ERIC Number: EJ905216
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Dec
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1571-0068
Refutation Text in Science Education: A Review of Two Decades of Research
Tippett, Christine D.
International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, v8 n6 p951-970 Dec 2010
As people attempt to make sense of the world, they develop personal knowledge structures. These structures often contain misconceptions--inaccurate or incomplete information--that are highly resistant to change because existing knowledge networks must be restructured to accommodate counterintuitive information in a process known as conceptual change. Since textbooks are the dominant resource for science instruction in most classrooms, text-based methods of facilitating conceptual change need to be examined. Since the mid-1980s, researchers have investigated the conceptual change potential of refutation text, a text structure that includes elements of argumentation and that has been described as one of the most effective text-based means for modifying readers' misconceptions. In this paper, twenty years of refutation text research in science and reading education is reviewed and then a secondary analysis of those results is conducted to explore developmental aspects of the efficacy of refutation text. Although a developmental relationship was not revealed, two decades of research indicate that reading refutation text rather than traditional expository text is more likely to result in conceptual change.
Descriptors: Concept Formation, Cognitive Structures, Misconceptions, Resistance to Change, Science Instruction, Textbooks, Text Structure, Reader Text Relationship, Content Analysis, Change Agents
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Publication Type: Information Analyses; Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A