in primary school none of those necessary conditions for “apprentice learning” can easily be achieved in practice

• Fortunately enough skills for scientific type “discovery learning” seem to be naturally engraved in all of us by evolution

Conclusions

• Enquiry type education is a way to exploit these natural skills and support both students and teachers to achieve discovery learning

• Enquiry can then also contribute to the motivation and practice for mastery learning of reading, writing and math.

“One of the only two articles that remain in my creed of life is that the future of our civilization depends upon the widening spread, and deepening hold, of the scientific habit of mind; and that the problem in our education is therefore to discover how to mature and make effective this scientific habit”

John Dewey, more than hundred years ago!