Hermeneutics is useful in science and science education by emphasizing the process of understanding. The purpose of this study was to construct a workshop based upon hermeneutical principles and to interpret students' learning in the workshop through a hermeneutical perspective. When considering the history of Newtonian mechanics, it could be…

It has been argued that for novice students to acquire a full understanding of scientific texts, they also need to pursue a recurrent construction of their comprehension of scientific concepts. The course dossier method has students examine concepts in multiple passes: (a) through reflective writing on text before it is considered in the…

This study was based on the hypothesis that students' epistemological beliefs could become more expertlike with a combination of appropriate instructional activities: (i) preclass reading with metacognitive reflection, and (ii) in-class active learning that produces cognitive dissonance. This hypothesis was tested through a five-year study…