Students’ analogical reasoning in novel situations: theory-like misconceptions or p-prims?

Over the past 50 years there has been much research in the area of students' misconceptions. Whilst this research has been useful in helping to inform the design of instructional approaches and curriculum development it has not provided much insight into how students reason when presented with a novel situation and, in particular, the knowledge they draw upon in an attempt to make predictions about that novel situation. This article reports on a study of Greek students, aged from 10 to 17 years old, who were asked to make predictions in novel situations and to then provide, without being told whether their predictions were correct or incorrect, explanations about their predictions. Indeed, their explanations in such novel situations have the potential to reveal how their ideas, as articulated as predictions, are formed as well as the sources they draw upon to make those predictions. We also consider in this article the extent to which student ideas can be seen either as theory-like misconceptions or, alternatively, as situated acts of construction involving the activation of fragmented pieces of knowledge referred to as phenomenological primitives (p-prims). Our findings suggest that in most cases students' reasoning in novel situations can be better understood in terms of their use of p-prims and that teaching might be made more effective if teachers were more aware of the p-prims that students were likely to be using when presented with new situations in physics

From the known to the unknown: the role of spontaneous and self-generated analogies in students’ predictions about novel situations

ABSTRACT Background: The use of analogies as reasoning tools that play a key role in human cognition at all ages has been of interest to educators, scientists, and philosophers ever since Aristotle. Indeed, research has consistently found that analogies provided by teachers can, and do, play an important role in facilitating student understanding of scientific ideas. Despite the effectiveness of teacher provided analogies little research has been undertaken on the use, and effectiveness, of student self-generated analogies in helping them to understand novel situations.Purpose: This article reports on a cross-age study of student prediction-making in novel situations. The purpose was to investigate the basis and justification that students provided when asked to make predictions about novel situations and whether they self-generated analogies (SGAs) in order to make their predictions and, in particular, whether such predictions and justifications were based on their use of SGAs.Sample: A total number of 166 students were recruited from ten, opportunistically selected, schools in Greece. The sample consisted of 37 primary students in Year 4 (9-10 years), 31 primary students in Year 6 (11-12 years), 29 secondary students in Year 7 (12-13 years), 35 secondary students in Year 9 (14-15 years) and 34 secondary students in Year 11 (16-17 years).Design and methods: A mixed method approach was used with data being collected through the administration of a paper and pencil survey followed by group discussions. In the former, students were presented with six novel situations in a pictorial form and were asked to make a prediction about the outcome of a future event (effectively what would happen in the event depicted in the novel situation), solving this way the novel situation. Students were then asked to provide written explanations about what led them to their predictions. The focus of the group discussions was the predictions and the explanations provided.Results: The study found that students, when faced with making predictions about novel situations, regularly SGAs and that such SGAs were predominantly based on their everyday experiences. It emerged that the use of inappropriate SGAs was the predominant reason that predications, and subsequent justifications for those predications, were at odds with the scientific account. The study also found, by analysing the SGAs across a range of student ages, that predictions in novel situations were generally the same and that this similarity was based on the use of the same, or very similar, SGAs that were, in turn, based on the same, or very similar, everyday life experiences.Conclusions: These results suggest that it might help teachers to be better aware of the common SGAs students are likely to use and the predictable implications of their use in developing misconceptions when learning science.© 2021, Taylor & Francis. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Research in Science & Technological Education uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self- archiving policy. The final published version (version of record) is available online at the link. Some minor differences between this version and the final published version may remain. We suggest you refer to the final published version should you wish to cite from it

Best practices in liaising between the police and social services in confronting incidents of domestic violence

Είναι ερευνητικά θεμελιωμένο από την διεθνή βιβλιογραφία ότι οι αστυνομικές αρχές είναι το πρώτο λιμάνι βοήθειας που απευθύνονται οι κακοποιημένες γυναίκες προκειμένου να αναζητήσουν υποστήριξη και προστασία εφόσον αποφασίσουν να κινηθούν δημόσια για το πρόβλημα της βίας που υφίστανται. Παράλληλα και αμέσως μετά, φαίνεται να αναζητούν την βοήθεια των κοινωνικών υπηρεσιών προκειμένου να ζητήσουν συμβουλευτική, αλλά και νομική και ψυχολογική ενημέρωση και υποστήριξη. Το άρθρο αυτό παρουσιάζει τα κανάλια συνεργασίας των δύο αυτών κεντρικών φορέων όπου απευθύνονται οι γυναίκες-θύματα βίας, όπως αυτή προκύπτει από το παράδειγμα εφαρμογής τους σε μια πόλη της βόρειας Ελλάδας. Το μοντέλο συνεργασίας παρουσιάζει μια σειρά καλών πρακτικών μεταξύ των επαγγελματιών και επιβεβαιώνει την πορεία μιας επιτυχούς διαδρομής προς την αντιμετώπιση του φαινομένου της ενδοοικογενειακής βίας.The police are often the first port of call for victims of domestic abuse who decide to officially report the violence they are subjected to. In Greece, however, the role of the police in confronting such incidents is not fully appreciated by the public. This leads to a lower number of reported cases than anticipated. This paper aims to demonstrate the role of police officers in confronting incidents of domestic violence, in particular with respect to the training and efficiency displayed in practice. As victims of domestic violence frequently require the assistance of social services, effective liaising between victims and the police is necessary for an effective response in such cases. The present study demonstrates how existing channels of liaising between the police and social services in the prefecture of Kavala in Northern Greece may provide us with a model of best practice