Teaching science at multiple space time scales
Communications of the ACM
Dynamic Memory: A Theory of Reminding and Learning in Computers and People
Dynamic Memory: A Theory of Reminding and Learning in Computers and People
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Promoting the ability to reason generatively about novel phenomena and problems students may encounter in their everyday lives is a major goal of science education. This goal proves to be a formidable challenge in domains, such as molecular genetics, for which the accumulated scientific understandings are daunting in both amount and complexity. To develop effective instruction that fosters generative reasoning we need to have a sound understanding of the types of knowledge in the domain that are critical for such reasoning. In this study I examined the ensemble of knowledge undergraduate students employed in explaining genetic phenomena and solving problems about them. I characterized two key knowledge types: domain-specific heuristics and domain-specific explanatory schemas that are crucial for understanding the dynamics and entities central to molecular genetics phenomena. I then developed a cognitive model that highlights the role of these powerful conceptual understandings in promoting generative reasoning in genetics.