PERSONAL EPISTEMOLOGY & EPISTEMIC LEARNING

UNDERSTANDING IDEAS ABOUT KNOWLEDGE AS COGNITIVE, METACOGNITIVE, AND AFFECTIVE RESOURCES

Ciara Sanker Teacher & Learning Coach, Head-Royce School

Learning Sciences Researcher, Mills College ciara@catbird.me

WHAT IS PERSONAL EPISTEMOLOGY?

• epistemology: study of the nature and scope of knowledge, and ways of acquiring knowledge

• personal epistemology: study of people’s ideas about the nature and scope of knowledge, and ways of acquiring knowledge

WHAT IS EPISTEMIC COGNITION?

• cognition: mental processes related to acquiring and using knowledge

• epistemic cognition: mental processes related to acquiring and using epistemic knowledge

epistemic knowledge? meta-knowledge?

SORTING OUT THE META-LEVELS…

knowledge about knowledge ≠ thinking about thinking

metacognition epistemic metacognition

cognition epistemic cognition

PERSONAL EPISTEMOLOGY RESEARCH

• What ideas do people have about knowledge?

• How do these ideas develop over time?

• What epistemic mental constructs can we ascribe to individuals?

• Are some ideas about knowledge better than others?

• Is personal epistemology domain-general or domain-specific?

EPISTEMOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

• Focus: patterns in the development of intellectual tendencies, preferences, and values

Perry, 1968: development of epistemological maturity through commitment to intellectual values

King & Kitchener, 1994: Reflective Judgment Model

Belenky et al., 1986: Women’s Ways of Knowing

Baxter Magolda, 2004: Epistemological Reflection Model

EPISTEMOLOGICAL* BELIEFS

• Focus: individual differences in beliefs about knowledge

Schommer, 1990: five core dimensions of beliefs about knowledge: structure, certainty, source of knowledge; control and speed of learning

Bromme, Pieschl & Stahl, 2010: more dimensions, including texture, variability of knowledge; value of perseverance; attainability of truth

Muis, 2007: epistemic beliefs underlie self-regulated learning processes

EPISTEMIC OR EPISTEMOLOGICAL?

A note about language…

• epistemic constructs: relate to knowledge per se

• epistemological constructs: relate to the study of knowledge

(cf. R. Kitchener, 2002)

EPISTEMIC KNOWLEDGE

• Focus: structure and substance of individuals’ knowledge about knowledge

Hofer & Pintrich, 1997: epistemological theories that guide behavior in stable, coherent ways

Hammer & Elby, 2002: fine-grained resources that may be activated in flexible, context-sensitive ways

TOWARD AN INTEGRATIVE FRAMEWORK

• Need for a framework that is more inclusive (Chinn, Buckland & Samarapungavan, 2011) and more theoretically precise (Barzilai & Zohar, 2014)

• Value in developing a framework that builds on interdisciplinary connections (philosophy, psychology, cognitive science, linguistics…)

• Grounded-theory perspective on the ways learners actually think about knowledge

IDEAS ABOUT KNOWLEDGE AS RESOURCES FOR LEARNING

How can learning sciences research contribute to education in a practical way?

• Understanding students’ ideas about knowledge as productive resources for their learning

• Understanding the role of individual factors in interaction with contextual factors

• Valuing the knowledge of teachers as practitioners

EPISTEMIC KNOWLEDGE RESOURCES

• Focus: productive value of intuitive and nascent ideas

cognitive resources (Hammer & Elby, 2002)

metacognitive resources (Barzilai & Zohar, 2014)

affective resources

• resources ≈ ideas

• “resources” framing has practical value

EPISTEMIC DISPOSITIONS

• Focus: aspects of thinking about knowledge that are most stable and personally salient

epistemic virtues and vices (Chinn et al., 2011)

epistemic commitments

• dispositions include general tendencies, preferences, values, and beliefs about knowledge

EPISTEMIC MODES

• Focus: situated modes of epistemic activity

epistemological framing (Elby & Hammer, 2010)

epistemic aims (Chinn et al., 2011)

epistemic stance (Hammer & Elby, 2002)

• “epistemic forms & epistemic games” (Collins & Ferguson, 1993)

• contextual cues, activity structures, interactions

PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER

• Epistemic Dispositions

Epistemic Virtues and Vices

Epistemic Commitments

• Epistemic Modes

Epistemic Framing

Epistemic Aims

Epistemic Stance

• Cognitive Epistemic Resources

• Metacognitive Epistemic Resources

• Affective and Meta-Affective Epistemic Resources

REFERENCESBarzilai, S. & Zohar, A. (2014). Reconsidering personal epistemology as metacognition: A multifaceted

approach to the analysis of epistemic thinking. Educational Psychologist, 49(1), 13–35. Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2004). Evolution of a constructivist conceptualization of epistemological

reflection. Educational Psychologist, 39(1), 31–42. Belenky, M., Clinchy, B., Goldberger, N. & Tarule, J. (1986). Women’s ways of knowing: The

development of self, voice, and mind. New York: Basic Books. Bromme, R., Pieschl, S.  & Stahl, E. (2010). Epistemological beliefs are standards for adaptive learning:

A functional theory about epistemological beliefs and metacognition. Metacognition and Learning, 5, 7–26.

Chinn, C. A., Buckland, L. A. & Samarapungavan, A. (2011). Expanding the dimensions of epistemic cognition: Arguments from philosophy and psychology. Educational Psychologist, 46(3), 141–167.

Collins, A. & Ferguson, W. (1993). Epistemic forms and epistemic games: Structures and strategies to guide inquiry. Educational Psychologist, 28(1), 25–42.

Elby, A. & Hammer, D. (2010). Epistemological resources and framing: A cognitive framework for helping teachers interpret and respond to their students’ epistemologies. In L. D. Bendixen & F. C. Feucht (Eds.), Personal epistemology in the classroom: Theory, research, and implications for practice (pp. 409–434). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hammer, D. & Elby, A. (2002). On the form of a personal epistemology. In B. K. Hofer & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 169–190). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

REFERENCES

Hofer, B. K. & Pintrich, P. R. (1997). The development of epistemological theories: Beliefs about knowledge and knowing and their relation to learning. Review of Educational Research, 67(1), 88–140.

King, P. M., & Kitchener, K. S. (1994). Developing reflective judgment: Understanding and promoting intellectual growth and critical thinking in adolescents and adults. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

King, P. M. & Kitchener, K. S. (2004). Reflective judgment: Theory and research on the development of epistemic assumptions through adulthood. Educational Psychologist, 39(1), 5–18.

Kitchener, K. S. (1983). Cognition, metacognition, and epistemic cognition: A three-level model of cognitive processing. Human Development, 26(4), 222–232.

Kitchener, R. F. (2002). Folk epistemology: An introduction. New Ideas in Psychology, 20(2–3), 89–105.

Muis, K. R. (2007). The role of epistemic beliefs in self-regulated learning. Educational Psychologist, 42, 173–190.

Perry, W. G., Jr. (1968). Patterns of development in thought and values of students in a liberal arts college: A validation of a scheme. Cambridge, MA: Bureau of Study Counsel, Harvard University.

Schommer, M. (1990). Effects of beliefs about the nature of knowledge on comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(3), 498–504.