Promoting the Multidimensional Character of Scientific Reasoning

This study reports part of a long-term program to help students improve scientific reasoning using higher-order cognitive tasks set in the discipline of cell biology. This skill was assessed using problems requiring the construction of valid conclusions drawn from authentic research data. We report...

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Autores principales:	William S. Bradshaw, Jennifer Nelson, Byron J. Adams, John D. Bell
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2017
Materias:	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/ea2b8b866c0148b08a760587879d3df3
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:ea2b8b866c0148b08a760587879d3df32021-11-15T15:04:11ZPromoting the Multidimensional Character of Scientific Reasoning10.1128/jmbe.v18i1.12721935-78851935-7877https://doaj.org/article/ea2b8b866c0148b08a760587879d3df32017-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jmbe.v18i1.1272https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7877https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7885This study reports part of a long-term program to help students improve scientific reasoning using higher-order cognitive tasks set in the discipline of cell biology. This skill was assessed using problems requiring the construction of valid conclusions drawn from authentic research data. We report here efforts to confirm the hypothesis that data interpretation is a complex, multifaceted exercise. Confirmation was obtained using a statistical treatment showing that various such problems rank students differently—each contains a unique set of cognitive challenges. Additional analyses of performance results have allowed us to demonstrate that individuals differ in their capacity to navigate five independent generic elements that constitute successful data interpretation: biological context, connection to course concepts, experimental protocols, data inference, and integration of isolated experimental observations into a coherent model. We offer these aspects of scientific thinking as a “data analysis skills inventory,” along with usable sample problems that illustrate each element. Additionally, we show that this kind of reasoning is rigorous in that it is difficult for most novice students, who are unable to intuitively implement strategies for improving these skills. Instructors armed with knowledge of the specific challenges presented by different types of problems can provide specific helpful feedback during formative practice. The use of this instructional model is most likely to require changes in traditional classroom instruction.William S. BradshawJennifer NelsonByron J. AdamsJohn D. BellAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691Biology (General)QH301-705.5ENJournal of Microbiology & Biology Education, Vol 18, Iss 1 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5
spellingShingle	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 William S. Bradshaw Jennifer Nelson Byron J. Adams John D. Bell Promoting the Multidimensional Character of Scientific Reasoning
description	This study reports part of a long-term program to help students improve scientific reasoning using higher-order cognitive tasks set in the discipline of cell biology. This skill was assessed using problems requiring the construction of valid conclusions drawn from authentic research data. We report here efforts to confirm the hypothesis that data interpretation is a complex, multifaceted exercise. Confirmation was obtained using a statistical treatment showing that various such problems rank students differently—each contains a unique set of cognitive challenges. Additional analyses of performance results have allowed us to demonstrate that individuals differ in their capacity to navigate five independent generic elements that constitute successful data interpretation: biological context, connection to course concepts, experimental protocols, data inference, and integration of isolated experimental observations into a coherent model. We offer these aspects of scientific thinking as a “data analysis skills inventory,” along with usable sample problems that illustrate each element. Additionally, we show that this kind of reasoning is rigorous in that it is difficult for most novice students, who are unable to intuitively implement strategies for improving these skills. Instructors armed with knowledge of the specific challenges presented by different types of problems can provide specific helpful feedback during formative practice. The use of this instructional model is most likely to require changes in traditional classroom instruction.
format	article
author	William S. Bradshaw Jennifer Nelson Byron J. Adams John D. Bell
author_facet	William S. Bradshaw Jennifer Nelson Byron J. Adams John D. Bell
author_sort	William S. Bradshaw
title	Promoting the Multidimensional Character of Scientific Reasoning
title_short	Promoting the Multidimensional Character of Scientific Reasoning
title_full	Promoting the Multidimensional Character of Scientific Reasoning
title_fullStr	Promoting the Multidimensional Character of Scientific Reasoning
title_full_unstemmed	Promoting the Multidimensional Character of Scientific Reasoning
title_sort	promoting the multidimensional character of scientific reasoning
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/ea2b8b866c0148b08a760587879d3df3
work_keys_str_mv	AT williamsbradshaw promotingthemultidimensionalcharacterofscientificreasoning AT jennifernelson promotingthemultidimensionalcharacterofscientificreasoning AT byronjadams promotingthemultidimensionalcharacterofscientificreasoning AT johndbell promotingthemultidimensionalcharacterofscientificreasoning
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Promoting the Multidimensional Character of Scientific Reasoning

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