IHPST
Newsletter, November 2004
1 Eighth IHPST Group International Conference,
July 15-18 2005
The eighth conference of the International History, Philosophy and Science Teaching Group will be held in Leeds, England, July 15-18, 2005. The conference is being held in conjunction with the British History of Science Society conference. Sessions of both conferences will be available to participants, and there will be some shared social events.
Invited speakers include:
Professor Harry Collins, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Cardiff, will be one of the plenary speakers. He is the author of numerous papers in Science Studies and Science Communications. Recently he co-edited The One Culture?: A Conversation about Science (University of Chicago Press).
Dr Meera Nanda. She obtained her first PhD in microbiology in India, where she also worked as a science journalist. Subsequently she moved to the United States and obtained her second PhD in science and technology studies at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Her most recent book is Prophets Facing Backward: Postmodern Critiques of Science and Hindu Nationalism in India (Rutgers University Press, (2003).
Professor Peter Bowler will present the Presidential Address at the BHSS conference, and this is scheduled as a joint session between the two conferences. He is the author of a large number of books and articles on the history of biological science and its interactions with society and culture. His books include: Reconciling Science and Religion: The Debate in Early-Twentieth-Century Britain (University of Chicago Press, 2001); Life’s Splenid Drama: Evolutionary Biology and the Reconstruction of Life’s Ancestry 1860-1940 (University of Chicago Press, 1996); Darwinism (Macmillan 1993); Evolution: The History of an Idea (University of California Press, 1984).
Deadline for submission of 500 word Abstracts is the end of January 2005 (email to: ihpst2005@blueyonder.co.uk).
Registration fee will be approximately USD220.
University College accommodation will be about USD65 per day, or USD45 with shared facilities. Local hotels can also be booked at a reduced rate.
Details about conference can be found at web site: www.ihpst2005.leeds.ac.uk/
The conference chair is John Osborne of King’s College London; the conference secretary is Mick Nott. The organizing committee includes Jim Donnelly (Education, Leeds), Graeme Gooday (Philosophy, Leeds) and Rick Duschl (Education, Rutgers).
Among expected participants are:
Arthur Stinner, Education, University of Manitoba, Canada
Cassandra Pinnick, Philosophy, Western Kentucky University, USA
Gürol Irzik, Philosophy, Bogazici University, Turkey
Stephen Norris, Education, University of Alberta, Canada
Thomas Uebel, Philosophy, University of Manchester, UK
William McComas, Education, University of Southern California, USA
Antonio Moreno Gonzales, Education, Universidad Compluteuse, Spain
Sibel Erduran, Education, University of Bristol, UK
Fritz Kubli, Institute of Behavioral Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Switzland
Kevin de Berg, Chemistry, Avondale College, Australia
Robert Carson, Education, Montana State University, USA
Larry Bencze, Education, University of Toronto, Canada
Mansoor Niaz, Chemistry, Universidad de Oriente, Venezuela
Peter Heering, Physics, University of Oldenburg, Germany
Robert Nola, Philosophy, University of Auckland, New Zealand
William Brewer, Psychology, University of Illinois, USA
To be put on the conference email list, email: ihpst2005@blueyonder.co.uk.
2 Science
& Education Volume
13 No.6 October 2004
Volume 13 No.6 of the journal Science & Education has recently been published.
CONTENTS
PETER DAVSON-GALLE / Philosophy of Science, Critical Thinking and Science Education
RENATA-MARIA MARROUM / The Role of Insight in Science Education: An Introduction to the Cognitional Theory of Bernard Lonergan
KEITH ROSCOE / Lonergan’s Theory of Cognition, Constructivism and Science Education
MIKE U. SMITH & HARVEY SIEGEL / Knowing, Believing and Understanding: The Goals of Science Education
DISCUSSION
WILLIAM COBERN / Apples and Oranges: A Rejoinder to Smith and Siegel
PETER DAVSON-GALLE / 'Knowledge', 'Belief' and 'Understanding': A Rejoinder to Smith and Siegel
ANTON E. LAWSON / A Reply to Allchin’s ‘Pseudohistory and Pseudoscience’
Journal subscription is USD80 (1 year), USD150 (2 years), or USD210 (3 years). Journal subscriptions can be made at the IHPST web site (www.ihpst.org), or by sending cheque or email details to the IHPST Secretary at the mail or email address below.
