Students' understanding of the co-ordination of theory and evidence in science

Abstract

Claims have been made that younger students do not hold knowledge claims separately from evidence that might support or refute them. This paper reports on findings from a study on the ways in which UK students aged 9-16 attempt what are essentially logical problems of the co-ordination of theory and evidence when the theories in question are scientific. Most students in the sample made some reference to evidence in selecting and using their explanations, although a significant number of 9 year olds did not refer to evidence at all or treated instances of successful prediction as proof of an explanation. However, such students do indeed seem able to hold theory and evidence separately; their problem is in appreciating the 'rules of the game' of the task of theory evaluation in science.