In the current “post-truth” era, there is a growing need to promote apt epistemic
practices in science education. In this study, we investigated two high-school biology students’
epistemic practices during a modeling unit and appraised them for aptness using the Apt-AIR
framework. Additionally, we analyzed their responses to a post-implementation focus group
interview, designed to elicit their metacognition regarding epistemic practices, as they answered
probing questions about practices within the curriculum and reflected on video clips of other
students engaging with the units. We document the epistemic practices that students engage in
during a modeling unit and evaluate the extent to which they are apt. Findings suggest a
disassociation between students’ cognitive engagement in modeling practices and their
metacognitive understanding.
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This content will become publicly available on June 14, 2025
‘Scientists don’t know the truth; they tell you what they know to be true!’: Shaping High School Students Understanding of How Scientists Establish Trustworthy Claims Using Epistemic Practices
Science skepticism challenges the trustworthiness of scientific knowledge.
Researchers suggest that school science curricula should emphasize the epistemic practices realworld scientists use to generate claims, such as actively seeking contradictory evidence for
explanatory models and comparing findings with peers. However, empirical evidence
supporting the use of epistemic practices, and its potential impact on students’ trustworthiness
of science remains limited. This study examines four ninth-grade biology students who designed
experiments to understand a fictional viral outbreak using agent-based simulation data. They
iteratively refined their designs and discussed with peers. Analysis of student worksheets and
discussions reveals that students used three epistemic practices: considering multiple
explanations, systematically evaluating evidence, and comparing findings with similar
experiments. However, they struggled to revise their initial models when presented with
conflicting evidence by their peers. These findings offer insights into how students engage with
epistemic practices and their perceptions of science's trustworthiness.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2009803
- PAR ID:
- 10534708
- Publisher / Repository:
- International Society of the Learning Sciences
- Date Published:
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 274-281
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Buffalo, NY, USA
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have spurred renewed interest in the epistemologies that students adopt as they engage in science practices. One framework for characterizing students' epistemologies is the
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Abstract Engineering design provides unique ways to include epistemic tools to support collaborative sense‐making, reasoning with evidence, and assessing knowledge. Engineering design processes often require students to apply science concepts to solve problems. We draw from five engineering curricular units that engaged students in specific epistemic practices of engineering: constructing models and prototypes, making trade‐offs between criteria and constraints, and communicating through uses of conventionalized verbal, written, and symbolic models. Through analysis of curriculum products, student artifacts, and classroom discourse, we show how engaging in such practices requires the use of epistemic tools that shape, and are shaped by, the knowledge construction work of the members of the classrooms. The epistemic tools foster creating, sharing, and assessing knowledge claims. Six principles of practice for education demonstrate how such tools can be educative. These principles evince how epistemic tools support goal‐directed, concerted activity that can support the learning of disciplinary knowledge and practice and offer the potential to increase student agency.
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