The subscription rate is halved for students, and scholars in Latin America, Africa and former Eastern Bloc countries. These subscriptions are subsidized from IHPST group funds.
3 Science &
Education Special
Issues: Prospective Theme Topics
The journal Science & Education has over the years published a number of thematic issues. Some of these have been overprinted by the publishers and made available as separate publications.
Four more Special Issues are planned, and contributions are invited. Manuscripts are reviewed in the normal manner (usually three reviewers). Authors can contact the guest editors listed below, or the journal editor, for further details.
‘Women, Science Education, & Feminist Theory: An Appraisal’, (Cassandra Pinnick (ed.) email: cassandra.pinnick@wku.edu ) 1st June 2005
‘The Nature of Science: Identifying, Teaching and Assessing NOS’ (Joanne Olson & Michael Clough (eds.) emails: jkolson@iastate.edu, mclough@iastate.edu ) 1st July 2005
‘Thought Experiments in Science and in Science Education’, (Miriam Reiner (ed.) email: miriamr@stanford.edu ) 1st August 2005
‘The Centenary of Relativity Theory: Historical, Philosophical and Pedagogical Reflections’ (Fabio Bevilacqua (ed.) email: bevilacqua@fisicavolta.unipv.it ) 1st November 2005
4 7th
IHPST Conference Proceedings (Winnipeg July 2003)
Proceedings of the 7th IHPST Conference (Don Metz, editor) are now available on CD. The disc contains 80 papers, 970 pages, an author index and a paper table of contents. Adobe Acrobat 6.0 is included which can be used as a search facility.
Cost is USD10, air mail included. Orders can be placed at the ‘Publications for Sale’ section of this Newsletter.
5 Chemical Heritage
Foundation
The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) based in Philadelphia publishes a newsmagazine four times a year. They also have a publications catalogue, a significant oral collection of interviews with famous scientists, and a collection of historical works in their library. Their website is:
The Joseph Priestley Symposium was held in August at CHF and the Joseph Priestley exhibit will be on display till July 2005. Some details are on page 34 of the newsletter volume 22, number 2, summer 2004
Additionally, the following two journals concentrate on the philosophy of chemistry:
Foundations of Chemistry, published by Springer
HYLE, online journal available on www.hyle.org
6 Conferences
November 18-21, 2004. HSS/PSA, Joint History of Science Society & Philosophy of Science Association (USA) Conference, Austin Texas. Information at: www.hssonline.org/meeting/
December 13-17, 2004. International Conference on Science, Technology and Mathematics Education, Goa, India. Tata Research Institute, Mubai. Details at: http://www.hbcse.tifr.res.in/episteme
March 18-21, 2005. PES, Philosophy of Education Society (USA), San Francisco. Details at: http://cuip.net/pes/
March 31-April 3, 2005. NSTA, National Science Teachers Association (USA), Dallas Texas
April 4-7, 2005. NARST, National Association for Research in Science Teaching (USA), Dallas Texas. Information at: www.nsta.org
April 11-15, 2005. AERA, American Education Research Association, Montreal. Details at: www.aera.net
July 15-18, 2005. IHPST, International History, Philosophy and Science Teaching Group conference, Leeds, England. Details at www.ihpst.org
7 Book
Notes
Grygier, P., Günther, J. & Kircher, E. (eds.): 2004, Über Naturwissenschaften lernen. Vermittlung von Wissenschaftsverständnis in der Grundschule, Baltmannsweiler, Schneider Verlag Hohengehren
The book emerged from the project "Understanding the nature of science in elementary schools", involved in the research focus of the German Research Foundation (DFG) "Bildungsqualität von Schule" (educational quality of school), that has been carried out in Germany since 2000. The results of the studies (in pre-posttest design in a training and a control group of 4th graders, which has been repeated three times since the beginning of the project) show that even primary school students are able to acquire knowledge about science and the nature of science. The book aims to provide descriptions of class instructions and instruction materials to the hand of elementary school teachers, preservice teachers and teacher trainers. All examples display a strong emphasis on metatheoretical reflections. The didactical, psychological and epistemological basis of the approach is explained.
