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Teleology as a Tacit Dimension of Teaching and Learning Evolution: A Sociological Approach to Classroom Interaction in Science Education

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Title: Teleology as a Tacit Dimension of Teaching and Learning Evolution: A Sociological Approach to Classroom Interaction in Science Education
Language: English
Authors: Gresch, Helge (ORCID 0000-0002-9641-3939), Martens, Matthias
Source: Journal of Research in Science Teaching. Mar 2019 56(3):243-269.
Availability: Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 27
Publication Date: 2019
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 12
Secondary Education
High Schools
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Grade 12, Secondary School Science, Evolution, Secondary School Teachers, Philosophy, High School Students, Science Instruction, Classroom Communication
Geographic Terms: Germany
DOI: 10.1002/tea.21518
ISSN: 0022-4308
Abstract: Teleology has been described as an intuitive cognitive bias and as a major type of student conception. There is controversy regarding whether teleological explanations are a central obstacle to, are legitimate in, or are even supportive of science learning. However, interaction in science classrooms has not yet been investigated with regard to teleology. Consequently, this study addresses the question of how teleological explanations emerge in science classroom interactions about evolution and how teachers and students address emerging teleology. In this article, we introduce a theoretical and methodological framework drawing from the sociology of knowledge and systems theory, suggesting that this framework may enrich the understanding of knowledge construction and of social practices in the science classroom because it enables distinguishing between explicit and tacit knowledge. We investigated seven secondary school units about evolution and present data from four grade-12 classes in Germany, a country with very few creationists, to contrast two ways in which teleology is addressed. In the first type, the teachers combine intentional and need-based teleological explanations with aspects of scientific theories in an ambiguous way. Contrastingly, in the second type, the teachers construct a duality between correct mechanistic and incorrect teleological explanations by discrediting preceding scientific theories. In the discussion, we argue that the presented sociological approach can also be valuable in other science education contexts, such as creationism, the nature of science and socio-scientific issues, because classroom interaction involves tacit communication, such as a tacit epistemology, which are essential grounds for the students' knowledge construction.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2019
Accession Number: EJ1205474
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Teleology as a Tacit Dimension of Teaching and Learning Evolution: A Sociological Approach to Classroom Interaction in Science Education
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gresch%2C+Helge%22">Gresch, Helge</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9641-3939">0000-0002-9641-3939</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Martens%2C+Matthias%22">Martens, Matthias</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Research+in+Science+Teaching%22"><i>Journal of Research in Science Teaching</i></searchLink>. Mar 2019 56(3):243-269.
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  Data: Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA
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  Data: 10.1002/tea.21518
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  Data: Teleology has been described as an intuitive cognitive bias and as a major type of student conception. There is controversy regarding whether teleological explanations are a central obstacle to, are legitimate in, or are even supportive of science learning. However, interaction in science classrooms has not yet been investigated with regard to teleology. Consequently, this study addresses the question of how teleological explanations emerge in science classroom interactions about evolution and how teachers and students address emerging teleology. In this article, we introduce a theoretical and methodological framework drawing from the sociology of knowledge and systems theory, suggesting that this framework may enrich the understanding of knowledge construction and of social practices in the science classroom because it enables distinguishing between explicit and tacit knowledge. We investigated seven secondary school units about evolution and present data from four grade-12 classes in Germany, a country with very few creationists, to contrast two ways in which teleology is addressed. In the first type, the teachers combine intentional and need-based teleological explanations with aspects of scientific theories in an ambiguous way. Contrastingly, in the second type, the teachers construct a duality between correct mechanistic and incorrect teleological explanations by discrediting preceding scientific theories. In the discussion, we argue that the presented sociological approach can also be valuable in other science education contexts, such as creationism, the nature of science and socio-scientific issues, because classroom interaction involves tacit communication, such as a tacit epistemology, which are essential grounds for the students' knowledge construction.
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      – SubjectFull: Secondary School Science
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      – SubjectFull: Classroom Communication
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