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http://dx.doi.org/10.14697/jkase.2021.41.1.47

Exploring the Epistemic Goals and Features of Biology-Related Knowledge Construction Activities Shaped by Pre-Service Elementary Teachers as Epistemic Agents  

Ha, Heesoo (Center for Educational Research, Seoul National University)
Publication Information
Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education / v.41, no.1, 2021 , pp. 47-57 More about this Journal
Abstract
This study aims to explore the epistemic goals that pre-service elementary teachers can construct in their biology-related knowledge construction activities, how these goals are constructed, and how the shaping of the knowledge construction activities around the goals was afforded or constrained. The research participants were 26 pre-service teachers, divided into 11 groups of two or three to engage in the activity. Their discussions and products were collected and used as data for this study. The analysis revealed that the teachers constructed three types of epistemic goals: making sense of natural phenomena, proposing the most effective course of action, and proposing solutions to problems based on their causes. Construction of different types of goals depended on the conclusions the pre-service teachers expected to draw based on the explored natural phenomena. It was found that the elicitation of the pre-service teachers' epistemic goals could facilitate their shaping of the knowledge construction activity as an evidence-based justification. The participants planned the construction of mechanistic explanations of natural phenomena with the epistemic goals of 'making sense of natural phenomena' or 'proposing solutions to problems based on their causes.' However, enacting their knowledge construction plans with sophisticated epistemic features was constrained due to the limited resources available. This study can contribute to developing instructional strategies that facilitate learners' epistemic agency and addressing epistemic agency in the development of pre-service teacher education methods.
Keywords
epistemic agency; epistemic agent; epistemic goal; knowledge construction; pre-service teacher education;
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