On the benefits of ‘doing science’: Does integrative writing about scientific controversies foster epistemic beliefs?

Publication date: Available online 25 February 2019Source: Contemporary Educational PsychologyAuthor(s): Tom Rosman, Anne-Kathrin Mayer, Samuel Merk, Martin KerwerAbstractWe examine the effects of writing tasks on epistemic change in the context of an intervention which aims at modifying psychology students’ epistemic beliefs (beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing). The intervention uses a multiple-texts approach. Participants first read multiple texts containing controversial evidence from 18 fictional studies on gender stereotyping. After reading, they are asked to write a balanced scientific essay explicitly focusing on the conditions under which boys respectively girls are discriminated against. We expected (1) that an intervention combining reading and writing has positive effects on epistemic beliefs, (2) that the beneficial effects of writing are reduced when the task instructions require writing a general overview or a one-sided argumentative text instead of a balanced essay, and (3) that reading and writing both uniquely contribute to epistemic change. Moreover, (4) we examined the effects of reading and writing on different levels of epistemic beliefs (topic-specific vs. domain-specific). Hypotheses were largely supported using data from two experimental and one correlational study (Study 1: N = 86; Study 2: N = 153; Study 3: N = 93). Implications of the results for research and practice are discussed.

Source: Contemporary Educational Psychology - February 26, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research