This book is about imaginative approaches to teaching and learning school science. Its central premise is that science learning should reflect the nature of science, and therefore be approached as an imaginative/creative activity. As such, the book can be seen as an original contribution of ideas relating to imagination and creativity in science education.
The approaches discussed in the book are storytelling, the experience of wonder, the development of ‘romantic understanding’, and creative science, including science through visual art, poetry and dramatization. However, given the perennial problem of how to engage students (of all ages) in science, the notion of ‘aesthetic experience’, and hence the possibility for students to have more holistic and fulfilling learning experiences through the aforementioned imaginative approaches, is also discussed.
Each chapter provides an in-depth discussion of the theoretical background of a specific imaginative approach (e.g., storytelling, ‘wonder-full’ science), reviews the existing empirical evidence regarding its role in the learning process, and points out its implications for pedagogy and instructional practices. Examples from physical science illustrating its implementation in the classroom are also discussed.
In distinguishing between ‘participation in a science activity’ and ‘engagement with science ideas per se’, the book emphasizes the central role of imaginative engagement with science content knowledge, and thus the potential of the recommended imaginative approaches to attract students to the world of science.
Author(s): Yannis Hadzigeorgiou
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham
Year: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 283
City: Rhodes, Greece
xiii
Contents
1 Imaginative Thinking in Science and Science Education ...................... 1
1.1 Imagination and Its Role in Thinking ................................................. 3
1.2 Imagination and the Nature of Science .............................................. 8
1.3 Imagination and Science Learning ..................................................... 15
1.3.1 The Role of the Emotional Imagination .................................. 16
1.3.2 The Role of the Unfamiliar, the Strange,
the Paradoxical, and the Mysterious ....................................... 17
1.3.3 The Role of Thought Experiments .......................................... 23
1.3.4 Teaching and Learning Possibilities ....................................... 24
1.4 Concluding Comments: The Need for Engaging
the Imagination in Science Education ................................................ 31
2 Engagement and Aesthetic Experience in Science Education ............... 33
2.1 The Problem of Engaging Students in Science .................................. 35
2.2 Engagement Through Cognitive Disequilibrium ................................ 39
2.3 The Notion of Aesthetic Experience ................................................... 43
2.4 What the Research Shows .................................................................. 49
2.5 Implications for Science Education .................................................... 53
2.6 Concluding Comments: The Need for Aesthetic Approaches
to Teaching/Learning Science............................................................. 57
3 Teaching for Romantic Understanding ................................................... 59
3.1 The Notion of Romantic Science ....................................................... 61
3.2 The Notion of Romantic Understanding ............................................ 67
3.3 Romantic Understanding in Science Education ................................. 71
3.4 Fostering Romantic Understanding .................................................... 72
3.4.1 Humanization of Meaning ...................................................... 73
3.4.2 Associating with Heroic Elements and Qualities .................... 73
3.4.3 The Extremes of Reality and Human Experience ................... 74
3.4.4 A Sense of Wonder .................................................................. 75
3.4.5 Contesting of Conventional Ideas and All Kinds
of Conventions ........................................................................ 76 xiv
3.5 Evaluating Romantic Understanding .................................................. 77
3.6 What the Research Shows .................................................................. 79
3.7 Concluding Comments: The Need for a Romantic
Understanding of School Science ....................................................... 80
4 Narrative Thinking and Storytelling in Science Education .................. 83
4.1 Narrative Thinking .............................................................................. 84
4.2 Storytelling: A Tool for Understanding the World ............................. 89
4.3 Storytelling in Science Education ...................................................... 93
4.4 The Characteristics of a Science Story ............................................... 96
4.5 The Functions/Purposes of a Science Story ....................................... 100
4.5.1 Storytelling as a Means to Humanize
Scientifi c Knowledge .............................................................. 102
4.5.2 Storytelling for Introducing Ideas from the Nature
of Science ................................................................................ 104
4.5.3 Storytelling as a Means to Introduce Scientifi c Inquiry .......... 107
4.5.4 Storytelling as a Means for the Development
of Romantic Understanding .................................................... 111
4.5.5 Storytelling as a Means to Introduce
Thought Experiments .............................................................. 112
4.5.6 Storytelling as a Means for Raising
Environmental Awareness ....................................................... 114
4.6 Storytelling in Science Teacher Education ......................................... 115
4.7 What the Research Shows .................................................................. 116
