Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.5467/JKESS.2018.39.5.501

An Exploratory Study of the 'Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses' as a Method of Earth Scientific Inquiry  

Oh, Phil Seok (Department of Science Education, Gyeongin National University of Education)
Publication Information
Journal of the Korean earth science society / v.39, no.5, 2018 , pp. 501-515 More about this Journal
Abstract
In this study, the method of multiple working hypotheses (MMWH) as a method of earth scientific inquiry was applied in a context of abductive reasoning about the formation of a rock with a specific structure, and the characteristics of MMWH revealed in the reasoning process were explored. Participants were 31 senior undergraduate students enrolled in a course in a university of education. As part of the course, the participants performed abductive inquiry with multiple working hypotheses about the formation of a rock. The students were asked to record both the processes and results of their reasoning in sketchbooks. The content of the students' sketchbook reports was analyzed according to the principle of analytic induction. Results demonstrated four assertions. First, the participants' working hypotheses were suggested in the use of resource models, and the adaption of the resource models often occurred in this process. Second, the perceptual properties of evidence influenced the activation of the resource models. Third, the kinds of observed evidence and the different interpretations of evidence resulted into different judgments on working hypotheses. Fourth, sometimes new hypotheses were generated by the combination of alternative hypotheses. Implications of these findings for earth science education and relevant research were discussed.
Keywords
earth science; the method of multiple working hypotheses; abduction; model; inquiry;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 2  (Citation Analysis)
연도 인용수 순위
1 Amsel, E. and Brock, S., 1996, The development of evidence evaluation skills. Cognitive Development, 11, 523-550.   DOI
2 Chamberlin, T.C., 1890, The method of multiple working hypotheses. Science, New Series, 148 (3671), 754-759.
3 Chamberlin, T.C., 1904, The methods of the earth sciences. Popular Science Monthly, 66, 66-75.
4 Chinn, C.A. and Malhotra, B.A., 2002, Children's responses to anomalous scientific data: How is conceptual changes impeded? Journal of Educational Psychology, 94(2), 327-343.   DOI
5 Elliott, L. and Brook, B.W., 2007, Revisiting Chamberlin: Multiple working hypotheses for the 21st century. BioScience, 57(7), 608-614.   DOI
6 Glaser, B.G. and Strauss, A.L., 1967, The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Aldine Transaction, New Brunswick, NJ, 271 p.
7 Kuhn, D., Amsel, E., and O'Loghlin, M., 1988, The development of scientific thinking skills. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 249 p.
8 Oh, P.S., 2017, The roles and importance of critical evidence (CE) and critical resource models (CRMs) in abductive reasoning for earth scientific problem solving. Journal of Science Education, 41(3), 426-446. (In Korean with an English abstract)   DOI
9 Gray, R., 2014, The distinction between experimental and historical sciences as a framework for improving classroom inquiry. Science Education, 98, 327-341.   DOI
10 Harrowitz, N., 1983, The body of the detective model: Charles S. Peirce and Edgar Allan Poe. In Eco, U. and Sebeok, T.A. (eds.), The sign of three: Dupin, Holmes, Peirce, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN, 179-197.
11 Kwon, Y.J., Jeong, J.S., Kang, M.J., and Kim, Y.S., 2003, A grounded theory on the process of generating hypothesis. Journal of the Korean Association for Science Education, 23(5), 458-469. (In Korean with an English abstract)
12 Merriam, S.B., 1988, Case study research in education: A qualitative approach. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, 248 p.
13 Oh, P.S., 2011, Characteristics of abductive inquiry in earth science: An undergraduate case study. Science Education, 95, 409-430.   DOI
14 Oh, P.S., 2016, Roles of models in abductive reasoning: A schematization through theoretical and empirical studies. Journal of the Korean Association for Science Education, 36(4), 551-561. (In Korean with an English abstract)   DOI
15 Park, J., 2006, Modelling analysis of students' processes of generating scientific explanatory hypotheses. International Journal of Science Education, 28(5), 469-489.   DOI
16 Oh, P.S., Jon, W.S., and Yoo, J.-M., 2007, Analysis of scientific models in the earth domain of the 10th grade science textbooks. The Journal of the Korean Earth Science Society, 28(4), 393-404. (In Korean with an English abstract)   DOI
17 Oh, P.S. and Kim, C.-J., 2005, A theoretical study on abduction as an inquiry method in earth science. Journal of the Korean Association for Science Education, 25(5), 610-623. (In Korean with an English abstract)
18 Oh, P.S. and Oh, S.J., 2011, A study on the processes of elaborating hypotheses in abductive inquiry of preservice elementary school teachers. Journal of the Korean Association for Science Education, 31(1), 128-142. (In Korean with an English abstract)   DOI
19 Park, J., Chang, B., Yoon, H., and Pak, S.J., 1993, Middle school student's evidence evaluation about light and shadow. Journal of the Korean Association for Science Education, 13(2), 135-145. (In Korean with an English abstract)
20 Park, J., Kim, I., Lee, M., and Kim, M., 1998, Students' responses on the supporting or conflicting evidences on their preconceptions. Journal of the Korean Association for Science Education, 18(3), 283-296. (In Korean with an English abstract)
21 Park, J. and Pak, S., 1997, Students' responses to experimental evidence based on perceptions of causality and availability of evidence. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 34(1), 57-67.   DOI
22 Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R., and DeVault, M.L., 2016, Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guide and resource (4th ed.). Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, 401 p.
23 Rubin, A.E., and Jerde, E.A., 1990, The method of multiple working hypotheses for chocolate lovers and petrologists. Journal of Geological Education, 38, 243-245.   DOI