[Dietmar Höttecke, email: dietmar.hoettecke@uni-oldenburg.de]
Hößle, C., Höttecke, D. & Kircher, E. (eds.): 2004, Lehren und Lernen über die Natur der Naturwissenschaften - Wissenschaftspropädeutik für die Lehrerbildung und die Schulpraxis, Baltmannsweiler, Schneider-Verlag Hohengehren
The book comprises a collection of papers which argue for the usefulness of reflections about the nature of science in science education. The editors give emphasis to the didactical, epistemological and ethical dimensions of the issue. The first chapter deals with reflections about the international discussion and reasons for introducing aspects of the nature of science in science education in general. Four chapters focus on palpable examples of instructions about the nature of science on several levels. They refer to science teacher training, elementary, primary and secondary school science education. The last chapter completes the book with articles about the issue of learning science in a context of changing world views.
The book promotes not only an academic discussion about the nature of science in science education from a German perspective, but it also promotes the approach directly by the propagation of instruction material for the use of educators on several levels of science education.
[Dietmar Höttecke, email: dietmar.hoettecke@uni-oldenburg.de]
Carr, D.: 2003, Making Sense of Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy and Theory of Education and Teaching, RoutledgeFalmer, London.
This is a good, and much-needed upper-level textbook in philosophy of education. The book has 15 chapters in three sections: ‘Education, Teaching and Professional Practice’, ‘Learning, Knowledge and Curriculum’, and ‘Schooling, Society and Culture’. The book is richly referenced and footnoted. The book contributes to, and expands, the analytic tradition of philosophy of education; a tradition in which Richard Peters, Paul Hirst and Israel Scheffler have been prominent figures. Carr’s orientation is made clear in the opening page where he writes: ‘it is also reasonable to suppose that our best educational efforts depend upon some rationally coherent and defensible interpretation of the term [education].’ And that: ‘any sensible account of education needs to steer a course between reasonable pluralism and indiscriminate relativism’ (p.3). He makes a conceptual connection between education and personhood saying that ‘education primarily concerns the promotion of personhood’ (p.6), this of course is an explicitly evaluative or normative idea, and Carr spells out its consequences for curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment.
Carr rejects both behaviourist and cognitivist accounts of learning that divorce study of psychological mechanisms from epistemological considerations; he boldly claims that ‘knowledge differs from such psychological states as beliefs and opinions by virtue of an internal relation to truth’ (p.118). He does not deal explicitly with the ‘Science Wars’ but the reader familiar with the latter literature can see the relevance of Carr’s argument that ‘any such blurring of the distinction between truths and judgement is as fallacious as it is epistemically and educationally disastrous’ (p.130).
8 Recent Research
Apart from contributions to Science & Education the following are some papers published in recent years that bear upon the research concerns of the IHPST Group. Suggestions for up-dating this list should be sent to the Editor at m.matthews@unsw.edu.au
Davis, B. & Sumara, D.: 2003, ‘Constructivist Discourses and the Field of Education: Problems and Possibilities’, Educational Theory 52(4), 409-428.
Justi, R. & Gilbert, J.: 2003, ‘Teachers’ Views on the Nature of Models’, International Journal of Science Education 25(11), 1369-1386.
Kournay, J.A.: 2003, ‘A Philosophy of Science for the Twenty-First Century’, Philosophy of Science 70(1), 1-14.
Lawson, A.E.: 2003, ‘The Nature and Development of Hypothetico-Predictive Argumentation with Implications for Science Teaching’, International Journal of Science Education 25(11), 1387-1408.
Osborne, J., Collins, S., Ratcliffe, M., Millar, R. & Duschl, R.: 2003, ‘What “Ideas-about-Science” Should be Taught in School Science? A Delphi Study of the Expert Community’, Journal of Research in Science Teaching 40(7), 692-720.
