The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ availing and nonavailing epistemic beliefs about teaching and learning, with particular focus on beliefs about visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (VAK) learning styles; the study investigated VAK belief sources and justification, and the ways those beliefs were enacted in classroom practice. 660 teachers in Mississippi were surveyed, with the large majority (94.5%) reporting they believed that students’ learning styles are important for learning. Most teachers had been introduced to the idea in teacher preparation coursework, and few had heard about information suggesting learning styles were not supported by research. Teachers reported that they considered learning styles to be useful for student grouping, assessments, and instructional delivery. Implications for bridging educational psychology research and teacher practices are discussed in light of findings.

This dissertation investigated the relation between epistemic cognition-epistemic aims and source beliefs-and learning outcome in an Internet-based research context. Based on a framework of epistemic cognition (Chinn, Buckland, & Samarapungavan, 2011), a context-specific epistemic aims and source beliefs questionnaire (CEASBQ) was developed and administered to 354 students from college-level introductory chemistry courses. A series of multitrait-multimethod model comparisons provided evidence for construct convergent and discriminant validity for three epistemic aims-true beliefs, justified beliefs, explanatory connection, which were all distinguished from, yet correlated with, mastery goals. Students' epistemic aims were specific to the chemistry topics in research. Multidimensional scaling results indicated that students' source evaluation was based on two dimensions-professional expertise and first-hand knowledge, suggesting a multidimensional structure of source beliefs. Most importantly, online learning outcome was found to be significantly associated with two epistemic aims-justified beliefs and explanatory connection: The more students sought justifications in the online research, the lower they tended to score on the learning outcome measure, whereas the more students sought explanatory connections between information, the higher they scored on the outcome measure. There was a significant but small positive association between source beliefs and learning outcome. The influences of epistemic aims and source beliefs on learning outcome were found to be above and beyond the effects of a number of covariates, including prior knowledge and perceived ability with online sources. / Educational Psychology

This thesis examines the role of epistemic cognition within the context of a Knowledge Community and Inquiry (KCI) curriculum for secondary science. The study employs a new form of design-based research, called Model-Based Design Research (MBDR), which first maps a formal pedagogical model onto the curriculum design, and then assesses how the enacted curriculum adheres to the design. The curriculum design was a ten-week Grade 11 Biology unit that met the Ontario Ministry requirements for evolution and biodiversity, and included activities situated within a unique immersive environment called EvoRoom. The thesis includes an assessment of students' epistemological views about science and science learning, and evaluates the epistemic commitments of KCI using a relevant theoretical framework of epistemic cognition. The analysis reveals the complex interconnections amongst the epistemological, pedagogical and technological elements of the design, resulting in recommendations for future design iterations as well as theoretical insights concerning the KCI model.

This thesis examines the role of epistemic cognition within the context of a Knowledge Community and Inquiry (KCI) curriculum for secondary science. The study employs a new form of design-based research, called Model-Based Design Research (MBDR), which first maps a formal pedagogical model onto the curriculum design, and then assesses how the enacted curriculum adheres to the design. The curriculum design was a ten-week Grade 11 Biology unit that met the Ontario Ministry requirements for evolution and biodiversity, and included activities situated within a unique immersive environment called EvoRoom. The thesis includes an assessment of students' epistemological views about science and science learning, and evaluates the epistemic commitments of KCI using a relevant theoretical framework of epistemic cognition. The analysis reveals the complex interconnections amongst the epistemological, pedagogical and technological elements of the design, resulting in recommendations for future design iterations as well as theoretical insights concerning the KCI model.

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One understudied barrier to science education reform concerns teachers’ cognitive processes and how they relate to instructional decision-making. Epistemic cognition—teachers’ beliefs about knowledge and knowledge acquisition and goals for their students’ knowledge acquisition—could provide important insights into the choices science teachers make in the classroom and why they might and might not adopt different instructional practices. Previous research has found mixed results regarding the relationship between beliefs and practice. Uniquely, science teachers encounter epistemic beliefs from both science and education, with potential differences that may need to be negotiated. This study found significant differences between the two belief systems but failed to find differences between biology, chemistry, physics, and Earth science. Three profiles were identified that were significantly different on their epistemic beliefs in the natural sciences and the learning sciences. Those in the naïve profile (highest beliefs in certainty of knowledge, authority as source of knowledge, and attainability of truth) had significantly less self-efficacy than those in the sophisticated profile, which predicted lower frequency of investigative teaching practices and practices promoting an investigative culture. Those in the flexible profile (medium beliefs in certainty of knowledge, authority as source of knowledge, and attainability of truth) used practices promoting an investigative culture significantly less frequently than those in the sophisticated profile. The findings from this study add to the literature on epistemic cognition and its influences. / Educational Psychology

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