Jump to content

Epistemic insight

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Primefac (talk | contribs) at 10:21, 21 September 2022 (→‎Teaching Resources: rmv essentially a promo for zenodo). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

  • Comment: External links usually do not belong in the body of the article (see WP:EL) Rusalkii (talk) 20:01, 14 December 2021 (UTC)
  • Comment: This needs context. The opening paragraph should explain what it is. Other paragraphs should go into the history of the phrase. Who coined it? Who popularized it? How is it used today? How is it different from Epistemology or Epistemics? AngusW🐶🐶F (bark • sniff) 20:48, 5 July 2021 (UTC)


Epistemic insight encompasses curiosity, critical thinking and understanding concerning the nature of knowledge. The construct is chiefly used in educational contexts. It is associated with research and articles that seek or discuss ways to advance student understanding of knowledge and the interdependencies of disciplines across subjects and in real world contexts.

Definition

Epistemic insight has been defined as 'knowledge about knowledge and in particular, knowledge about disciplines and how they interact.[1].

Epistemic insight is in a family of terms that are associated with aims to equip students with attitudes, virtues and competencies that they will need as wise and compassionate citizens. Other more established members are scientific literacy, epistemic humility and critical thinking. The potential for entrenched subject compartmentalisation and teaching to the test to reduce students' capacities to be curious about how knowledge works in the real world and in the context of Big Questions is at the heart of pedagogies and reforms associated with epistemic insight. According to Billingsley and Fraser, the guest editors of a themed edition of Research in Science Education,

Adopting epistemic insight as a curriculum goal can potentially engage students’ intellectual curiosity, develop their interdisciplinary scholarly expertise and ability to find solutions to wicked problems which are rational and compassionate. Potentially, a curriculum which engages with epistemic insight may also widen the pipeline from school to science and science-related careers[2].

Epistemic insight differs from epistemology because it is associated with a learning progression (from starter to advanced) and is experienced in-situ such as when a learner in a robotics workshop investigates what it means to be alive and progresses towards a greater understanding of the nature of science and why some questions are more amenable to science than others.[3]

Publications

A collection of papers on epistemic insight was published in 2017 by The Association for Science Education in a themed section of School Science Review called Epistemic Insight: The power and limitations of science[4]. A further special edition of School Science Review on epistemic insight in December 2017 was called Science, Engineering and Big Questions [5]. One article addresses how science and the history of art can work together to tell the story of a painting [6] while another considers the characteristics of a biologist's view of life [7]. A third edition of School Science Review with a theme of Epistemic Insight was published during the COVID-19_pandemic. Called The role and relevance of science in addressing global concerns. it included an article that discussed media reporting of science during the pandemic[8]

Research articles discussing epistemic insight have reported surveys, interviews and pedagogies in schools[9][10] and teacher education[11] and other areas of higher education such as the classics.[12]

Teaching Resources

Tools for teaching epistemic insight include the Discipline Wheel, where a question is put into the centre of a circle and students consider how the question might be interpreted and investigated by a number of different disciplines. [13]

Inspiring Minds

The Inspiring Minds programme at Canterbury Christ Church University is based on an Epistemic Insight approach, where the University’s academics, student mentors and local teachers encourage curiosity about life’s Big Questions and nurture critical thinking about the nature of knowledge. Funded by the Kent and Medway Collaborative Outreach Programme (KaMCOP) it won a national award in 2022 on the basis that it positively impacts students' aspirations, confidence, and GCSE subject attainment [14].

The Epistemic Insight Initiative

The Epistemic Insight Initiative carries out research in a national consortium of teacher education institutions. It is funded at over £1.5 million which includes a grant of £1.2 million from the Templeton World Charity Foundation[15].

References

  1. ^ Billingsley, Berry; Nassaji, Mehdi; Fraser, Sharon; Lawson, Finley (1 December 2018). "A Framework for Teaching Epistemic Insight in Schools". Research in Science Education. 48 (6): 1115–1131. doi:10.1007/s11165-018-9788-6.
  2. ^ Billingsley, Berry; Fraser, Sharon (1 December 2018). "Towards an Understanding of Epistemic Insight: the Nature of Science in Real World Contexts and a Multidisciplinary Arena. [Editorial]". Research in Science Education. 48 (6): 1107–1113. doi:10.1007/s11165-018-9776-x. ISSN 1573-1898.
  3. ^ https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1259474
  4. ^ "Issue 367". www.ase.org.uk. 9 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Issue 376". www.ase.org.uk. 17 April 2020.
  6. ^ Billingsley, Berry; Windsor, Mark (17 April 2020). "Thinking like a scientist in a multidisciplinary arena: the case of Renoir's painting". www.ase.org.uk (376): 19–34.
  7. ^ Davies, Paul (17 April 2020). "A biology educator's perspective on 'life'". www.ase.org.uk (376): 36–39.
  8. ^ "Issue 378". www.ase.org.uk. 28 September 2020.
  9. ^ Konnemann, Christiane; Höger, Christian; Asshoff, Roman; Hammann, Marcus; Rieß, Werner (1 December 2018). "A Role for Epistemic Insight in Attitude and Belief Change? Lessons from a Cross-curricular Course on Evolution and Creation". Research in Science Education. 48 (6): 1187–1204. doi:10.1007/s11165-018-9783-y.
  10. ^ Reiss, M. J.; Mujtaba, T.; Stones, A. (23 December 2017). "Epistemic insight: Teaching about science and RE in secondary schools". School Science Review. 99 (367): 67–75.
  11. ^ Erduran, Sibel; Kaya, Ebru (1 December 2018). "Drawing Nature of Science in Pre-service Science Teacher Education: Epistemic Insight Through Visual Representations". Research in Science Education. 48 (6): 1133–1149. doi:10.1007/s11165-018-9773-0.
  12. ^ Kiang, Kai Ming; Colanero, Klaus (2020). "A Classics Reading Approach to Nurture Epistemic Insight in a Multidisciplinary and Higher Education Context". Science Education in the 21st Century: Re-searching Issues that Matter from Different Lenses: 51–65. doi:10.1007/978-981-15-5155-0_4.
  13. ^ Billingsley, Berry; Nassaji, Mehdi (1 August 2021). "Secondary School Students' Reasoning About Science and Personhood". Science & Education. pp. 967–991. doi:10.1007/s11191-021-00199-x. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Inspiring Minds". Canterbury Christ Church University.
  15. ^ "Berry Billingsley Awarded £1.5M for Epistemic Insight Initiative". businesswire. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Epistemic_insight&oldid=1111511007"