Bell, R.L., Blair, L.M., Crawford, B.A. & Lederman, N.G.: 2003, ‘Just Do It? Impact of a Science Apprenticeship Program on High School Students’ Understanding of the Nature of Science and Scientific Inquiry’, Journal of Research in Science Teaching 40(5), 487-509.
Allchin, D.: 2003, ‘Scientific Myth-Conceptions’, Science Education 87(3), 329-351.
Akerson, V.L. & Abd-El-Khalick, F.: 2003, ‘Teaching Elements of Nature of Science: A Yearlong Case Study of a Fourth-Grade Teacher’, Journal of Research in Science Teaching 40(10), 1025-1049.
Tao, P.-K.: 2003, ‘Eliciting and Developing Junior Secondary Students’ Understanding of the Nature of Science through a Peer Collaboration Instruction in Science Stories’, International Journal of Science Education 25(2), 147-171.
Priemer, B.: 2003, ‘Ein diagnostischer Test zu Schüleransichten über Physik und Lernen von Physik - eine deutsche Version des Tests "Views About Science Survey"’ Zeitschrift für Didaktik der Naturwissenschaften 9, pp179-209
Allchin, D.: 2004, ‘Should the Sociology of Science Be Rated X?’, Science Education 88(6), 934-946.
Matthews, M.R.: 2004, ‘Thomas Kuhn’s Impact on Science Education: What Lessons can be Learnt?’, Science Education 88(1), 90-118.
Siegel, H.: 2004, ‘The Bearing of Philosophy of Science on Science Education, and Vice Versa: The Case of Constructivism’, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 35A, 185-198.
Schwartz, R.S., Lederman, N.G. & Crawford, B.A.: 2004, ‘Developing Views of Nature of Science in an Authentic Context: An Explicit Approach to Bridging the Gap between Nature of Science and Scientific Inquiry’, Science Education 88(4), 610-645.
Donnelly, J.F.: 2004, ‘Humanizing Science Education’, Science Education 88(5), 762-784.
Westerlund, J. & Fairbanks, D.: 2004, ‘Gregor Mendel and “Myth-Conceptions”’, Science Education 88(5), 754-758.
Abd-El-Khalick, F. & Akerson, V.L.: 2004, ‘Learning as Conceptual Change: Factors Mediating the Development of Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Views of the Nature of Science’, Science Education 88(5), 785-810.
Niaz, M.: 2003, ‘The oil drop experiment: How did Millikan decide what was an appropriate drop?’, Alberta Journal of Educational Research 49, 368-375.
Niaz, M., Rodríguez, M.A. & Brito, A.: 2004, ‘An appraisal of Mendeleev’s contribution to the development of the periodic table’, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 35A, 271-282.
Niaz, M.: 2004, ‘Did Columbus hypothesize or predict that if he sailed due West, he would arrive at the Indies?’, Journal of Genetic Psychology 165, 149-156.
Rodríguez, M.A. & Niaz, M.: 2004, ‘The oil drop experiment: An illustration of scientific research methodology and its implications for physics textbooks’, Instructional Science 32, 357-386.
Rodríguez, M.A. & Niaz, M.: 2004, ‘A reconstruction of structure of the atom and its implications for general physics textbooks: A history and philosophy of science perspective’, Journal of Science Education and Technology 13, 409-424.
Wickman, P.-O.: 2004, ‘The practical Epistemologies of the classroom: A study of laboratory work’ Science Education, 88 (3), 325-344.
Sandoval, W. A. & Reiser, B. J.: 2004, ‘Explanation-driven Inquiry: Integrating conceptual and epistemic scaffolds for Scientific inquiry’, Science Education, 88 (3), 345-372.
Schwartz, R.S., Lederman, N.G., Crawford, B.: 2004, ‘Developing views of the nature of science in an authentic context: An explicit approach to bridging the gap between nature of science and scientific inquiry’, Science Education, 88 (4), 610-645.
Bartholomew, H., Osborne, J. & Ratcliffe, M.: 2004, ‘Teaching students "ideas about science": Five dimensions of effective practice’, Science Education 88 (5), 655-682.
