Meta-Theoretic Competence Demonstrated by Students in the Patterns Class

Abstract

Engaging students in theory building practices is an important focus of science education. This study aims to identify students’ resources for engaging in scientific theory building. More specifically, it examines the resources 8th grade students brought to their engagement in theory building in a science elective course called the Patterns class. The Patterns class engaged students in a simplified version of theory building, which involved iterative cycles of articulation, evaluation, and refinement of pattern theories. Pattern theories were written descriptions of general patterns in behavior that could be found in examples across domains, such as threshold and equilibration. Approaching video data and student work through a microanalytic lens, resources were identified belonging to the articulation, evaluation, and refinement of pattern theories across dimensions of deeper structure, generality, domain of application, and causal relationships. In identifying theory building resources, the study introduces a new category of knowledge: meta-theoretic competence.