Undergraduate science research projects and students - School of ...

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Undergraduate Learning in Science Project Working Paper 56 Case studies: the interaction of research project experiencesand longitudinal changes in students’ profiles ofepistemological and sociological reasoningOur primary purpose in presenting these case studies is to address researchquestions (ii) and (iv) given in section 2. Thus we are interested in thosefeatures of project work which might influence a student’s images of scienceand the significance that a student’s images of science might have for whatthey learn from project work. Two of the cases described below were chosenbecause the student’s responses indicate significant changes in theirepistemological profile. Furthermore, these cases give some indication of thereasons behind these changes. All three cases highlight the influenceepistemological views had on each student’s experiences of project work.Case studies are presented on students A, G and J. Profiles for these studentscan be found in appendix B. The projects of students A and G both involvedthe evaluation of models using data, though the epistemological reasoningused by the students was rather different. Student A’s project involvedcollecting data in order to evaluate models of the kinetics of a particularreaction. At the start of her project, Student A’s views of scientific theoryappeared to focus upon descriptive aspects: she made little reference to theprocess of modelling using data. By contrast, student G was carrying out amodelling project in the Earth sciences, and talked about the nature ofmodelling in his project from an early stage.Student J’s project, however, did not focus upon relating theory and data.Rather, it involved applying established biochemical and molecularbiological techniques in a particular context. This case study is included toillustrate changes during the project in Student J’s views about the nature ofscientific lines of work.6.1 Student A: The relationship between experimental data and scientifictheory6.1.1 The projectStudent A’s project was an investigation into the kinetics of a particularreaction in the gas phase. The student was looking for a transition fromperiodic to chaotic behaviour during the reaction - a phenomenon which hadalready been observed for similar reactions. The apparatus had previouslybeen used by the student’s supervisor and by PhD researchers within theresearch group.The student’s day-to-day activities involved preparing the experimental rigfor data collection. This included flushing the apparatus with the appropriategas mixtures, calibrating and checking measurement instruments. The studentcould then perform an experimental run using a specific stoichiometric58
Undergraduate Learning in Science Project Working Paper 5combination of gases at given temperature, pressure and flow rate. Data froman experimental run were recorded on a long stream of chart recorder paperwhich showed the fluctuations of temperature in the combustion chamber.The student worked in a large room alongside other undergraduate projectstudents and postdoctoral researchers in the non-linear chemistry group.From time to time group meetings would be held in which everyone involvedin the group would discuss their ongoing research. In this sense student Awas part of an active research group.During her project work the student did see evidence of a transition fromperiodic to chaotic behaviour for the reaction. Towards the end of her projectthe student used a computer to try to represent this observed behaviour usinga theoretical model of the reaction. At the end of the project the student wasawarded a very good mark. The student’s own reflections on the projectshowed that she felt that it had been enjoyable but had largely involvedreproducing other people’s results. She did not see her project as originalresearch.6.1.2 The nature of scientific knowledge claimsThe most striking feature of student A’s epistemological profile is the shiftfrom being very unclear about the distinction between data and theory ininterview 1 (code Aa) to an explicit discussion of the role of theory ingenerating lines of enquiry (code Bb) and the role of data in validating theory(codes Ab). Although a similar change was seen in many of the students inour sample (particularly student I), the shift was most dramatic for student A.During her first interview student A used the terms ‘knowledge’ and ‘data’without any reference to theory:Student: But I do think that all science is important (...)And anything just to gain knowledge must be important Ithink.Interviewer: So this gaining knowledge, what does thatmean?Student: That’s something that you don’t know about.Could be in anything couldn’t it. Just finding out moreabout something very little is known about. (1A42)Actually on the point of good science I would also saythat good experimental techniques are obviously veryimportant (...) That’s really important to get good data.(1A37)59
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