Abd-El-Khalick, F. & Akerson, V.: 2004, ‘Learning as conceptual change: Factors mediating the development of preservice elemetnary teachers' view of the nature of science’. Science Education, 88 (5), 785-810.
Erduran, S., & Duschl, R. A.: 2004, ‘Interdisciplinary Characterizations of Models and the Nature of Chemical Knowledge in the Classroom’, Studies in Science Education 40, 105-138.
9 Books
The following are some recent books bearing upon IHPST interests:
Godfrey-Smith, P.: 2003, Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Carr, D.: 2003, Making Sense of Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy and Theory of Education and Teaching, RoutledgeFalmer, London.
Fara, P.: 2003, Newton: The Making of Genius, Picador, London
Cornwell, J.: 2003, Hitler’s Scientists: Science, War and the Devil’s Pact, Penguin, London.
Browne, J.: 2003, Charles Darwin: The Power of Place, Pimlico, London.
Cross, R.T. (ed.): 2003, A Vision for Science Education: Responding to the Work of Peter Fensham, RoutledgeFalmer, London.
Fløistad, G. (ed.): 2003, Contemporary Philosophy: A New Survey, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Nola, R.: 2003, Rescuing Reason: A Critique of Anti-Rationalist Views of Science and Knowledge, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Arianrhod, R.: 2003, Einstein’s Heroes: Imagining the World through the Language of Mathematics, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, Queensland.
Guerrini, A.: 2003, Experimenting with Humans and Animals: From Galen to Animal Rights, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
Pinnick, C.L., Koertge, N. & Almeder, R.F. (eds.): 2003, Scrutinizing Feminist Epistemology: An Examination of Gender in Science, Rutgers University Press.
Aczel, A.D.: 2003, Entanglement: The Unlikely Story of How Scientists, Mathematicians, and Philosophers Proved Einstein’s Spookiest Theory, Penguin, New York.
Aczel, A.D.: 2003, Pendulum: Léon Foucault and the Triumph of Science, Atria Books, New York.
Tobin, W.: 2003, The Life and Science of Léon Foucault: The Man Who Proved the Earth Rotates, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Early, J. E. (ed.): 2003, Chemical Explanations: Characteristics, Development, Autonomy, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol.988, New York Academy of Sciences, 370pp. $130.00 (cloth)
Fensham, P.J.: 2004, Defining an Identity: The Evolution of Science Education as a Field of Research, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
10 Publications for Sale
The following publications are available from the IHPST Group:
#1 CD Proceedings of the 6th IHPST Conference, Denver, 2001, 100+ papers, W. McComas (ed.), USD10 (postage included).
#2 CD Proceedings of the 7th IHPST Conference, Winnipeg, 2003, 100+ papers, D. Metz (ed.), USD10 (postage included).
#3 Time for Science Education, M.R. Matthews, Kluwer, 2000, 440pp, USD20 (postage included).
#4 Science Education and Culture, F. Bevilacqua, E. Giannetto & M.R. Matthews (eds.), Kluwer, 2001, 362pp, USD20 (postage included).
#5 Challenging New Zealand Science Education, M.R. Matthews, Dunmore Press, 1995, 256pp, USD10 (postage included).
#6 Science & Education journal Volume 12, 2003, 808 pps, USD25 (postage included).
#7 Science & Education journal Volume 2, 1993, 382pp, USD10 (postage included).
To purchase any of the above, send letter or email, with complete mailing address and indication of what publications are required, to address below. Cheques payable to ‘IHPST’, or send full credit card details (visa, or mastercard). Alternatively order from IHPST web site: www.ihpst.org
11 Future Newsletter Items
Items for inclusion in the IHPST Newsletter are appreciated. These can be items for the ‘Recent Research’, ‘Recent Books’, ‘Books’ or ‘Conferences’ sections.
Please email newsletter material (or journal subscriptions or publication orders) to:
Professor M.R. Matthews, School of Education, UNSW, Sydney 2052, Australia
Email: m.matthews@unsw.edu.au
12 IHPST Email List
This list is newly created. It is anticipated that it will be used sparingly, perhaps once a month, to send group information such as contained in this Newsletter. It is not a discussion forum list.
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