Using computer simulations to enhance conceptual change: The roles of constructivist instruction and student epistemological beliefs

Abstract

Learners enter the classroom with informal ideas (alternative conceptions) about scientific phenomena; these ideas affect how the corresponding scientific explanations are learned. In addition, studentsÕ epistemological beliefs concerning learning influence achievement. This study investigated the effects of a constructivist versus objectivist learning environment on college studentsÕ conceptual change, using a computer simulation of the human cardiovascular system as an instructional tool. This study also investigated the interaction between constructivist versus objectivist learning situations and the studentsÕ epistemological beliefs. The constructivist approach resulted in significantly greater conceptual change than the objectivist approach for 2 of 6 commonly held alternative conceptions; the other 4 of 6 areas showed no significant differences for treatment group. More important, however, the treatment interacted significantly with epistemological beliefs. Individuals with more advanced epistemological beliefs learned more with a constructivist treatment; individuals with less developmentally advanced beliefs learned more with an objectivist treatment. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 145–160, 1998.