4.8 Concluding Comments: The Need for Storytelling
in Science Education .......................................................................... 118
5 Creative Science Education ...................................................................... 121
5.1 The Notion of Creativity ..................................................................... 122
5.2 Creativity in Science ........................................................................... 124
5.3 Creativity in Science Education ......................................................... 128
5.4 What the Research Shows .................................................................. 132
5.5 Fostering Creativity in the Science Classroom ................................... 135
5.6 Concluding Comments: The Need for Creative
Thinking in Science Education ........................................................... 139
6 ‘Wonder-Full’ Science Education ............................................................ 143
6.1 The Nature of Wonder ........................................................................ 144
6.2 Wonder in Science .............................................................................. 151
6.3 Wonder in Science Education: What the Research Shows ................. 155
6.3.1 Wonder as a Prerequisite for Engaging
Students in School Science ..................................................... 157
6.3.2 Wonder as a Source of Students’ Questions ............................ 158
6.3.3 Wonder as a Prerequisite for Signifi cant Learning ................. 160
6.4 Implications for Science Education .................................................... 162
6.4.1 Wonder Is Evoked ................................................................... 163
Contentsxv
6.4.2 Wonder vs Fun ........................................................................ 165
6.4.3 The Centrality of Questions .................................................... 166
6.4.4 The Role of Language ............................................................. 169
6.4.5 The Role of Content Knowledge ............................................ 171
6.4.6 Emphasis on Phenomenological Approaches ......................... 171
6.5 Sources of Wonder in School Science:
Possibilities and Opportunities ........................................................... 174
6.5.1 The Ideas of Science ............................................................... 174
6.5.2 Everyday Ordinary, Familiar Objects and Phenomena ........... 176
6.5.3 Mysterious Situations and Phenomena ................................... 177
6.5.4 Spectacular/Terrible Phenomena............................................. 178
6.5.5 Unexpected Interconnections (of Phenomena,
Entities, Ideas, and Human Life) ............................................ 179
6.5.6 The Immensity/Vastness and Smallness
of Physical Reality .................................................................. 179
6.5.7 Amazing, Surprising, Incredible Facts
About Natural Entities and Phenomena .................................. 181
6.6 Concluding Comments: The Need for Wonder
in Science Education .......................................................................... 182
7 ‘Artistic’ Science Education ..................................................................... 185
7.1 The Shift from a Positivist/Inductivist Conception of Science .......... 186
7.2 The Relationship of Art and Science .................................................. 188
7.3 Aesthetics and Beauty in Science ....................................................... 191
7.4 Aesthetics and Beauty in Science Education ...................................... 193
7.5 The Pedagogical Importance of Art .................................................... 194
7.6 Teaching/Learning Possibilities .......................................................... 196
7.6.1 Visual Arts ............................................................................... 197
7.6.2 Drama/Role Play ..................................................................... 199
7.6.3 Music ....................................................................................... 203
7.6.4 Poetry ...................................................................................... 204
7.6.5 Integrating the Arts ................................................................. 206
7.7 What the Research Shows .................................................................. 207
7.8 Concluding Comments: The Need for Integrating
Art and Science ................................................................................... 214
Conclusion: Towards an ‘Imaginative Future’ of Science Education ........ 217
Appendices ....................................................................................................... 223
Appendix A ................................................................................................... 223
Appendix B ................................................................................................... 238
Appendix C ................................................................................................... 242
Appendix D ................................................................................................... 245
Appendix E ................................................................................................... 250
Appendix F .................................................................................................... 251
Contentsxvi
Appendix G ................................................................................................... 252
Appendix H ................................................................................................... 256
Appendix I .................................................................................................... 258
References ........................................................................................................ 259
Contents
