RUI: Knowing Who and What to Believe: Epistemic Development during Adolescence

Middlebury College, Middlebury VT

Investigators

Abstract

In their everyday encounters with new information and in both formal and informal learning situations, individuals are called upon to assess what to believe and why. Whether reading a book or article, experiencing a classroom lecture, listening to the news, talking with friends, or browsing the Internet, individuals are encountering information that may prompt them to consider the credibility and veracity of various ideas as well as sources of authority. This multi-method study will explore how adolescents progress in their ability to assess and evaluate sources of information and competing knowledge claims, how they justify what they know, and the use they make of evidence, all aspects of what has been termed "personal epistemology". Students' beliefs about knowledge and knowing have been shown to develop in patterned ways and to have powerful consequences for learning. The majority of research, however, is with college students and less is known about this process during earlier years, or how it is related to other aspects of cognitive development. The purpose of this study is to advance and refine an understanding of epistemic development during adolescence, with potential application in secondary education. This will be investigated through surveys and interviews that assess individuals' beliefs about knowledge and knowing, both domain general and domain specific, as well as in an applied task. In this task we will ask students to think aloud during online searching for a science assignment in order to understand the epistemic processes that occur during this type of learning, typically at a metacognitive level. The study combines both cross-sectional and longitudinal design with students from sixth grade through the initial post-high school year. This study addresses a fundamental underlying developmental process that supports learning throughout the lifespan, and which is particularly pertinent to creating a citizenry with the competence to engage critical scientific issues as well as to make informed decisions in their own lives. This process is also important in the learning of science (as well as other academic subjects), both formally and informally. The project will engage a number of undergraduates in research and will provide methodological training using both quantitative and qualitative methods.